Chapter 14 - The Siren Over the City
The shrill wail of the citywide emergency broadcast siren tore through the precinct, drowning out the tension in the interrogation room with a deafening, mechanical roar. The crimson emergency lights pulsed rhythmically against the concrete walls, casting long, frantic shadows across the table where the federal contract lay half-signed. Victor Sterling snatched the paper off the desk, his composure instantly shattering as his encrypted phone began to vibrate violently in his breast pocket.
“What is going on? Is this a coordinated cyberattack?” Victor demanded, pulling the device out and staring at the flashing red override code on the screen.
Maya grabbed Marcus’s hand, pulling him toward the exit as the building around them began to shake from a heavy subterranean rumble.
“It’s not a cyberattack, Sterling,” Maya called back over the wailing siren, her eyes gleaming with fierce vindication. “Julian didn't just back up our files to your server—he set a dead-man’s switch to transmit every single classified black budget document to every major news outlet in the country the moment we were threatened.”
Victor cursed loudly, dropping his phone onto the floor as federal alerts flashed across his screen announcing an immediate congressional inquiry into his department.
“Stop them! Do not let them leave this building!” Victor screamed at the armed guards stationed outside the door, but the guards were already dropping their weapons, frantically checking their own phones as news notifications flooded their personal devices.
Marcus wrapped his arm firmly around Maya’s waist, guiding her through the chaotic hallway toward the precinct’s main exit where the morning sun was just beginning to break over the horizon.
As they burst through the glass doors into the cool autumn air, a black SUV pulled up smoothly to the curb, and Julian popped the back door open, motioning frantically for them to get inside.
“Get in! We have less than two minutes before the federal blockade locks down the entire downtown district!” Julian shouted over the wailing sirens in the distance.
Maya and Marcus piled into the back seat, breathless but unbroken, as the SUV accelerated sharply down the empty boulevard.
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As they looked back through the rear window, the massive federal courthouse downtown was surrounded by flashing news vans and live broadcast crews reporting on the massive government corruption scandal.
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