The Emergence of the Legacy Man

CHAPTER SEVEN

Mr. Sanderson gripped the armrest so tightly his knuckles turned white, his gaze leveled against the tattered man before him. Mr. Sanderson wasn't stupid and was of course suspicious of the unkempt man who happened to know the secret of the bank and although he found it strange that Keith knew that couldn't mean anything since Mr. Sanderson was sure the vault had belonged to the ruling class back then and it couldn't possibly belong to a low life who was money hungry. 

"I just want a chance and I promise I'll be out of here before you even bat your lashes," Keith said, his voice thick with desperation, leaning against the desk for support.

Mr. Sanderson glanced briefly at the two men behind Keith ready to bundle him out and if necessary with force, then dragged his gaze back to Keith. As much as he wanted to see this homeless man get kicked out he also could not ignore the fact that Keith does have the right to a chance. And there was probably nothing to worry about since no one could get into the vault, including himself even though he was the manager, the only people entitled to unlocking it were the true owners and their heirs. Mr. Sanderson knew he had nothing to worry about since the vault was guarded with not only a DNA authentication sign-in system and fingerprint but also a complex passcode, and it has proven that with all the security systems incorporated with the vault, it was impossible for anyone to ever break through. 

"Fine, you do deserve a chance and I shall not deny you that," Mr. Sanderson said releasing his grip from the armrest of his seat, pushing up his chair. 

Keith's shoulders were visibly relaxed. "Thank you."

Mr. Sanderson's glare didn't waver but the corners of his lips pulled up into a sinister smile, he couldn't wait for this fool to humiliate himself when they reached the vault so he would no longer hold back with dealing with this imposter, and lock him behind bars to probe him on how he found out about the secret of the top tier account.

"This way."

Keith peeped over his shoulder and to his relief the bulky men were not making any more attempts to grab him. He watched as Mr. Sanderson moved from behind his desk, rolling his shoulder and moving towards the shelf by the right for a moment Keith thought Mr. Sanderson would walk through the wall but instead, he moved the trophy on the shelf and the wall pushed open revealing a pathway. Keith pushed off the desk where he was leaning half his weight to support his aching body, anticipation building inside him as he followed behind Mr. Sanderson. Keith knew the vault would be located somewhere in a restricted area and off-limits to everyone except authorized personnel, and he was certain nobody outside those authorized people was aware of this secret door. The passageway to the vault was long and bland like Mr. Sanderson's office, the walls painted in dark, unappealing colors with no decorations. The sound of their footsteps echoed through the place and Keith doubted there would be anyone inside since no one probably knew about this place but the place had loads of security cameras and the walls and windows were all reinforced.

It wasn't long before they approached the vault, its appearance was solid and imposing, with an armored wall and a tightly fashioned door closed shut. The walls looked at least a foot thick, and the door itself was as expected looked thicker, maybe about three feet thick. And as expected the concrete, steel rod door looked impenetrable too. 

"Here we are, Mr. Thompson." Mr. Sanderson said, stepping back to give him space with the steel door. "Do your thing, but I must remind you it is just one chance, and when that chance is over with I'll have my men throw you out and escort you behind bars where you belong." His voice was stern and his face hard with a hint of mockery. 

Keith kept his expression neutral as he twirled around to face the steel door that consisted of a large combination lock, and keypad. The first requirement for the vault was the passcode just as Keith expected, exhaling loudly, he raised his arm to the steel door.

"One-nine-one-two," Keith recited under his breath as he typed the numbers in.

The silence was thick as if nothing happened, the smirk on Mr. Sanderson's face grew wider by the passing seconds and he nudged his head at the two security men behind them, signaling them to grab Keith. But as they made to move the door beeped, the screen blinking the word pass then accompanied by a clicking sound. Mr. Sanderson's jaw clenched, his wide eyes taking in the man who just got through the first passcode, too surprised to say anything.

Keith puffed in relief as the keypad revealed a fingerprint censor and he rubbed his fingers against the material of his pants and then proceeded to place his thumb first over the censor but the system blazed red.

Mr. Sanderson's smirk came back in full force. "Grab him men," he ordered.

"Wait," Keith growled. "Give me another chance."

Mr. Sanderson shook his head in disagreement, "No, your chance is used up, men take him out."

"It must be the dirt," Keith yelled, causing everyone to halt. "My hands are dirty probably because of the dirt from jail and…"

"No excuses." Mr. Sanderson barked.

"But think about it if I was able to pass the first lock then I wasn't just saying things, give me another chance."

Mr. Sanderson glanced at the security men and could tell they agreed with Keith. "Get him water and disinfectant for his hand," he growled, "Now if it doesn't work then there would be no excuse."

Keith washed his hands thoroughly the moment the bowl of water arrived, drying it with the towel they also brought, and then applying the disinfectant. Keith prayed quietly as he turned to face the vault again, he held his breath as he placed his thumb unto it, and to his surprise, it still blazed red. Keith's heart raced, but he didn't wait for Mr. Sanderson's approval before pressing his finger onto the censor.

"Grab this lying…" Mr. Sanderson choked on the rest of his word as the censor beamed green and the word granted displayed on the censor. Mr. Sanderson's jaw dropped open.

Keith felt his heart calm a bit, as the next stage required him to place his thumb on the device to get a blood sample. He knew he would have no trouble with this as he easily placed his thumb feeling something pierce in to get a drop of his blood for the DNA authentication. It didn't take much time as the computer beeped green and a woman's voice came next;

"Welcome back."

Keith beamed. Mr. Sanderson stumbled back luckily the wall behind him kept him from falling over, he couldn't believe the sight before him and regret filled him as he stared at Keith Thompson who had successfully proven himself at the end.