Chapter 8 - THE COUNTER-MOVE
The foundation headquarters in downtown Boston was a towering monument to glass and greed. At 1:00 AM, the lobby was empty, save for two security guards who snapped to attention as the black Mercedes pulled into the private underground garage.
Daniel stepped out of the car. He left the gun on the passenger seat. He wouldn't need it.
He was holding Noah’s hand.
Sophie and Dr. Aris were nowhere to be seen.
The guards recognized Daniel immediately. Arthur had warned them.
“Mr. Reed,” the head guard said, placing a hand on his holstered weapon. “Mr. Vance is expecting you. Penthouse.”
Daniel didn't say a word. He squeezed Noah’s hand. “Just like we practiced, buddy. Keep your eyes on me.”
They rode the private elevator up sixty floors in suffocating silence.
The doors chimed and slid open.
Arthur Vance was sitting at an expansive mahogany desk, overlooking the city skyline. His face was bruised and bandaged from the cabin, but his eyes were victorious. Two armed men stood in the corners of the room.
“I knew you would make the logical choice, Daniel,” Arthur said, standing up. “You always were a pragmatist.”
He looked at Noah. A hungry, clinical gaze. “Hello, Noah. Don't be frightened. You are going to help a lot of people.”
Daniel stepped in front of his son. “I brought him. Now destroy the fabricated files.”
“Of course,” Arthur said smoothly. He tapped a command on his keyboard. “The files framing you are deleted. You are a free man, Daniel. Now, step away from the product.”
“No,” Daniel said.
Arthur sighed. “Don't make this messy in front of the child. Guards.”
The two armed men stepped forward.
But before they could reach Daniel, the penthouse doors flew open.
Standing in the doorway, bleeding from a cut on her forehead, was Sophie. She was panting, holding the crescent moon necklace in her hand.
“Let them go, Arthur!” Sophie yelled.
Arthur laughed. “Sophie. How touching. Did you really think you could storm the penthouse?”
“I didn't have to,” Sophie said. She threw the silver necklace onto the floor. “I just had to get you to look at me.”
Arthur frowned. He looked at Daniel. Then at Sophie.
Then, his eyes widened.
He whipped around to look at his computer monitors.
The screens were flashing violently. Bars of data were transferring at lightning speed.
“What is this?” Arthur demanded, slamming his hands on the keyboard.
“While your guards were watching me walk through the front door,” Daniel said, his voice cold as steel, “they didn't notice Dr. Aris slipping into the server room in the basement.”
Arthur’s face went pale. “She doesn't have the passcodes!”
“She doesn't need them,” Sophie said. “Because she has the original encryption keys from Elias. And she isn't trying to lock you out, Arthur.”
Sophie smiled, a fierce, terrifying expression.
“She’s uploading everything. The medical blueprints. The illegal transfers. The murder orders for my brother. And the exact location of the Russian buyer’s offshore accounts.”
“Stop it!” Arthur screamed at his guards. “Get down to the basement!”
But as the guards turned to run, a heavy, deafening siren began wailing through the building. The fire alarms.
“Too late,” Daniel said. “Dr. Aris triggered the lockdown once the upload hit 100%. The doors are sealed.”
Arthur stared at his monitors. The word TRANSFER COMPLETE flashed in bold, green letters. The files hadn't just gone to the FBI. They had gone to every major news outlet on the eastern seaboard.
Arthur slowly reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a gun.
He pointed it directly at Noah.
“If my empire burns,” Arthur whispered, his hands shaking with rage, “the cure burns with it.”
Daniel leaped forward, but he was too far away.
BANG.
The gunshot echoed through the penthouse.
But Daniel didn't fall. Noah didn't fall.
Arthur Vance dropped his gun. He looked down at his own chest, where a blossoming red stain was spreading across his white shirt.
He collapsed backward against his desk, sliding to the floor.
Standing in the doorway, holding a smoking security pistol, was the head guard from the lobby.
He lowered the weapon and looked at Daniel.
“The FBI field office just called down,” the guard said, his voice shaking. “They’re three minutes away. They said to secure the room.”
Daniel stood frozen. Then, he dropped to his knees and pulled Noah into his chest, burying his face in his son’s shoulder.
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Sophie ran across the room and collapsed beside them, wrapping her arms around both her husband and her child.
The nightmare was over.
