Chapter 10 - The Vanishing Act
Gabriel didn’t waste words on threats. He crossed the concrete loading dock in three massive strides, closing the distance between them so fast that Arthur didn't even have time to finish his smug smile.
Gabriel grabbed Arthur by the lapels of his ruined designer suit, lifting the sixty-year-old executive completely off his feet and slamming him hard against the reinforced steel security door of the loading bay. The heavy metal clanged loudly, vibrating under the impact.
Arthur gasped for air, his face turning pale as Gabriel’s massive forearm pressed firmly against his windpipe, cutting off his breath without fully crushing it.
“Where is the van going, Arthur?” Gabriel whispered, his voice dangerously quiet, carrying a lethal intensity that made the surrounding federal marshals—who had just flooded out onto the dock behind them—hesitate to intervene.
“You... you can’t stop it,” Arthur wheezed, his hands clawing weakly at Gabriel’s thick wrists. “The transport... has diplomatic clearance. Heading for the private airfield... out by the bay. By the time you reach the gates... she’ll be on a flight to Geneva.”
Gabriel tightened his grip just enough to make Arthur’s eyes bulge with genuine terror. “Geneva? You think you can traffic my child across international borders and hide behind a corporate charter?”
“Mr. Vance! Release him immediately!” Agent Vance shouted, finally pushing his way through the cluster of security guards and local police officers, his hand resting firmly on his service weapon. “That’s a direct federal order! Let him go or we open fire!”
Gabriel slowly turned his head to look at the federal agent, his dark eyes burning with an unholy fire. For a terrifying second, it looked as though Gabriel might actually snap Arthur’s neck right there on the platform, regardless of the consequences. But the distant, muffled wail of an infant echoing faintly through the open warehouse doors stopped him in his tracks.
It was just a trick of the acoustics, or perhaps a lingering echo in his mind, but it brought Gabriel back from the brink. He loosened his grip, letting Arthur drop unceremoniously onto the concrete floor, where the older executive collapsed into a coughing fit, gasping for air and clutching his bruised throat.
Gabriel stepped back, wiping his hands on his trousers as if trying to rid himself of filth.
“You think Geneva is the destination, Arthur?” Gabriel said, a cold, calculated smile finally touching his own lips. “You always were too proud to look at the secondary ledgers in that briefcase.”
Arthur stopped coughing, his watery eyes darting upward with sudden, sharp anxiety. “What... what are you talking about?”
“Bruno,” Gabriel called out without turning around.
From the shadows near the freight elevator, Bruno stepped forward, holding a ruggedized satellite tablet. He tapped the screen twice, turning it so the flashing red GPS tracking beacon was clearly visible to everyone on the loading dock.
“We didn't need to chase the van, Arthur,” Bruno stated flatly. “The tracking transponder we implanted in the baby’s hospital blanket isn't cellular. It’s a military-grade satellite beacon. That van is heading straight for a decoy airstrip in the marshes.”
Arthur’s face went completely blank, the triumphant facade shattering instantly. “No... that’s impossible. Henderson confirmed the primary route—”
“Henderson works for the union, Arthur. He’s been on my payroll since the day you tried to break the strike in ninety-eight,” Gabriel said smoothly, turning to face Agent Vance. “Now, Agent. Are you going to help me intercept the real transport, or are you going to keep standing here taking orders from a man under federal indictment for embezzlement and kidnapping?”
Agent Vance looked down at the GPS tracking tablet, then at Arthur, who was scrambling to his feet with desperate urgency. The federal agent didn’t hesitate a second longer.
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“All units, lock down the secondary access road toward the marshland docks!” Agent Vance shouted into his radio, pulling his tactical gear tight. “Intercept the black van immediately!”
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