Chapter 2 - The Architect's Maze
The subterranean tunnels beneath Vance Manor weren't just a basement. They were a highly classified, climate-controlled bunker system that Elise herself had designed. They housed the servers for Vance Innovations and a panic room built to withstand a nuclear blast.
And for four years, they had been her prison.
Julian left Elise under the guard of his three most loyal men, instructing them to give her space and absolute silence. He drew the matte-black Glock 19 from the hidden holster at the small of his back and descended the service stairwell.
The air down here was cold. Sterile. It smelled of ozone and damp concrete.
"Sir, we have him cornered in Sector 4," the radio crackled in Julian's ear. "The server farm."
Julian moved silently through the dim corridors. The betrayal tasted like ash in his mouth. Keller had been a Navy SEAL. A brother in arms. Julian had paid for his daughter’s medical treatments. He had bought him a home.
When Julian pushed through the reinforced steel doors of Sector 4, the humming of massive servers filled the room. Blue LED lights blinked like a thousand mechanical eyes.
At the far end of the aisle, Bravo Team had their weapons trained on a massive silhouette.
Keller.
The security chief was breathing heavily, his hands raised in the air. He wasn't holding a weapon, but his eyes were darting frantically, looking for an exit he knew didn't exist.
"Julian," Keller gasped, sweat dripping from his shaved head. "Listen to me. You don't know the whole truth."
Julian walked down the aisle, his gun lowered but his finger hovering over the trigger.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't put a bullet in your kneecaps right now," Julian said coldly.
"Because Marcus threatened your life!" Keller shouted, his voice echoing off the metal servers. "He had a team of assassins ready to hit you in Tokyo four years ago. The only way he agreed to call them off was if I helped him take Elise out of the picture. He wanted her patents. He wanted total control of the board. I didn't kill her, Julian! I kept her alive!"
Julian stopped ten feet away.
"You kept her alive," Julian repeated, the words dripping with absolute disgust. "You chained my wife like a dog in her own house. You made her scrub the floors I walked on. You watched me break down, year after year, and you handed me the tissues."
"It was the only way to keep you both breathing!" Keller pleaded.
Julian didn't hesitate. He raised the Glock and fired a single round.
The gunshot was deafening in the enclosed space.
Keller screamed, collapsing onto the grating, clutching his shattered right knee. Blood rapidly pooled around his combat boots.
Julian walked over, looking down at the agonizingly writhing man.
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"Medic," Julian said calmly into his radio. "Patch him up. I want him awake for the police. And strip him of his comms."
Julian turned on his heel and walked out of the server farm. He had the pieces now. But he needed to see the cage.
