Chapter 5 - LOCKER 404
The cavernous main concourse of Grand Central Terminal was nearly empty at 1:00 AM.
Marcus parked the Maybach illegally at the curb, keeping the engine running. Alexander and Olivia moved quickly through the terminal, their footsteps echoing off the marble floors.
Olivia was shaking, her eyes darting to every shadow, every late-night commuter. “We only have forty minutes left,” she whispered.
“We’ll make it,” Alexander promised, his hand resting reassuringly on the small of her back. The warmth of his touch grounded her in the terrifying surrealism of the night.
They found the bank of old analog lockers near the lower-level dining concourse.
Alexander slid the heavy brass key into Locker 404. It turned with a satisfying click.
He pulled the metal door open.
Inside sat a thick, leather-bound ledger. Elias’s handwriting covered the spine.
Alexander pulled it out and flipped it open. His stomach churned as he read the first few pages. It was a complete, meticulously documented record of Sterling’s embezzlement, illegal drug trials, and the orders to sabotage David’s car.
“It’s all here,” Alexander said, his voice hard. “Enough to put Sterling away for life.”
“Then let’s go,” Olivia pleaded, grabbing his arm. “Please, we have to trade it for Leo.”
“If we give this to Sterling, he will kill you, me, and Leo the moment he has it,” Alexander said flatly. “He cannot leave loose ends.”
“Then what do we do?!” Olivia cried, tears welling up again.
“We don't give it to him. We give him me.”
Before Olivia could argue, a chilling click echoed behind them.
“I’m afraid you won't be giving anyone anything, Alexander.”
They turned. Standing ten feet away, flanked by two armed security men, was Richard Sterling. He held a suppressed pistol, aimed directly at Olivia’s chest.
“I knew Elias would run to his golden boy eventually,” Sterling sneered, his silver hair catching the fluorescent lights. “Slide the book across the floor, Alexander.”
“Where is the boy?” Alexander demanded, stepping cleanly in front of Olivia, shielding her completely with his body.
“Safe. For now. The book. Now.”
Alexander looked at the ledger, then at Sterling.
“You’ve ruined my company, Richard. You murdered my brother-in-arms. You killed your own son.”
Sterling’s face twitched. “David was weak. He wanted to give away the patents. He wanted to cure people for free. You and I know that’s not how the world works.”
“No,” Alexander said softly. “It’s not.”
With a sudden, violent motion, Alexander hurled the heavy leather ledger directly into the face of the guard on the left, grabbing Olivia’s hand and dragging her behind the massive marble pillar just as Sterling fired.
The bullet chipped the marble, sending stone shrapnel flying.
“Run!” Alexander shouted.
They sprinted down the corridor toward the subway platforms. Behind them, heavy footsteps echoed in pursuit.
They reached the platform just as a maintenance train was pulling through. The noise was deafening.
Suddenly, a hand shot out from the shadows and grabbed Olivia’s coat.
She screamed, but the figure yanked her into the maintenance closet, dragging Alexander in right behind her.
The door clicked shut, plunging them into pitch blackness.
“Quiet,” a gruff, familiar voice whispered in the dark.
A flashlight clicked on, illuminating a bruised, battered face.
May you like
Olivia gasped.
It was Elias Vance. And sitting quietly on the floor next to him, eating a pack of crackers, was six-year-old Leo.
