Chapter 13 - The Trojan Horse
The heavy riot shields of the tactical team gleamed dully under the harsh sodium lights of the courthouse parking lot. The lead operative approached Aiden's sedan, tapping heavily on the driver's side window with the barrel of a non-lethal riot gun.
"Mr. Cross, Mrs. Sterling. Step out of the vehicle with your hands visible," a mechanized voice ordered through a megaphone. "You are in direct violation of a federal asset-retrieval warrant issued by Sterling corporate counsel."
Aiden didn't panic. He glanced calmly at the rearview mirror, then turned to Elena. "Marcus moved faster than I anticipated. He must have had a secondary tracking beacon embedded in the chassis of this car the moment we left the estate."
"Then we let them take us," Elena said, her voice entirely steady. She unbuckled her seatbelt and placed her hand on the door handle. "If we fight them here, David pays the price at the hospital. But if we go back on our own terms, we use their own arrogance against them."
Aiden narrowed his eyes, studying her expression for a long moment before offering a slow, appreciative nod. "The Trojan horse strategy. I like the way you think, Elena."
"Open the doors," Elena instructed quietly.
Aiden pressed the central unlock button on the console. The doors clicked open, and the cold morning air rushed into the car. Within seconds, the tactical guards had yanked both doors wide, their weapons lowered slightly now that compliance had been achieved, though their stance remained tense and ready.
"Out. Hands behind your head," the lead guard barked.
Elena stepped out of the sedan, ignoring the heavy, mud-soaked layers of her ruined white dress that trailed across the pavement. She didn't flinch or cower; she held her head high, her gaze fixed with cold, unyielding defiance on the lead guard. Aiden stepped out beside her, his hands loosely clasped behind his back, looking more like an inspecting officer than a captured fugitive.
Two black armored vans pulled up beside them, their rear doors swinging open to reveal Marcus Vance standing inside, holding a sleek tablet displaying live telemetry from the hospital room.
"I must admit, Elena, I expected you to put up more of a fight," Marcus said, stepping down onto the pavement and walking slowly toward them with a triumphant smile. "Running away into the woods with a discredited venture capitalist was a childish touch."
"You think you've won, Marcus?" Elena asked, her voice cutting through the chill morning air with absolute clarity. "You think locking down my brother's hospital room changes the fact that the entire city is watching the grand foyer broadcast?"
Marcus’s smile faltered for a fraction of a second before he recovered his composure. "The broadcast was scrubbed by midday under a national security gag order. By noon today, you will sign the compliance surrender, Julian will file for a controlled separation, and the Vance name will be permanently erased from public memory."
"Try signing anything when the federal marshals arrive," Aiden interrupted smoothly, nodding toward the entrance of the courthouse annex.
Marcus spun around just as a convoy of unmarked federal vehicles with flashing blue lights rounded the corner, their sirens cutting through the pre-dawn silence. But before the marshals could step out of their vehicles, Marcus pulled a small remote detonator from his coat pocket and pressed a bright red button.
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A massive, distant explosion shook the earth beneath their feet, echoing from the direction of the Sterling industrial warehouses on the east side of town.
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