Chapter 16 - The Third-Floor GhostArmed with a portable network sniffer and my toolkit, I took the service stairs two at a time up to the third floor—the administrative wing where junior executives and compliance officers normally worked.
The floor was dark, save for the emergency exit signs casting a dim red glow over the deserted cubicles. But as I approached office 304—the former office of Caleb’s chief financial deputy, a slick corporate climber named Julian Vance (no relation to Detective Vance)—I noticed a faint sliver of light coming from beneath the wooden door.
I crept forward silently, my rubber-soled boots making no sound against the industrial carpeting.
I reached out, grabbed the brass doorknob, and threw the door open with a sharp, explosive shove.
"All right, whoever you—"
The room was empty.
A laptop sat plugged directly into the wall ethernet port, its screen glowing with an active command-line prompt. Next to it sat an open cup of coffee that was still steaming.
"He just left," I murmured, stepping into the office.
Before I could reach for the laptop, the heavy office door slammed shut behind me with a sickening click.
A heavy iron deadbolt slid into place from the outside.
"What the—?!" I lunged forward, slamming my shoulder against the wood. "Hey! Open the door!"
"Sorry, Bishop," a muffled voice echoed from the hallway through the thick wood. "Caleb sends his regards."
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Heavy footsteps retreated down the corridor, fading rapidly toward the emergency stairwell.
I pulled out my burner phone. No signal. The third-floor walls were lined with copper-mesh acoustic dampening—a legacy security feature left over from the old regime to prevent corporate espionage. I was trapped in an interior Faraday cage with no phone service and no way out.
