Chapter 10
The cargo bay of the unmarked helicopter was freezing, the vibrations of the massive airframe rattling through the metal deck plates and straight into Arthur’s bones. His hands were cuffed securely to a reinforced steel eyelet welded into the floor. Across from him, Marcus Sterling sat casually on a canvas jump seat, sipping black coffee from an insulated thermos while the scarred lieutenant stood guard nearby with an assault rifle resting across his chest.
"You're making a catastrophic mistake, Marcus," Arthur said, his voice hoarse from inhaling smoke and cold air. "The dead-man's switch is still active. If my terminal doesn't receive a secure ping from my satellite phone every twelve hours, the entire ledger goes public."
Sterling took a slow sip of his coffee, his eyes cold and calculating. "We know about the ping, Arthur. That’s why we didn't kill you back at the house. But let's be entirely transparent with each other—you haven't had your satellite phone since you dropped it in the kitchen during the breach."
Arthur’s expression didn't change, but his mind raced furiously. He had indeed dropped his primary satellite communicator near the kitchen island when the first ceramic bowl shattered.
"You think I only have one fail-safe?" Arthur challenged, maintaining a bluff that felt increasingly fragile. "The primary is just a decoy. The real trigger is tied to my biometric heartbeat monitor, which transmits continuously via a subcutaneous sensor."
Sterling chuckled, a dry, humorless sound that echoed in the metal cabin. "A subcutaneous transmitter? Arthur, we pulled your complete medical profile before we breached the front door. You had that pacemaker replaced three years ago in Geneva. There's no biological transmitter. Just a standard lithium-ion battery keeping your heart in rhythm."
The air seemed to leave the cabin all at once. Arthur swallowed hard, realizing his bluff had been completely dismantled. Sterling leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he stared down at his captive.
"Now, let's talk about where you hid the secondary physical drive," Sterling continued, his tone turning ice-cold. "The one containing the names of every board member, every offshore shell company, and every asset we've planted in Washington over the past decade. Where is it, Arthur?"
May you like
"I'd rather die first," Arthur spat, glaring up at him.
"That can easily be arranged," Sterling said smoothly. "Except we wouldn't start with you. We'd start with Clara. And if she breaks too quickly, we move on to little Maya. Children are remarkably fragile, Arthur. It takes very little pressure to break something so small."
