Chapter 6 - THE RAT IN THE BOARDROOMThe threat hung heavy in the air. Sixty seconds.
Richard didn't panic. He walked over to the bunker’s main control panel and flicked a switch, severing the external air intake and switching the system to internal oxygen tanks.
“You have five minutes of air in those tanks, Arthur,” Richard said into the comms, his voice smooth and terrifyingly calm. “And you’re standing on my property.”
“Your property is surrounded by thirty heavy tactical contractors, Richard,” Sterling’s voice sneered through the speaker. “You have no police support. The local precinct has been instructed to stand down due to a ‘national security drill.’ You are alone.”
“I’m never alone,” Richard replied.
He turned to Sarah and Mia. “I need you two to get into the escape pod beneath the floorboards. It leads to an abandoned drainage tunnel two miles south.”
“What about you?” Sarah asked, gripping his arm.
“I’m going to end this,” Richard said. He pulled the combined toy robot from the table and plugged it directly into his personal satellite uplink terminal. “Mia, how long does the master wipe take?”
Mia looked at the progress bar on the screen. “Four minutes.”
“Then I’m giving us four minutes,” Richard said. He looked at Colin. “If you want redemption, Colin, you take Sarah and Mia through that tunnel and make sure they reach the Federal Building in Boston.”
Colin nodded frantically. “I swear on my life, sir.”
Richard opened a hidden gun safe in the wall, pulling out a tactical vest and two extra magazines for his sidearm. He looked at Ethan, who was sleeping under the care of the doctor inside the sealed medical room.
“Keep him safe,” Richard told the doctor.
With a heavy hydraulic groan, the steel blast doors of the bunker began to buckle as thermal charges exploded outside. Splinters of metal flew into the entry hall.
Richard stepped forward into the narrow hallway, positioning himself behind a concrete barrier.
The heavy doors collapsed inward. Mercenaries in matte-black armor poured through the opening, weapons raised.
Richard fired with disciplined, terrifying accuracy, dropping the first two operatives before they could acquire their targets. The narrow hallway turned into a kill zone, the roar of gunfire deafening within the enclosed concrete walls.
Above the sound of the firefight, Richard heard the terminal terminal beep behind him.
TRANSFER 100% COMPLETE. CORPORATE SERVERS PURGED.
On the main monitor, millions of confidential files—schematics, illegal offshore accounts, human trial logs, and hit orders—were instantly routed to every major federal law enforcement agency and international news outlet in the world.
May you like
Through his tactical headset, Richard heard Arthur Sterling let out a strangled gasp. “What did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO?”
“I just liquidated your assets, Arthur,” Richard growled into the mic, popping a fresh magazine into his pistol. “And the market just crashed.”
