Chapter 9 - OVERRIDE PROTOCOL
Vance backed away, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Julian... you're... you're alive."
"No thanks to you, David," Julian said, walking slowly across the marble floor. The crowd parted for him. "Forty billion dollars wasn't enough? You had to sell our soul to Vanguard and try to suffocate me in the dark to get a little more?"
"Julian, please, listen to me," Vance pleaded, the slick corporate persona shattering completely. He looked pathetic. He looked terrified. "It was a mistake. Vanguard pressured me. I didn't want to hurt you!"
"You put a gun to my head, David," Julian said coldly. He stopped ten feet from his former best friend. "And you completely underestimated the people who actually run this company."
Julian gestured to Marcus, who stepped forward, still shaking slightly from the adrenaline but standing tall.
"This is Marcus Reed," Julian announced to the silent lobby, to the investors, to the news cameras that were now rolling live. "He makes twenty-two dollars an hour. He came in today to fix a broken television. Instead, he outsmarted a multi-million-dollar mercenary squad, crippled a world-class cyber attack, and saved my life. Because unlike you, David, Marcus actually understands how this system works."
Vance’s face twisted in rage. He lunged forward, desperately reaching inside his jacket for a concealed weapon. "If I'm going down, you're coming with me!"
Marcus didn't flinch. He tapped a single button on his tablet.
Clack.
The magnetic locks on the lobby's revolving glass doors instantly engaged, sealing the perimeter. But more importantly, the automated security countermeasures in the lobby ceiling dropped.
A heavy, titanium riot-mesh net blasted down from the ceiling directly over David Vance, pinning him to the marble floor. Vance screamed, thrashing wildly against the electrified mesh, but he was trapped like a rat.
Marcus looked down at his tablet, then up at the SWAT commander. "I triggered the lobby detainment protocol. He can't move. You can arrest him now safely."
The SWAT officers rushed forward, disarming Vance through the mesh and dragging him aggressively to his feet. Handcuffs clicked loudly.
"Julian!" Vance screamed as they hauled him toward the exit. "Julian, you need me! You can't run this place without me!"
Julian didn't even look at him. He turned his back on the traitor.
The billionaire staggered slightly, the blood loss finally catching up to him. Marcus rushed forward, catching him by the good arm and keeping him steady. Paramedics were already pushing through the crowd with a stretcher.
"You did good, kid," Julian whispered, leaning heavily on the IT technician. "You did damn good."
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"Just doing my job, Mr. Sterling," Marcus said, breathing out a long, heavy sigh of relief. "Though technically, taking down a rogue COO isn't in my job description."
Julian chuckled softly, wincing in pain as he was lowered onto the stretcher. "It is now."
