Chapter 6 - The Lockdown
The heavy fire door slammed shut behind Gabriel, echoing down the concrete stairwell like a gunshot. The cool, damp air of the stairwell offered a stark contrast to the sterile heat of the maternity ward, smelling faintly of old concrete and cleaning solvent. Gabriel held the baby tight against his chest, shielding her face with the fold of the white blanket as he descended the first flight of stairs two at a time, his heavy boots striking the metal steps with rhythmic precision.
Above him, the sharp, authoritative beep of the hospital’s electronic security override pierced the concrete walls. A computerized voice droned monotonously from the overhead intercom system: Attention staff and visitors. Facility lockdown initiated. Sector four is now restricted under emergency probate protocols.
Gabriel didn't break stride. He knew every architectural quirk of this hospital; he had funded the north wing’s trauma center twenty years ago before his empire took a darker turn. He reached the landing of the second floor, his mind racing through escape vectors. The main elevators would already be locked down from the security desk, and the lobby was undoubtedly crawling with Arthur’s corporate security detail and local deputies responding to the fraud call.
He pushed open the heavy door leading into the second-floor pediatric wing, slipping into the shadows just as a pair of orderlings rushed past in the opposite direction, muttering about containment protocols.
Gabriel ducked into an empty examination room, locking the door behind him with a silent click. He set the infant down gently on the padded pediatric table, unwrapping a corner of the blanket to check her breathing. Her skin was a healthy pink, her tiny chest rising and steady. She blinked her dark, unfocused eyes up at the harsh fluorescent lights, letting out a soft, inquiring coo.
“I’ve got you,” Gabriel whispered, his rough voice softening entirely as he brushed a stray lock of dark hair from her forehead. “Your mama and I are going to get you out of here. I promise you that.”
He pulled his encrypted satellite phone from his inner suit pocket, punching in a rapid sequence of numbers from memory. The line rang twice before a gravelly, familiar voice answered on the other end.
“Vance? We heard the scanner chatter. Are you clear?” asked Bruno, Gabriel’s longtime head of security and former military operative.
“Negative, Bruno. Sector four is in full lockdown under a fraudulent probate clause engineered by Arthur Sterling,” Gabriel said, keeping his voice low and steady. “He’s got the D.A.’s office and local judges in his pocket. They’ve locked the perimeter.”
Bruno let out a low whistle over the secure line. “That old shark plays dirty. What do you need, boss? Do we breach the loading dock?”
“Not yet,” Gabriel replied, his eyes scanning the narrow window of the examination room that looked out over the ambulance bay. “Arthur thinks he’s got me cornered with paperwork and security gates. But he forgot one crucial detail.”
“What’s that?”
“He thinks I’m alone in this building,” Gabriel said, a dangerous, confident edge creeping into his tone. “Where is Marcus right now?”
There was a brief pause on the line as Bruno checked the telemetry feeds. “Marcus just bolted from the maternity ward through the south stairwell five minutes ago. Looks like he’s heading straight for the parking garage with a briefcase full of Arthur’s secondary ledger files.”
May you like
Gabriel’s lips tightened into a thin, grim line. “Cut him off at the third-level ramp. Bring him to me in the basement archives. It’s time we audited Arthur’s real secrets.”
---
