Chapter 17 - The Siege of TruthBy 11:00 PM, the top two floors of the Nora’s Shield Foundation were a fortress.
Jax had successfully evacuated Nora and my brother to the secure safehouse. Now, it was just Jax, Sarah, and me, locked inside the high-rise. We had severed the elevators, barricaded the stairwells, and tapped into the building's central security feed.
I sat at the massive glass table in the main conference room, my laptop open. The cloned hard drive was plugged in. I wasn't just holding onto the files; I was writing a mass-execution script. I was linking the decrypted ledger of the Vanguard Trust—complete with the names of all thirty-two billionaire clients who had used the Blackwood Institute—directly to the secure drop-boxes of the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Department of Justice.
"Upload is at 60%," I muttered, watching the green bar slowly inch across the screen.
"We’ve got company," Jax announced, his voice crackling over the radio on the table. He was stationed in the server room down the hall, monitoring the cameras. "Two unmarked black vans just pulled into the loading dock. A dozen men in tactical gear. They have breaching tools. They aren't cops, David. These are private military contractors."
"How long until they reach the top floor?" I asked, my fingers flying across the keyboard to bypass the server's throttling limits.
"Five minutes," Jax replied calmly. "I’m engaging the magnetic locks on the fire doors. That will buy us another three."
Sarah sat next to me, her hands shaking as she clutched her cell phone. "I have the FBI Director on speed dial. Do I make the call?"
"Not yet," I said, my eyes glued to the screen. "Upload is at 75%. If the FBI raids the building now, Vanguard’s lawyers will file an emergency injunction and classify the hard drive as sealed evidence. The public will never see it. The names have to hit the press before the feds get here. We need the world to see the monsters in the light."
A massive, echoing BOOM shook the floorboards. Dust rained down from the ceiling tiles.
"They blew the stairwell barricade," Jax’s voice came over the radio, tense but steady. "They’re on our floor. Initiating defensive protocols."
The lights in the conference room abruptly shut off, plunging us into total darkness, save for the blue glow of my laptop screen. The building's emergency sirens began to wail. Outside the heavy mahogany doors, I could hear the muffled shouts of the mercenaries and the heavy thud of boots on the carpet.
Upload at 85%.
"Open the door, Sterling!" a harsh, synthesized voice barked from the hallway. "Hand over the drive, and you live. You have ten seconds before we use C-4 on the hinges!"
I ignored them. I typed the final execution command, holding my finger over the 'Enter' key.
Upload at 95%.
"David, they're setting charges!" Sarah whispered frantically, backing away from the door.
"Five seconds!" I murmured.
98%... 99%...
A deafening explosion ripped the mahogany doors completely off their hinges, sending wood splinters and smoke blasting into the conference room. Four mercenaries wearing night-vision goggles and holding suppressed assault rifles flooded into the room, their laser sights cutting through the dust, pinning directly on my chest.
"Step away from the computer!" the lead mercenary commanded, aiming his weapon at my head.
100%.
I slammed my finger down on the 'Enter' key.
TRANSMISSION COMPLETE.
"It's too late," I said, standing up slowly and raising my hands, a fierce, terrifying smile breaking across my face. "The files are gone. The world knows everything."
The mercenary growled, stepping forward to strike me with the butt of his rifle.
Suddenly, the glass windows of the conference room shattered inward in a spectacular explosion of tempered glass. FBI SWAT teams, having rappelled down from the roof of the high-rise, swung into the room on tactical ropes, their weapons raised and flashlights blinding the mercenaries.
"FBI! DROP YOUR WEAPONS!" Agent Harrison roared, stepping through the shattered glass, his tactical vest covered in glass shards.
The mercenaries, realizing they were completely outgunned and surrounded, slowly lowered their rifles and dropped to their knees. Jax walked out of the server room, a smug grin on his face, holding a fire axe he had used to disable their jamming equipment.
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Agent Harrison walked up to me, looking at the glowing screen of my laptop. "Tell me you got it out, David."
"Check your email, Harrison," I replied, smoothing the lapels of my suit jacket. "I just gave you the names of thirty-two of the most powerful child abusers on the planet. I suggest you start writing warrants."
