Chapter 12 - The Ransacked Office
Julian stepped into the ruined office, his boots crunching over shattered glass from a broken desk lamp and scattered folders. The window overlooking the street had been smashed open from the outside, letting the cold rain blow in and dampen the carpet. Sarah Jenkins was nowhere to be seen, but her leather desk chair was still spinning slowly, as if she had only just been dragged away moments before.
"Julian!" Clara’s panicked voice crackled suddenly through the two-way emergency radio Arthur had handed her before he left the car. "Julian, respond! Two black SUVs just boxed us in on the side street. They're trying to force the car doors open!"
Julian spun around, sprinting back down the hallway toward the elevators, but the control panel was dead—the power to the floor had been remotely shut off. Without hesitation, he threw open the heavy fire exit door and sprinted down seven flights of concrete stairs, taking them three at a time in a desperate rush to reach the street level.
By the time he burst out through the side doors of the courthouse into the pouring rain, the scene on the adjacent side street was chaotic. Two black SUVs blocked the sedan front and back. Arthur was struggling fiercely with a man in a tactical vest who was trying to drag him out of the back seat, while another operative was attempting to pry open the passenger door where Clara shielded the baby.
"Get away from them!" Julian roared, launching himself across the wet pavement like a missile.
He slammed into the operative at the passenger door, tackling him hard against the side of the SUV and sending them both crashing to the ground. The operative swung a heavy elbow, catching Julian in the ribs, but Julian ignored the pain, wrapping his arms around the man's legs and flipping him onto the asphalt.
Clara rolled down the window an inch, shouting over the sound of the rain. "Julian! Use the briefcase! Richard isn't here—it's just local mercenaries hired by the board!"
Arthur managed to break free from his attacker in the back seat, swinging his heavy cane down hard across the second operative's shoulder and sending him sprawling into the gutter.
"Get in the car, Julian! Now!" Arthur screamed, scrambling back into the rear cabin.
Julian leaped over the hood of the sedan, wrenched open the driver’s door, and threw the car into reverse, slamming hard into the bumper of the trailing SUV to clear a path. The heavy crunch of metal echoed down the empty avenue as the sedan broke free from the blockade. Julian slammed his foot down on the gas pedal, tearing around the corner just as police sirens began to wail in the distance.
Inside the car, everyone was breathing heavily, water dripping from their clothes onto the floor mats. Clara held Leo tightly against her chest, her hands trembling as she checked the baby one more time.
"Are you okay?" Julian asked, his voice strained as he kept his eyes on the road.
"We're okay," Clara breathed, looking down at the steel briefcase resting securely between her feet. "But Jenkins is gone. Where do we go now?"
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Arthur wiped rain from his forehead with a handkerchief, leaning forward between the front seats. "There is one place left. The old Sterling family dock house down at the harbor. Your grandfather kept a secure satellite uplink there that bypasses all corporate network firewalls."
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