Chapter 10 - The Catwalk Ambush
The federal agent drew his weapon and fired two rapid shots toward the upper catwalk, the muzzle flashes illuminating the rusted iron stairs leading up into the shadows.
"Federal agent, drop your weapon and step into the light!" the agent bellowed, his voice echoing off the concrete floor of the warehouse.
A cold, mocking laugh drifted down from the darkness, followed by the heavy thud of footsteps retreating toward the roof access hatch.
"Stay here, Mrs. Sterling, I'm going up to secure the perimeter," the agent ordered, scrambling up the metal ladder with his tactical light sweeping the upper level.
Julianna crouched behind the server rack, her breathing coming in shallow gasps as she reached out in the dark and felt around the top of Marcus's desk for the red thumb drive. Her fingers brushed against the cool plastic casing just as the overhead emergency generator kicked on with a sputtering roar, flooding the room in harsh yellow light. She grabbed the drive and tucked it deep into her blazer pocket, standing up slowly to survey the carnage of the office. Marcus Vance lay motionless across the desk, his blood soaking into the global financial ledgers that held the secrets of twenty years of corporate corruption. Above her, the heavy thud of a struggle echoed from the catwalk, followed by a muffled cry and the sickening sound of metal bending under sudden weight.
"Agent Vance, report!" Julianna shouted up toward the upper level, her voice cracking with rising panic as silence settled over the warehouse once more.
A heavy boot stepped onto the top of the ladder, descending slowly into view under the harsh yellow lights of the emergency lamps. A figure in a dark suit dropped down to the concrete floor, but it wasn't the federal agent—it was Arthur, his suit jacket torn at the shoulder and his face smeared with grease and dried blood.
"The agent is tied up in the ventilation shaft, Julianna, which leaves just the two of us to finish this little domestic dispute," Arthur said, holding a heavy steel pipe in his right hand as he took a slow step toward her.
Julianna didn't flinch, backing away slowly until her spine pressed against the humming server rack while her hand curled around the red thumb drive in her pocket.
"You killed David, you framed me, and now you think you can just murder your way out of a federal conspiracy?" she asked, her voice steady and chillingly calm.
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"I didn't murder David, Julianna; he tried to run with the bearer bonds, and gravity simply did what it always does," Arthur smiled coldly, raising the pipe as he closed the distance between them.
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