Chapter 13 - Caught in the Act
The bright white overhead lights of the hallway suddenly clicked on, blinding Brad, Kevin, and Greg.
At the far end of the hallway, standing beside the principal’s office, was Leo Vance, accompanied by Principal Higgins and four armed police officers.
Brad gasped, dropping his laptop to the floor. “Leo? What... what are you doing here?!”
Leo walked slowly down the hallway, his footsteps echoing in the quiet night. He looked at the floor, where Brad’s laptop was still connected to the school network hub.
“I’ve owned the cybersecurity contract for the entire school district since last Tuesday, Brad,” Leo said calmly. “The moment your laptop connected to the physical port, my system alerted me.”
Principal Higgins stepped forward, his face red with anger. “Brad Sterling! Kevin Vance! Greg Miller! You broke into school property and attempted to sabotage our infrastructure?!”
“No! Principal Higgins, you don't understand!” Brad shouted, pointing frantically at Leo. “He’s framing us! Check his locker! He’s hiding stolen military codes in his locker right now! Search it!”
Leo walked over to his locker, opened it wide, and pulled out the small black USB drive Brad had planted moments earlier.
Leo held the drive up between two fingers.
“Is this the drive you planted, Brad?” Leo asked softly.
“See?! He has it!” Brad yelled at the police officers. “Arrest him!”
The lead police officer stepped forward, looking at Brad with deep pity. “Son, Mr. Vance contacted us two hours ago warning us that you were attempting to access black-market flash drives. We have full high-definition video coverage of you picking his lock and inserting that drive on our body cameras right now.”
Brad’s jaw dropped. He looked up at the ceiling and noticed three hidden, high-tech security cameras panning down directly at him.
“No... no!” Brad stammered, backing into the locker wall. “This isn't fair! You set me up!”
“You set yourself up, Brad,” Leo said quietly. “You thought revenge was a game of speed. You never realized it’s a game of chess. And you’ve been out of moves since the day you poured that coffee.”
The police officers moved in, slapping heavy steel handcuffs onto Brad, Kevin, and Greg.
“Brad Sterling, you are under arrest for breaking and entering, attempted computer espionage, and felony destruction of property,” the officer declared, dragging a screaming, flailing Brad toward the exit doors.
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“You won't get away with this, Vance!” Brad screamed, his voice breaking into desperate sobs. “I’ll kill you! I’ll destroy you!”
Leo didn't answer. He simply watched quietly as Brad was hauled out into the rainy night, surrounded by flashing red and blue police lights.
