Chapter 1 - The Observer
Julian Sterling did not blink as he watched the digital playback on his massive monitor.
He rewound the intersection security footage for the seventeenth time.
Every pixel of the video burned into his memory.
He watched the heavy SUV plunge over the concrete edge.
He watched the terrified crowd freeze in panic.
And then, he watched the woman in the neon orange vest spring into action.
He observed her fearless sprint toward the deadly electrical sparks.
He analyzed the sheer, desperate strength she used to pry his grandmother from the mangled steel.
Julian’s second-in-command, a broad-shouldered man named Elias, stepped quietly into the penthouse office.
Elias placed a thin, manila folder onto the polished mahogany desk.
“Her name is Clara Hayes,” Elias said, his voice a low rumble.
“She is a single mother and a low-level grid technician for MetroGrid Utilities.”
Julian picked up the file and opened it slowly.
His dark eyes scanned the meager details of her life.
He saw the tragic death of her husband eighteen months ago.
He saw the mounting debts and the eviction notices threatening her small family.
“Where is she right now?” Julian asked, his tone deceptively calm.
“She is at her apartment in the south end,” Elias replied.
“But there is something else you should know, Mr Sterling.”
Julian looked up from the papers.
“MetroGrid suspended her without pay this afternoon,” Elias continued.
“Her regional director, Marcus Thorne, punished her for abandoning her post to save your grandmother.”
A dangerous, icy silence filled the penthouse.
Julian closed the folder with a sharp snap.
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“Prepare the car,” Julian ordered, standing up from his desk.
“We are going to pay a visit to Marcus Thorne.”
