Chapter 22 - The second signal
Viktor chuckled softly, the sound dry and hollow like dead leaves scraping against concrete. He tapped his cane against the curb twice, unbothered by the ultimatum. "You always were predictable, Marcus. You think like a soldier: defend the ground, protect the civilians, hold the perimeter. But you forgot that a businessman never bids on a single asset."
Viktor reached into his trench coat pocket and pulled out a small handheld digital tablet. With a flick of his leather-gloved thumb, he illuminated the screen and angled it toward Marcus.
The screen showed a live, high-definition infrared video feed. The camera was pointed directly at the Oak Ridge Town Hall basement vault, where Federal Investigator Miller had locked away the evidence that dismantled Mayor Henderson's corrupt empire weeks ago. On the screen, two men in identical black tactical uniforms were loading steel footlockers into the back of an unmarked van.
"While you were busy subduing my scouts in your gym," Viktor purred, his smile widening into a predatory sneer, "my team purged every hard drive, every ledger, and every document your little federal friend collected. As far as Washington is concerned, Marcus, you are no longer a heroic whistleblower. You are the prime suspect in an international arms conspiracy."
Marcus didn't move, but behind him, through the cracked doorway of the gym, a sharp, metallic click echoed.
May you like
It wasn't Tessa's pistol. It was the high-frequency chirp of a detonator transceiver hidden inside the leather watch Marcus had given Tessa weeks ago—a device that had just picked up an unscheduled military satellite link pinging directly from the center of the warehouse floor.
Viktor’s eyes shifted from Marcus toward the roofline of the gym, his grin suddenly freezing into a look of genuine confusion as the sound of heavy rotor blades began thundering across the night sky from the dark ridges behind the town.
