Chapter 5 - THE DEAD MAN’S DEBT
Two minutes and fourteen seconds.
Victor dropped to his knees on the frost-covered floor. The cold seeped immediately through his suit pants, but he barely felt it. He stared at the explosive. It wasn't a military-grade device; it was improvised, messy, and highly volatile.
“Victor,” Marcus shivered, his teeth chattering violently. “Take her. Run. You can’t stop it.”
Emma grabbed her father’s face, her hands moving frantically.
NO. NO. WE LEAVE TOGETHER.
“I’m not leaving you, Marcus,” Victor said, his eyes tracing the red and blue wires intersecting at the detonator. “My brother died because he was trying to protect this family. I won’t let Vance take you too.”
“Vance… he knows you have the ledger,” Marcus gasped. “He’s going to use the gala. He’s going to lock them all inside.”
01:45.
Victor pulled a small tactical knife from his ankle sheath. “Tell me about the C4. Where did Richard get it?”
“It’s not Richard’s,” Marcus wheezed. “It’s old stock. From your company. Blackwood Security. Vance… he kept a cache.”
Victor’s mind snapped into focus. If it was his old company’s ordinance, he knew the wiring protocol. Standard fail-deadly setup. Cut the primary, the secondary triggers. He had to bypass the circuit board entirely.
He looked at Emma. “Emma, look at me.”
She turned, her eyes wide and terrified.
Victor signed, slowly and calmly: TRUST ME.
Emma wiped a tear from her freezing cheek and nodded.
00:58.
Victor wedged the tip of the knife beneath the plastic housing of the timer. He popped the cover off. A tangle of copper wire spilled out.
“Daniel found me yesterday,” Marcus whispered, his energy fading. “He didn't want to kill me. He wanted the ledger. He wanted to buy his own freedom from Vance. He’s a coward, Victor… but he didn't kill Ethan.”
“I know,” Victor said, his hand perfectly steady as he isolated a thick blue wire. “Hold your breath, Marcus.”
00:12.
Victor sliced the blue wire.
The timer stopped at 00:11.
The room plunged into an agonizing silence, save for the hum of the freezer fans. Victor let out a long, ragged exhale. He quickly picked the padlock on the chains holding Marcus to the shelf.
Emma threw her arms around Victor’s neck, hugging him fiercely. Victor closed his eyes, holding the small girl tight. For the first time in seven years, he felt the crushing weight of his brother’s death shift. He wasn't too late this time.
But the relief was shattered instantly.
The hotel’s emergency PA system crackled to life. The speakers, even down in the basement, echoed with a smooth, authoritative voice.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the gala,” Senator Thomas Vance’s voice echoed through the concrete halls. “Please remain calm. The hotel has been placed under emergency lockdown. We have reason to believe a dangerous individual has infiltrated the building. My private security team is handling the situation.”
Victor helped Marcus to his feet. He draped his own suit jacket over the freezing man's shoulders.
“He’s framing you,” Marcus coughed. “He’s going to tell the police you went rogue. That you brought a bomb into the hotel.”
“Let him try,” Victor said, his eyes hardening to steel. He picked up the black ledger. “He thinks he owns this city. He thinks he owns my family.”
Victor turned to Emma and Marcus. “Do exactly as I say. We’re going up to the ballroom.”
Emma pulled on his sleeve. She pointed to her eyes, then to the ceiling, then made a square with her fingers.
CAMERAS. THEY WILL SEE US.
“She’s right,” Marcus said weakly. “Vance will have his men in the security control room. They’ll track us the second we step out of the stairwell.”
Victor smiled grimly. “Not if they’re looking at the wrong screens.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the shattered silver pocket watch—his brother’s watch. He looked at the cracked glass.
May you like
“Emma,” Victor signed. HOW GOOD ARE YOU AT HIDE AND SEEK?
Emma’s eyes narrowed in fierce determination. She nodded.
