Chapter 8 - The Shadow Syndicate
The power in the precinct flickered twice before dying, plunging the interrogation room into red emergency lighting just as it had in the Grand Regent ballroom.
Evelyn Vance stood up abruptly, her composure slipping. ""What is this?""
""Julian's fail-safe protocol,"" Audrey said calmly, leaning back against the metal chair. ""When a Vance family asset is detained under suspicious circumstances, his private security firm initiates an asset extraction. You spent thirty years fighting him for control of the board, Evelyn, but you forgot who designed the city's private military contracts.""
The heavy steel door was blasted inward with a deafening concussive pop. Smoke poured into the room, followed by two operatives in sterile black combat gear, night-vision goggles glowing green.
""Target secure,"" the lead operative barked into his throat mic. With a single hydraulic cutter, he snapped Audrey’s handcuffs off the table anchor. ""Miss Sterling. You need to move. Now.""
Evelyn backed against the concrete wall, clutching her bag like a shield. ""Do you know who I am? You will spend the rest of your lives in federal prison!""
The second operative didn't even acknowledge her; he threw a Kevlar tactical jacket over Audrey's shoulders and handed her a pre-loaded firearm. ""Senator Hayes has authorized lethal force on the perimeter. We have ninety seconds before SWAT breaches the exterior doors.""
""My father,"" Audrey demanded, ignoring the chaos. ""Where is Richard Sterling?""
""Already extracted from the holding wing. He is currently aboard a private transport heading into international waters,"" the soldier answered. ""Julian’s orders were absolute: extract the Sterling leadership at all costs.""
Audrey stepped over the shattered doorframe into the precinct corridor. It was a war zone; smoke grenades blinded the hallways, and half a dozen compromised officers lay zip-tied on the floor.
She followed the two operatives through the precinct's evidence locker. On the counter, smashed open by a crowbar, lay her ruined pearl clutch and the silver thumb drive Evelyn had claimed was destroyed. Audrey snatched both, shoving the drive deep into the pocket of her tactical jacket.
They exited through the loading bay into an idling armored ambulance. Audrey jumped inside, the heavy doors slamming shut behind her just as automatic gunfire rattled against the vehicle's exterior.
Sitting inside the dimly lit interior, hooked up to an IV drip and clutching his heavily bandaged shoulder, was Julian Vance. His face was ghostly pale, but his dark eyes burned with intense life.
""I told you,"" Julian whispered, his voice hoarse from pain. ""Warehouse 14.""
Audrey sat down across from him, catching her breath as the ambulance accelerated through the cordoned streets. ""You played Evelyn. You let them arrest me so she would reveal her legal backing.""
""I needed the paper trail linking her to Senator Hayes,"" Julian said, nodding toward a laptop screen mounted on the wall. The screen was live-streaming a confidential press briefing: Senator Hayes and Michael Cole were standing before a podium, announcing an emergency federal takeover of the Sterling shipping ports under national security pretenses.
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""They're moving faster than expected,"" Audrey murmured, clenching her fists.
""Then we strike where it hurts,"" Julian said, tossing her a satellite phone. ""Michael’s offshore accounts just opened for morning trading in Tokyo. Let's make him a beggar before breakfast.""
