Chapter 9 - The Crossfire
The flashing red and blue lights of the federal vehicles flooded through the shattered glass of the front foyer as tactical agents in full riot gear swarmed the hallway.
“Drop your weapons! Hands where we can see them!” shouted the lead agent, his assault rifle raised and aimed directly at Viktor Vance on the landing.
Viktor didn't panic. He didn't even flinch. He slowly raised his hands to shoulder height, turning his head to look back down at me with a calm, chilling smile.
“It seems Director Hayes moves faster than I anticipated,” Viktor said smoothly, his voice pitched so only I could hear. “This isn't over, Ms. Sterling. The debt remains.”
Two tactical agents rushed up the stairs, shoving Viktor against the mahogany railing and slamming plastic zip-ties around his wrists. “Clear!” one shouted into his radio. “Suspect in custody!”
Director Hayes himself walked through the shattered front door a moment later, his trench coat swirling around his ankles as he surveyed the chaos in the foyer. He looked up the stairs, catching my eye.
“Are you alright, Emma?” Hayes called out, stepping up the first few stairs.
“I’m fine, Arthur,” I said, walking slowly down the stairs past the struggling agents and Viktor Vance. “Though your timing could have been three minutes earlier before my antique front door was destroyed.”
Hayes offered a tight, relieved smile. “Be glad we got here when we did. Viktor Vance is a ghost in the international financial underworld. Interpol has been trying to nail him for three years on racketeering and asset seizure extortion.”
As Viktor was led past me toward the exit, he paused for a fraction of a second, leaning in close enough for his breath to brush my ear. “You have the encrypted drive in your laptop pocket, Emma. But without the decryption key, it’s just digital garbage. And the key is in St. Lucia.”
The front door closed behind him, cutting off his chilling laughter. I stood in the ruined foyer amidst glittering shards of stained glass, my mind racing.
The decryption key. The financial drive I had uploaded to the DOJ server was encrypted with a secondary biometric and alphanumeric key that Daniel and Vanessa kept on a secure private server located in their St. Lucia condo.
Without that key, the federal prosecutors couldn't unlock the master ledger proving Viktor Vance’s direct involvement in the syndicate’s extortion schemes. The evidence would remain locked behind impenetrable military-grade encryption.
“Emma?” Hayes asked, walking up to me with a concerned expression. “What did he say to you?”
“Nothing,” I lied smoothly, keeping my face expressionless. “Just standard criminal bravado.”
Hayes crossed his arms. “We’ve seized their local assets, and Viktor’s primary accounts are frozen. You’re safe here tonight. I’ll leave two armed agents outside until morning.”
“Thanks, Arthur,” I said quietly. “I’m going to go back upstairs and finish securing my files.”
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Once Hayes and the agents were stationed downstairs, I locked the study door from the inside. I opened my laptop and pulled up the encrypted file tree. Viktor was right—without the master key from St. Lucia, the DOJ prosecutors would hit a brick wall within forty-eight hours.
There was only one solution. I had to go to St. Lucia myself.
