Chapter 16 - In the Dead of Night
Emergency backup generators kicked in seconds later, bathing the conference room in an eerie, pulsing red illumination. But Thomas was no longer sitting in his chair. He had vanished into the shadows, leaving behind his open briefcase filled with encrypted flash drives and international flight itineraries to Zurich. "Lock down all elevators and stairwells!" I commanded into my encrypted lapel mic, my voice entirely steady despite the adrenaline roaring in my ears. Marcus and his security detail swarmed the corridors, but Thomas was a ghost slipping through the labyrinthine architecture of the corporate fortress. I sprinted toward the private executive elevators, knowing instinctively where a desperate man would flee: the helipad on the roof. The wind howled violently as I pushed open the heavy glass door leading out onto the concrete landing. A sleek, unmarked twin-engine helicopter sat idling its rotors, kicking up a blinding gale of dust and debris. Thomas was already crouched near the cabin door, clutching a black duffel bag stuffed with bearer bonds. As I stepped forward into the howling wind, weapon drawn and pointed with absolute precision at the tarmac, Thomas froze, turning around with a desperate, wild look in his eyes. "You can't stop them, Mrs. Sterling!" he screamed over the deafening roar of the blades. "The Vanguard owns the city! They own the judges! You're just a widow playing a rich man's game!"
