Chapter 6 - The Desperate Move
Cornered animals are always the most dangerous.
Senator Richard Vance stood in the study of his lakefront mansion, staring at a bank of monitors showing federal agents loading boxes of files from his driveway into unmarked vans. His political career was dead, his financial empire was frozen, and an indictment for murder, fraud, and environmental terrorism was hours away.
Miller stood near the fireplace, holding a secure satellite phone.
"The federal prosecutor rejected the plea offer, Senator," Miller reported grimly. "Mercer’s legal team provided undeniable proof of the bribe payments to the municipal inspectors."
Vance’s face twisted into a mask of pure rage. He smashed a crystal whiskey glass against the stone fireplace, shattering it into a hundred glittering pieces.
"Saurin Mercer thinks he’s a hero," Vance snarled, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "He thinks he can take everything I’ve built over thirty years and walk away with a clean conscience!"
"What are your orders, sir?" Miller asked. "The federal marshals will be here with an arrest warrant by noon."
Vance stepped up to his desk, pulling a heavy silver key from his pocket and unlocking the bottom drawer. Inside lay a remote radio detonator connected to a series of industrial demolition charges his crew had secretly rigged inside Mercer Tower’s Sub-Level 3 during the initial construction phase—an insurance policy meant to cover up any potential inspection failure.
"If I'm going to prison, Mercer Holdings is coming with me," Vance said, his voice trembling with unhinged malice. "He wants to fix the foundation? Let's see him fix three hundred thousand tons of collapsing steel."
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"Senator, if you detonate those lower charges now, the entire north block will collapse," Miller warned, taken aback. "There are fifty city inspectors and engineers on site right now evaluating the site!"
"Then they should have chosen a different profession," Vance snapped, pressing a button on the satellite phone. "Set the timer for forty-five minutes. And make sure Saurin Mercer knows who brought his tower down."
