Chapter 6 - Blood on the Mainframe
Maya did not step back. The cold barrel of the suppressed weapon was barely three feet from her forehead, but her eyes locked squarely onto Daniel's bloodshot, wild gaze.
""You're not working for Eleanor,"" Maya said, keeping her voice level. ""You never were. You were Julian's inside asset from the beginning.""
Daniel chuckled, a bitter, breathless sound. ""Arthur thought he could adopt me, treat me like a high-society pet, and pass everything to his secret daughter. Eleanor was an idiot who thought a few million in jewelry was wealth. But Julian... Julian offered me the world.""
""Julian is using you as a disposable distraction, Daniel,"" Maya countered slowly, calculating the distance between them. ""Who do you think hired the sniper across the street? Henderson was your co-conspirator. He's dead. You're next on the cleanup list.""
A flicker of doubt crossed Daniel's eyes, but his sneer quickly returned. ""Nice try. The upload is ninety-four percent complete. In thirty seconds, Vanguard’s assets belong to Julian’s sovereign fund, and I fly out of here on a diplomat's pass.""
Behind Maya, the steel door remained half-open. She knew Marcus was maneuvering in the hallway, but he had no clear line of fire without risking her life.
""Arthur didn't hide me away because he was ashamed of me,"" Maya said quietly, taking a half-step forward.
""Don't move!"" Daniel barked.
""He hid me because he knew Julian would kill me the moment he discovered my existence,"" she continued, ignoring the command. ""Arthur loved you, Daniel. He wanted you to be a legitimate heir. But you chose greed over loyalty.""
""Shut up!"" Daniel yelled.
The terminal behind him emitted a loud chime: DOWNLOAD 99% COMPLETE.
Daniel glanced sideways at the screen for a fraction of a second. That was all Maya needed.
She lunged forward, grabbing his wrist and driving it upward as the gun went off. The suppressed round spat into the ceiling tiles, spitting sparks and plaster. Maya drove her elbow directly into Daniel's broken shoulder.
He roared in agony, dropping the weapon. They both crashed into the server rack, shattering an acrylic access panel. Daniel threw a frantic punch that clipped Maya’s jaw, sending her sprawling across the cold floor.
He scrambled toward the dropped gun, his fingers wrapping around the grip.
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Before he could raise it, Maya grabbed a dangling high-voltage power cable that had torn loose from the severed rack. With all her remaining strength, she drove the live copper terminals straight into the pool of water leaking from the broken sprinkler system under Daniel's knees.
A blinding flash of blue electricity illuminated the server room.
