Ron Donaldo: Rise Of The Apex Don

Chapter 41

Silas pushed his glasses up. He smiled. "Yes, Sir. Marcus Thorne just entered the Sterling Tech building fifteen minutes ago. The power is still out in the city, but the building’s emergency generators are running. Marcus is currently in his ninetieth-floor office."

"And Vera?" Ron asked. 

"She is in position," Silas answered, tapping a button on his keyboard. 

The main computer screen changed. It showed a live video feed from a tiny, hidden camera. The camera was moving slowly down a long, carpeted hallway. 

Vera was the Iron Legion’s master forger and con artist. She was an absolute genius at pretending to be other people. Before Ron went to prison, Vera used to rob fancy casinos by pretending to be a wealthy princess. 

Now, she was playing the most important role of her life. 

"Turn up the audio," Ron commanded. He leaned closer to the screen. He wanted to watch Marcus Thorne lose his final piece of hope. 

High above the city, on the ninetieth floor of Sterling Tech, Marcus Thorne was completely losing his mind. 

His beautiful, expensive corner office was totally ruined. The huge glass windows were shattered from the earlier gunfight. The cold wind howled into the room, blowing papers everywhere. The emergency lights cast a sickly, yellow glow over the expensive furniture. 

Marcus was sweating heavily. His expensive gray suit was covered in dirt, mud, and water from his long run back to the city. His hair was a wild mess. 

He stood in front of a heavy metal paper shredder. 

Rrrrrrrng. 

The machine ate a stack of secret banking documents, turning them into tiny strips of white paper. 

"Hurry, hurry, hurry," Marcus whispered to himself in absolute panic. His hands were shaking. 

He knew the stock market had crashed to zero. He knew the FBI had raided the gala and arrested the Mayor. He knew his company was dead. 

But Marcus did not care about the company anymore. He only cared about himself. 

Hidden behind a beautiful painting on the wall was a secret wall safe. Marcus had already opened it. Inside were thick stacks of hundred-dollar bills, fake passports, and a small black ledger. The ledger contained the secret account numbers for his private, personal bank accounts in the Cayman Islands. These were the accounts he had hidden from everyone, even from The Director and Theresa. 

He just needed to shred the physical evidence connecting him to the bribes. Then, he could take the cash, run down the stairs, steal a car, and drive to Mexico. He could start a new life. He could still be rich. 

Suddenly, the heavy wooden door to his office slowly pushed open. 

Marcus jumped in pure terror. He dropped a stack of papers on the floor. He turned around quickly. 

A woman stood in the doorway. 

She wore a very strict, sharp, dark gray business suit. Her dark hair was pulled back tightly into a perfect bun. She wore thick, black-rimmed glasses. She held a heavy, black leather briefcase in her left hand. She looked incredibly cold, professional, and powerful. 

It was Vera. But to Marcus, she looked exactly like the worst nightmare of a corrupt businessman. 

"Who... who are you?" Marcus stammered, backing away from the shredder. "How did you get in here? The building is locked down!"

The woman walked into the ruined office. Her high heels clicked sharply on the floor. She did not look scared of the broken windows or the cold wind. She looked at Marcus with total disgust. 

"My name is Agent Victoria Black," Vera said. Her voice was sharp, loud, and completely authoritative. She sounded exactly like a government official. "I am a Senior Auditor for the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC."

Marcus felt the blood drain completely from his face. "The SEC? Here? Now?"

"Yes, Mr. Thorne," Vera said. She walked over to his large glass desk. She placed the heavy black briefcase onto the desk. She clicked the two silver latches open. Snap. Snap. 

Vera pulled out a thick stack of official-looking papers with massive red stamps on them. (She had forged them perfectly in the back of the command truck one hour ago.)

"As of 9:45 AM this morning," Vera continued, reading from the fake paper, "trading on Sterling Tech was completely halted. The SEC has officially frozen every single public bank account attached to this company. The FBI is currently securing the lower floors of this building. I was sent ahead to secure the executive office and conduct a physical audit of your personal records."

Marcus swallowed hard. His throat felt like dry sand. "Agent Black, listen to me. There has been a terrible mistake. A terrorist named Ron Donaldo hacked our systems. He planted fake files to make us look bad!"

Vera slowly looked up from her papers. She stared directly into Marcus’s eyes. Her gaze was as cold as ice. 

"Do not insult my intelligence, Mr. Thorne," Vera said sharply. "I have read the files. I have seen the fifty billion dollars in secret offshore debt. I have seen the transfer records to Mayor Higgins. We know everything about the shadow accounts. You are going to federal prison for the rest of your natural life."

Marcus began to shake violently. The walls were closing in completely. He was trapped. 

He looked at the open wall safe. He looked at the shredder. He looked at the strict, cold government agent standing in his office. 

His core struggle was greed. He believed that every single person in the world had a price. He believed that money could buy him out of any problem. He just had to find her price. 

Marcus wiped the heavy sweat from his forehead. He forced himself to smile. It was a weak, pathetic smile.