Chapter 6 - Darkness in the Spire
The fiftieth floor of the Sterling Spire was a sprawling complex of executive suites, private lounges, and Arthur's personal quarters. Under normal circumstances, it was a palace of light and luxury. Now, plunged into darkness with only the red glow of the emergency egress lights, it felt like a tomb.
Vance pushed Arthur down the corridor. "The hitter is wearing body armor. My shots hit center mass in the stairwell, but they didn't penetrate. He’s geared up."
"Julian has the override codes for the safe room," Arthur said, his heart hammering. "If he gets to Leo—"
"He won't," Vance promised grimly.
They reached Arthur's primary office. The heavy oak doors were intact. Vance knocked the secret rhythm. A moment later, the door cracked open. Maria Santos stood there, clutching a heavy brass bookend like a weapon, tears streaming down her face.
"Mr. Sterling!" Maria gasped, recognizing him. "Where is my son?"
"He is safe," Arthur assured her, stepping into the office. "He's in a reinforced bunker just behind that wall. You raised a very brave boy, Maria."
Before she could respond, the intercom on Arthur's desk crackled to life. The building's power was still down, but the internal emergency comms were hardwired.
“Arthur,” Julian's voice echoed through the speaker, distorted and breathless. “I know you're in there. I'm standing right outside the safe room's secondary maintenance hatch. I have the manual override codes. I'm going to open it.”
Arthur lunged for the intercom button. "Julian, if you touch that boy, I will spend the rest of my life ensuring you beg for death."
“The boy is the only witness who can place the assassin with the poison,” Julian laughed nervously. “He has to go, Arthur. It's just business.”
"Vance," Arthur commanded, stepping back from the desk. "Kill him."
Vance didn't need to be told twice. He sprinted toward the false bookshelf. But before he could reach it, the main office doors blew inward with a concussive blast.
The blonde assassin had used breaching charges.
Wood and smoke filled the room. Vance was thrown violently against the wall, momentarily stunned. Arthur threw himself over Maria, shielding her from the debris.
Through the thick smoke, the blonde man walked in. He leveled the tactical shotgun directly at Arthur's head.
"Nothing personal, Mr. Sterling," the assassin said, his voice cold and detached. "Your contract just got doubled."
Arthur stared down the barrel of the gun. He had spent his entire life building an empire, and it was going to end in smoke and darkness because of a corporate traitor.
A sudden, sharp click echoed from the shadows behind the assassin.
The assassin paused, turning his head a fraction of an inch.
Leo stood there.
The boy had somehow crawled out of the safe room's ventilation shaft. In his small, trembling hands, he held the heavy, customized taser that Arthur kept mounted on the wall for emergencies.
"Don't hurt him," Leo squeaked, his voice cracking with terror.
The assassin sneered. "Kid, put the toy down before I—"
Leo pulled the trigger.
The twin prongs shot across the room, burying themselves deep into the unarmored side of the assassin's neck. Fifty thousand volts of electricity surged through the killer's body. The blonde man convulsed violently, the shotgun discharging into the ceiling as he collapsed to the floor, twitching and incapacitated.
Arthur stared at the ten-year-old boy in absolute disbelief.
"Mom!" Leo dropped the taser and ran.
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Maria sobbed, catching her son in a desperate, crushing embrace. "Leo! Oh my god, my baby!"
Arthur looked at Vance, who was groggily pulling himself up from the floor. "Secure the hitter," Arthur said, his voice trembling slightly with adrenaline. "I'm going after Julian."
