A crowded city bus screeched to a halt beside a row of gray warehouses in the industrial district. The doors opened with a loud hiss.Tina Macy stepped down into the damp morning air and shivered beneath the gray sky. She pulled the collar of her faded canvas jacket tighter around her neck to keep o

Arthur Pendelton smashed his crystal tumbler against the marble fireplace. Amber whiskey and broken glass scattered across the hearth as he glared at the live news broadcast on the wall screen.The television showed federal marshals and reporters outside the central logistics depot. The heavy iron c

“Are you threatening to shut down our fuel supplies, Vivian?” Angela asked quietly.“I am offering you a lifeboat before the storm drowns you, Angela,” Vivian replied. “Here is my proposition, and I suggest you listen carefully.”“I am listening, Lady Vivian.”“You will sever all commercial and pers

Inside Newberg Central Hospital, the radiators groaned for several minutes before going completely cold.Elderly patients huddled beneath thin cotton blankets in the waiting rooms, their breath visible in the cold air. Mothers held sick infants against their chests, trying to protect them from the c

The red numbers on the trading screen blinked across the dark office. Inside the top-floor office of Ward Petrochemicals, Lady Vivian Ward gripped her crystal glass so tightly that her knuckles turned white.Her hands shook, splashing cold water across the silk desk pad. Far below, dozens of massive