Chapter 8 - The Federal SweepBefore Marcus could reach for his phone or signal his guards, the alleyway filled with flashing red and blue lights.
Three unmarked federal vehicles blocked both ends of the loading dock. Heavily armed federal economic crime agents poured out of the vans, led by Commander Thomas of the FBI’s Corporate Fraud Division.
Commander Thomas marched straight up to us, ignoring Marcus’s desperate scrambling. He stopped in front of me, snapped a crisp salute, and pulled out a clean digital tablet.
“Jackson! Good to see you in the field,” Commander Thomas said briskly. “We received your encrypted mainframe data dump thirty minutes ago. Warrants have already been executed at Julian Reed’s private estate in Geneva and the downtown financial offices of Vanguard Solutions.”
Marcus dropped to his knees, his expensive cashmere coat dragging in the oil-stained pavement. “Jackson... please. Fifteen years. We built this empire together.”
“We didn't build it together, Marcus,” I said, looking down at him without a shred of pity. “I built it. You just helped yourself to the inventory.”
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Commander Thomas motioned to two federal agents. “Marcus Vale, you are under arrest for federal wire fraud, racketeering, embezzlement, and conspiracy. Brent Voss, you are under arrest for assault and workplace intimidation.”
As heavy steel handcuffs clicked onto Marcus’s wrists and he was dragged toward the federal van, absolute silence descended upon the loading dock.
