Chapter 6 - The Federal Echo
The cold wind whistling through the open glass doors suddenly felt secondary to the sudden drop in temperature within the room.
Julian Vance stopped moving entirely, his hand hovering near the pocket where he had just stashed the matte black titanium drive.
The two bodyguards froze, their hands instinctively shifting toward the concealed holsters beneath their heavy black suit jackets.
"You're lying," Julian said, his voice losing its casual warmth and hardening into a dangerous, clipped register.
"Check the transmission logs on your own encrypted comms," Arthur said, leaning heavily against the counter to keep himself upright while Elena supported his weight from the side. "The moment your team bypassed our exterior firewall, the protocol triggered an automated data dump to three separate federal district offices."
Julian pulled the titanium drive out of his coat, staring at the matte surface as if it might suddenly detonate in his palm.
"You don't have the technical expertise to set up an automated dead-man's switch," Julian murmured, his eyes narrowing as he looked back at Arthur with a mixture of disbelief and cold calculation.
"I didn't," Arthur replied steadily, wiping the blood from his lip with the back of his trembling hand. "My partner did. The one you had put into a coma three weeks ago to keep him quiet."
Elena stared at Arthur in absolute shock, her hands tightening on his arm as she realized the full depth of the secrets he had been keeping from her.
"You said Marcus had a routine accident on the highway," Elena whispered, her voice trembling with betrayal. "You told me he fell asleep at the wheel."
"He didn't," Arthur answered without looking at her, his gaze locked entirely on Julian Vance. "They ran him off the road because he found out where the syndicate was laundering the offshore development funds."
Julian let out a short, cold breath that sounded almost like a laugh, though there was no humor in his eyes.
"Marcus was a fool who didn't understand the cost of ambition," Julian said smoothly, stepping back into the kitchen with measured precision. "And you, Arthur, are a desperate amateur who just signed his entire family's death warrant."
The larger bodyguard stepped closer, his knuckles cracking as he prepared to strike again, but Julian raised a hand to stop him.
"Wait," Julian commanded softly, pulling a sleek, dark satellite phone from his pocket with his left hand.
He tapped the screen three times, holding it to his ear while staring intently into Arthur’s eyes through the tense, agonizing silence of the room.
"Report," Julian said into the device, his voice dangerously low.
Ten seconds passed like ten hours. Julian’s expression did not change, but the slight twitch in his jaw betrayed the sudden surge of adrenaline.
May you like
"Clear the sector," Julian ordered abruptly, snapping the phone shut and slipping it back into his coat. "We're leaving. Now."
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