Chapter 10
The red warning text glared menacingly from the computer monitor, casting a sinister hue across the dark basement walls.
Before Marcus could click the override button, the lights in the office flickered and died completely, plunging the room into absolute blackness.
From the street level above, the muffled sound of breaking glass echoed sharply through the quiet night air.
A thick, acrid smell of burning plastic and smoke began to drift down the stairwell, wrapping around their throats.
"They found us," Marcus cursed, grabbing a heavy flashlight and drawing a small, legal pistol from his desk drawer.
"The bistro!" the waitress gasped, her eyes widening in sudden horror as she remembered the threat on the screen. "They're burning down the restaurant to destroy any remaining physical evidence!"
"We have to move, now!" Leo shouted, pulling the flash drive out of the USB port and handing it safely to Marcus.
They scrambled up the concrete basement stairs, bursting out into the alleyway behind Marcus's building.
Across the city skyline, a massive plume of thick black smoke billowed into the night sky from the direction of Bistro Lumiere.
Without hesitation, Marcus unlocked his battered pickup truck, gesturing for Leo and the waitress to jump into the cab.
The engine roared to life with a deafening cough, and Marcus slammed his foot down on the gas pedal, tearing out of the alleyway.
As they raced through the empty streets toward the restaurant, the flashing red and blue lights of fire trucks painted the buildings in frantic strokes.
When they arrived, the historic block was a scene of utter chaos and destruction.
Flames licked hungrily out of the shattered front windows of Bistro Lumiere, illuminating the frantic firefighters battling the inferno.
Standing near the police tape in her immaculate black jacket, Victoria Vance watched the flames with a cold, detached expression of absolute triumph.
Marcus killed the truck's engine a block away, keeping the vehicle hidden behind a row of parked delivery vans.
"Look at her," the waitress whispered, her hands gripping the door handle so tightly her knuckles turned completely white. "She's destroying everything just to cover her tracks."
"She's desperate," Marcus replied, checking the magazine of his pistol before sliding it back into his holster. "And desperation makes people make fatal mistakes."
Suddenly, the passenger side door of the truck was violently yanked open from the outside, flooding the cab with blinding headlights.
Before any of them could react, a massive hand grabbed the waitress by her jacket collar and dragged her forcefully out onto the asphalt.
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She screamed as she hit the ground, looking up to see the towering security guard smiling down at her with a wicked grin.
"Got you again, little girl," the guard laughed, raising his radio to call Victoria over. "And this time, there's nowhere left to run."
