Chapter 19 - The Smoke ReturnsThe smell hit me first.
It wasn't wood smoke this time. It was the sharp, chemical tang of electrical wiring and heavy industrial accelerant—the exact same scent that had clawed its way under my bedroom door two years ago.
"They're trying to burn us out again," I whispered, memories of the trap flashing behind my eyes with blinding clarity.
"Not this time," Marcus said coldly. He reached beneath his jacket, pulling out a heavy, compact emergency transceiver and a sleek digital tablet. "Richard left a silent partner behind. Someone we missed in the federal sweeps. But they walked right into our digital honeypot."
On Marcus’s tablet screen, a live security feed flickered to life.
Parked in the blind spot behind the community center's utility shed was a nondescript utility van. Inside sat a tall, lean man in a maintenance uniform, frantically typing code onto a laptop while holding a remote detonator connected to the building's basement gas lines.
It was Thomas Vance—Julian’s younger brother, who had spent decades operating in the shadows of corporate bankruptcy courts, liquidating assets for the syndicate.
"He thinks he’s burning down our legacy," Marcus murmured, a dangerous smile touching the corner of his mouth. "He doesn't realize we locked the facility’s internal security shutters the moment the perimeter sensor tripped."
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Through the reinforced glass of the lobby windows, we watched Thomas realize his remote trigger wasn't working. He slammed his fist against his laptop dashboard in sudden, frantic panic as he tried to open the van doors.
He didn't know that Marcus had already overridden the digital locks on his vehicle, trapping him inside a steel cage of his own design.
