Chapter 6 - THE LOCKDOWN
"No!" Arthur shouted, struggling to stand. "Don't you touch her!"
"Sit down, old man," Julian snarled, shoving his father back onto the sofa. "Your heart can't take the stress."
Harper stepped forward, her eyes gleaming with malice as she looked down at Sarah. "You really thought you could win? People like you don't win, Sarah. You just clean up the messes people like me make."
Sarah struggled against the mercenary's grip, her shoulder screaming in pain, but she couldn't break free. The man began dragging her toward the massive floor-to-ceiling glass doors that opened onto the balcony.
The wind howled against the glass. It was a twenty-story drop to the concrete below.
"Julian, please!" Arthur begged, tears streaming down his face. "I'll sign everything over! I'll give you the company! Just let her go!"
Julian paused. A greedy, triumphant smile spread across his face. "Everything?"
"Everything," Arthur sobbed. "Just don't kill her. She's innocent."
Julian laughed. "Bring me the legal pad from his desk, Harper."
Harper eagerly grabbed the notepad and a pen, rushing over. Julian dictated a crude but legally binding transfer of power, giving Julian Vance total immediate control of the Vance Plaza Corporation and all personal assets.
"Sign it," Julian demanded, throwing the pad onto Arthur's lap.
Arthur’s hand shook as he took the pen. He looked at Sarah. She was shaking her head frantically.
"Don't do it, Mr. Vance," Sarah cried out. "He'll kill us both anyway!"
"I have to, child," Arthur whispered. He signed his name at the bottom of the page.
Julian snatched the paper, his eyes wide with victory. He folded it and slipped it into his jacket pocket.
"Thank you, Dad," Julian mocked. He turned to the mercenaries. "Throw her off."
The mercenary dragged Sarah out onto the freezing, windy balcony. He lifted her by the waist, pushing her toward the railing. Sarah screamed, kicking wildly, fighting for her life. She thought of Toby waiting in the lobby. She couldn't leave him. She couldn't!
Inside the penthouse, Arthur watched the horror unfold.
But Arthur Vance wasn't a victim. He was a survivor of the worst jungles on earth.
Arthur reached beneath the collar of his shirt. He pulled out the heavy, tarnished silver dog tag that had belonged to Sarah's father.
But he didn't just hold it. He pressed his thumb hard into the center of the metal tag.
A tiny, hidden biometric scanner built into the back of the customized tag flashed red.
Instantly, a deafening klaxon alarm echoed through the entire penthouse.
Heavy steel security shutters slammed down over the balcony doors, separating the mercenary from the edge. The steel slammed shut with such force that the mercenary dropped Sarah in shock.
The main penthouse doors locked with a heavy, magnetic CLANG.
The lights flickered and turned crimson red.
Julian spun around in terror. "What did you do?!"
Arthur stood up. His posture was perfectly straight. The cane was gone.
"When you build a fortress on stolen ground, Julian," Arthur said, his voice ringing with absolute authority, "you make sure you have a panic room."
Harper rushed to the main doors, yanking frantically on the handles. "They won't open! Julian, we're trapped!"
"Open the doors, Dad!" Julian screamed, pulling a small handgun from the mercenary's holster and aiming it at his father. "Open them now!"
"I can't," Arthur smiled coldly. "The lockdown protocol isn't connected to the hotel's security. It's connected directly to the FBI field office in Chicago. I installed it years ago when the cartel tried to extort the hotel. And Julian?"
Arthur pointed up at the corners of the ceiling. Small, red lights were blinking on hidden cameras.
"Those cameras don't record to the hotel servers," Arthur said. "They livestream directly to my lawyers. They just watched you try to poison me. They watched you extort my signature. And they watched you order a murder."
Julian’s face went chalk-white. The gun trembled in his hand.
Out on the balcony, Sarah scrambled to her feet. The steel shutters had trapped her and the two mercenaries outside, safe from Julian's gun but locked in the freezing wind.
Suddenly, the sound of a heavy helicopter rotor chopped through the night air.
A police tactical chopper rose up over the edge of the balcony, its massive spotlight blinding everyone on the terrace.
"CHICAGO POLICE! DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND GET ON THE GROUND!" a voice boomed over a megaphone.
The two mercenaries didn't hesitate. They immediately dropped to their knees and put their hands behind their heads.
Inside the penthouse, Julian dropped the gun. He fell to his knees, realizing it was completely, undeniably over.
Harper began to sob hysterically, sinking to the floor. "I didn't know! I was just following my husband! I'm a victim!"
Arthur looked down at them with absolute disgust.
The heavy steel doors to the penthouse were breached a moment later by a SWAT team. They flooded the room, throwing Julian and Harper to the ground and slapping handcuffs on their wrists.
Arthur hit a button on his desk, and the steel shutters on the balcony rolled up.
Sarah stumbled inside, shivering and bruised.
Arthur walked past his arrested son and wrapped his arms around the maid, holding her tight.
"You're safe now, Sarah," Arthur whispered. "You're safe."
But as Julian was being dragged out the door by the police, he suddenly threw his head back and laughed. It was a manic, deranged sound.
"You think you won, Dad?!" Julian screamed over his shoulder. "You think you can give her the hotel?!"
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Arthur frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Julian smiled maliciously, his teeth showing. "I forged your signature yesterday! I sold the entire Vance Plaza Hotel to the Vanguard Development Group to cover my gambling debts! The wire transfer cleared an hour ago! You don't own this building anymore, Dad! And neither does she! You're both completely broke!"
