The footsteps retreated. The super’s keys jingled away, defeated.

For the first time that night, Leo smiled. He closed the laptop, the green light of the Psiphon tunnel still glowing softly in the dark. The cage had a hole. And he had just slipped right through it.

The download chugged, a tiny green bar inching across his screen. Each percentage point felt like a revolution. 12%... 34%... 78%... The sound of rain was suddenly joined by another sound: the heavy, deliberate footsteps of the building superintendent on the stairs. The super was a friend of Guryanov’s.

At 99%, the file stalled. The footsteps stopped right outside his door.