Chapter 11 - Bloodline Collateral
The silence in the ruined chambers was sudden and total. Clara stared at the glowing screen of the satellite phone, the green background highlighting the cold, horrifying words: The package has been delivered to your sister's house, Vance.
Every ounce of judicial composure Clara possessed threatened to shatter. Her younger sister, Maya, was eight months pregnant, living in a quiet suburban home thirty miles outside the city. Maya had nothing to do with the courts, the law, or the Davenport empire.
Vincent, despite the agony in his broken arm, began to chuckle. The sound was wet, rattling, and pure poison. ""Did you really think... I only had two contingencies, Judge? Marcus was the distraction. The sniper was the execution. But the package... the package was the guarantee.""
Clara leaned over the desk, grabbing Vincent by his cashmere lapels and pulling his face within an inch of hers. The drying blood on her lip almost brushed his cheek. ""What did you send to her house, Vincent? Tell me!""
""A courier,"" Vincent whispered, his eyes dancing with delight at finally seeing Clara’s iron resolve crack. ""A very specialized courier. He carries a parcel that detonates on remote signal. If I don't send an hourly clearance ping from this specific satellite phone... Maya's nursery becomes a crater.""
""Miller, call the state police!"" Clara shouted, her voice echoing off the broken walls.
""I can't, Judge!"" Miller replied, tapping his tactical earpiece with a grimace. ""The sniper deployed a localized RF jammer when he set up on the bell tower! All cellular and emergency frequencies within a three-block radius are completely dead! That satellite phone in your hand is the only thing broadcasting through the black hole!""
Clara looked down at the device. The battery indicator showed three percent.
""Julian,"" Clara spun around to the injured lawyer who sat slumped against the wall. ""Who is the courier? You handled all their dirty contracts! Who did he hire?""
Julian swallowed hard, his skin ashen. ""I didn't... I swear I didn't set this one up!""
""Think, Julian!"" Clara roared, slamming her hand onto the desk with such force the wood cracked. ""Who is on Vincent's payroll that operates in the northern suburbs?""
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Julian closed his eyes, trembling. ""Kallum... Jack Kallum. Ex-military ordnance. He uses an unmarked white utility van.""
Cliffhanger: Clara grabbed Miller's second service weapon from his tactical vest, stepped over Vincent’s broken body, and sprinted toward the judicial parking elevator.
