Chapter 5
The digital chirp of Julian’s phone echoed menacingly off the concrete walls as the call connected to security dispatch upstairs. Marcus reacted with instinctive precision. Before Julian could finish barking his orders, Marcus lunged forward, striking the phone from the CEO’s hand with a swift, controlled blow that sent the device clattering harmlessly against a stack of steel shelving.
“What the hell are you doing? You’re fired!” Julian roared, his face flushing crimson with rage as he lunged to retrieve his phone.
Marcus stepped firmly into his path, blocking him with his broad shoulders. “I don't take orders from men who sell out their own city,” Marcus said coolly, holding his ground despite the sheer panic rising in his chest.
Arthur did not hesitate. He walked past his furious nephew toward the heavy steel door of Vault Four, ignoring Julian’s protests. The old man raised his right hand and pressed his thumb firmly against the biometric glass scanner embedded in the wall beside the handle.
For three agonizing seconds, the scanner glowed a harsh, unforgiving red. Julian sneered behind Marcus, barking, “Give it up, old man! The system was purged of your biometric data years ago. You’re locked out for good!”
Arthur closed his eyes, taking a slow, deep breath. He pressed his lapel pin directly against the glass surface. The small metal key connected with the sensor, and the internal green light flared brilliantly. A soft electronic chime rang out, and the red scanner instantly shifted to a solid, welcoming emerald.
With a deep, pneumatic hiss, the heavy vault door unlatched and slowly swung outward, revealing rows of pristine safety deposit boxes and a central glass-encased pedestal holding the original 1974 property deed.
“Impossible,” Julian whispered, his arrogance evaporating into sheer terror. He shoved past Marcus with unexpected desperation, lunging toward the open vault door. “You can’t take that! That document belongs to the corporation!”
“It belongs to the people,” Arthur corrected firmly as he stepped inside the vault.
Marcus grabbed Julian by the shoulders, pinning him against the concrete wall outside the vault entrance just as the heavy security doors at the far end of the archive hallway began to bang open. Shouts echoed down the corridor as backup security guards responded to Julian’s earlier alert.
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“Mr. Vance, we’re out of time!” Marcus yelled over the commotion, holding back the struggling CEO with all his might.
Arthur reached inside the glass case, his trembling fingers wrapping securely around the aged parchment deed just as the first floodlights of the incoming security team washed over the dark hallway.
