Chapter 6 - The Emergency Stop
The elevator car jerked violently with a sickening metallic groan, its internal cables screeching as the emergency brakes locked into place between the third and fourth floors. The soft overhead lighting flickered once, twice, and then plunged the entire cabin into a dim, amber emergency glow.
"What in God's name are you doing?!" Eleanor Vance shrieked, her composed exterior finally fracturing as she stumbled against the metal handrail, her white blazer catching on the sharp corner of the control panel.
Marcus Vance lost his footing entirely, sliding down against the sidewall of the car before catching himself on the floor with both hands, his charcoal suit instantly stained with industrial grease leaking from the floor tracks.
The security guard who had tackled Julian slammed hard into the opposite wall, grunting in pain as he tried to untangle himself from Julian’s grip.
"You insane lunatic!" the guard roared, grabbing Julian by the lapels of his grey henley and shoving him against the control panel. "You could have snapped the main cables!"
Julian didn't flinch. He kept his left hand firmly planted over the red emergency stop button, his fingers digging into the plastic casing. He looked past the struggling guard, straight into the wide, panicked eyes of his mother lying on the bed in the center of the cramped elevator car. Martha’s eyes were open now, darting around the dim space in utter confusion, her breathing coming in ragged, shallow gasps.
"Don't move her," Julian panted, his chest heaving as he stared down his aunt. "The elevator is stuck. The doors won't open until maintenance overrides the manual brake from the basement control room. And maintenance won't be answering their pages for at least ten minutes."
Eleanor pushed herself up from the handrail, her face flushed with genuine rage, her blonde hair coming loose from its tight bun.
"Marcus, call the building supervisor right now!" Eleanor commanded, her voice echoing off the metal walls. "This is kidnapping! This is felony imprisonment!"
Marcus scrambled to his feet, pulling his expensive smartphone from his breast pocket, but his screen was completely dark, shattered from his fall against the steel floor. He cursed under his breath, dropping the useless phone into his pocket.
"The signal is dead anyway," Marcus muttered, holding his palm up to show the lack of service inside the reinforced steel shaft. "We're in a Faraday cage between floors."
Julian felt a grim sense of satisfaction wash over him, but he kept his hand locked on the stop button. Every second he bought inside this metal box was a second closer to the state investigator’s deputies arriving at the St. Jude’s lobby with a federal warrant.
"You think this stops us, Julian?" Eleanor hissed, stepping right up to him, her face inches from his. Her eyes were hard, calculating, devoid of any familial warmth. "You think locking us in an elevator changes the fact that your mother signed away her estate in the presence of two registered witnesses and a notary public?"
"If she signed it, why did you have to hack the hospital server this morning to delete her living will?" Julian countered softly, his voice cutting through the claustrophobic air of the car.
Eleanor froze. For a fraction of a second, her lips parted slightly, and the color drained from her cheeks. The accusation hit its mark with absolute precision.
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Before she could recover her composure, a loud, metallic clanging echoed from the top of the elevator shaft, followed by the sound of heavy boots scrambling across the outer roof panels.
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