Chapter 11 - The Queen's Gambit
Evelyn stood thirty feet above them on the industrial grating, looking down into the gloom of the pump house with theatrical amusement. She wore an ivory cashmere overcoat draped over her red gala dress, completely indifferent to the oil smells and industrial humidity rising from the sump.
""Did you really think Clara’s little salvage shed wasn't tapped, Julian?"" Evelyn called down, her voice clear, melodic, and completely unbothered. ""Arthur Vance was a sentimental fool, and it seems the trait is genetic.""
Julian stepped in front of Maya, his posture relaxed, his hands held loose at his sides in a fighter's stance. ""Let the girl go, Evelyn. She has nothing to do with the board vote. The merger is between you and me.""
Evelyn laughed—a high, brittle sound that echoed off the massive iron pipes. ""Oh, Julian. You still think this is about a merger? The merger was dead three weeks ago. This is an asset liquidation. Once the Mariner is scuttled and Arthur’s little ghost is buried in the harbor, Cross Holdings assumes default management of the entire eastern terminal network. You aren't losing an acquisition, darling. You're losing everything your family built since nineteen forty.""
She gestured with her gloved hand. The two armed men beside her stepped forward, raising lightweight submachine guns fitted with suppressors.
""Kill Julian,"" Evelyn said casually, turning back toward the door. ""Bring the girl to the captain's quarters. I want to see what Arthur gave her before we drop her into the trench.""
The guards didn't hesitate. As the first man brought his weapon to bear, Maya didn't run; she grabbed a heavy brass pressure valve lever beside her and pulled down with all her weight.
A deafening roar erupted from the bypass conduit. Four hundred gallons of superheated industrial steam blasted out of the release valve, enveloping the lower gantry in a blinding, scalding white wall. The guard’s first burst of gunfire went wild, ricocheting off the iron casing with terrifying screams of screaming metal.
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Julian lunged through the steam, closing the distance in two strides. He caught the first guard by the throat, driving the man into the concrete wall with bone-shattering force.
""Move to the trunk!"" Julian roared through the screech of escaping steam. ""Get to the bridge!""
