Chapter 15 - The Shadow of Lake Michigan
I didn't waste breath arguing. As Frank raised his weapon to pull the trigger, I threw the heavy steel lockbox directly at his head.
The box struck him square in the face, sending his suppressed shot wildly into the ceiling plaster. Frank stumbled back, blood spurting from his nose. I lunged forward, tackling my brother through the glass bedroom window onto the snow-covered balcony outside.
We tumbled into the freezing drift. Frank slashed at my face with the gun barrel, but rage fueled every cell of my body. I grabbed his wrist, slamming it repeatedly against the iron balcony railing until the weapon dropped into the deep snow below.
I pinned him down, my knees crushing his chest. "Why, Frank?! We were brothers!"
"Dad chose you!" Frank spat, coughing blood onto the white snow. "He left you the company! He left you the prestige! I did all the dirty work for twenty years while you played the golden boy! Marcus promised me total ownership once you were out of the picture!"
"Where is the detonator?" I demanded, noticing a digital timer clipped to his tactical vest.
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Frank laughed hysterically, his teeth stained red. "The vault beneath the tower is set to purge at midnight, Charles! Every record, every piece of evidence, and your beloved Sarah... vaporized in a thermite explosion!"
I struck him across the jaw, knocking him unconscious, pulled the master access keycard from his vest, and sprinted toward my car.
