Chapter 9 - DAWN OF JUSTICE
The explosion was catastrophic. Tank 4 ruptured, sending a shockwave of superheated steam and concussive force through the boiler room. Elias and his men were thrown backward, instantly incapacitated by the force and heat, buried under a rain of twisted metal and concrete.
The pressure wave shot up the exhaust shaft where Maya and Sterling were braced. The force hit the iron grate at the street level like a battering ram, blowing it fifty feet into the air.
Cold, crisp night air poured down the shaft.
Sterling boosted Maya up, and she scrambled onto the damp pavement of 5th Avenue. She turned and reached down, hauling the exhausted, battered Governor up out of the hole.
They collapsed onto the street, breathing in the sweet, cold air of the city. Sirens were wailing in the distance, growing louder. Not Secret Service. NYPD. The explosion had triggered a city-wide response.
Within minutes, police cruisers swarmed the area. When the officers drew their weapons on the soot-covered man emerging from a sewer grate, Sterling simply held up his hands and said, "I am Governor Marcus Sterling. I need to speak to the Attorney General of the United States immediately. No one else."
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The rest of the night was a blur of flashing lights, FBI interrogations, and paramedics. True to his word, Sterling refused to let anyone separate him from Maya. When the Attorney General arrived, Sterling handed him the burner phone, detailing the conspiracy, the names, and Director Hayes's betrayal.
A raid was authorized on Hayes's home before the sun even rose. The conspiracy was dismantled piece by piece.
