"Do not go, Leo."Marcus slammed a heavy iron crowbar onto the metal kitchen counter of Evelyn's apartment. The loud clang made the coffee cups rattle on the shelf."It is an ambush. A blind man could see it. They pull Julian out of a locked basement, leave an empty truck for the cops, and now they want to talk over dinner? They will put a hole in your back the second you sit down.""If I do not go, they pull the commercial operating license on the tower by midnight," I said, leaning over the counter as I pulled on a clean black long-sleeve shirt.Every movement sent a hot, sharp tear through my side. The white gauze was already stained with a fresh spot of red, but I did not stop buttoning the cuffs."Let them pull the license!" Marcus growled, his scarred face dark with anger. "We have the physical deed! We have the court order!""The court order only freezes the physical building, Marcus," Evelyn said, stepping into the kitchen with her laptop under her arm. "It does not control th

"Down! Get down!"Marcus bellowed through the shattered entryway. The heavy diesel exhaust rolled into the luxury room in thick, blue clouds, choking the air with the smell of burning oil and raw torque.The guard behind Julian fired three wild rounds from his automatic rifle. The heavy slugs sparked uselessly against the reinforced steel grille Marcus had welded across the excavator cab. Marcus slammed the hydraulic controls forward. The giant four-prong steel claw swung horizontally with a deafening screech of stressed metal, sweeping across the dining area. The marble table snapped in half like a dry biscuit. Broken china, silver platters, and blood-soaked paperwork flew into the air as the two armed guards scrambled backward against the concrete wall, diving to avoid being crushed into pulp.Victor Cross was on his knees beneath the splintered wood, screaming in absolute agony as he clutched his impaled hand, his tailored suit completely ruined with red gore.I lunged to the si

"Get in the front seat, Leo!"Marcus did not wait for the troopers to finish securing Richard. He hauled me by the collar of my blanket, shoving me into the passenger seat of the lead police cruiser before the engine even settled. Evelyn threw herself into the back, slamming the door shut as Marcus stomped the gas pedal flat to the floorboards.The cruiser's siren screamed into the night air. The heavy tires spun against the wet gravel, launching us out of the airfield onto the main expressway toward the city center."How much thermite did they bring?" I shouted over the wail of the siren, clutching my torn ribs as the car bounced violently over a bridge seam."The radio report said three heavy crates," Evelyn said, leaning between our seats with her radio handset pressed against her ear. "Victor Cross sent his private demolition squad. If those charges ignite against the steel support core, the entire fifty-story tower collapses into the subway tunnels in under twelve minutes.""Twe

The harsh smell of antiseptic woke me.  Beeping monitors sounded beside my left ear. A tight oxygen mask was strapped over my nose and mouth, and every breath felt like a dull ache across my tightly wrapped chest.  I looked down. Heavy medical tape held fresh surgical stitches along my ribs. An IV tube ran into the back of my hand, pumping cold saline into my veins. "Do not try to sit up, kid." Marcus sat in a small vinyl chair beside the bed. His broad hands were wrapped in clean white bandages, holding a paper cup of black coffee. He looked exhausted, the dark circles under his eyes deep and hollow. I pulled the oxygen mask down to my chin. My throat felt like dry sandpaper. "What time is it?" "Six in the morning," Marcus said, setting his coffee cup on the metal side table. "You were under for five hours. The trauma surgeon h

"Nobody touches that elevator."Marcus grabbed my arm before I could take half a step toward the lobby lift doors. His scarred face was grim, veins pulsing along his temple."Julian is out of his mind, Leo. He has nothing left to lose. You step into that ground-floor lobby, and he triggers that canister before you can draw a breath.""If I do not step down there, Marcus, three hundred employees in the lower administrative floors die in ninety seconds," I said, pulling my sleeve free. The stitches across my ribs pulled violently. A dull, throbbing heat spiked through my side, but the fog of painkillers and surgical fatigue had cleared. My head was cold, sharp, and entirely focused."Evelyn," I said, turning toward the desk. "Access the environmental control sub-routine for the central HVAC trunk."Evelyn's fingers were already hammering the keyboard of the terminal. "The entire ventilation network runs through the Phase Four automated bypass you coded into the building.""Reroute the