Chapter 4 - The Escape from Vanguard
Before Vance could pull the trigger, I grabbed the heavy fire extinguisher mounted on the wall beside the server rack and slammed it against the main power junction box.
A blinding arc of blue sparks exploded into the room, followed by a deafening CRACK as the emergency circuit breakers blew. The lights died instantly, plunging the server room into pitch darkness.
Vance fired twice. The silenced pops echoed like sharp whips in the enclosed space, bullets whistling past my ear and shattering the glass server cabinets behind me.
"Get him!" Vance screamed, his suave demeanor shattering into rage.
I ripped the cloning drive from the console, shoved it into my pocket, and sprinted through the darkness toward the emergency exit at the back of the server room. I hit the crash bar with my shoulder, bursting into the basement delivery bay.
Behind me, the two security guards burst through the door, their flashlights cutting through the gloom.
"Stop!" one shouted, drawing his weapon.
I didn't stop. I leaped over a stack of wooden pallets, grabbed a heavy steel crowbar from a maintenance cart, and wedged it through the handles of the double doors behind me just as the guards hit them from the other side. The metal strained and bent, but held.
I ran up the concrete ramp leading to the outdoor loading dock. The rain was coming down in torrents now, washing over my face as I hit the open air.
In the distance, the high-pitched wail of state police sirens cut through the storm. Detective Miller was coming.
Vance stepped out onto the upper catwalk overlooking the loading dock, holding an umbrella in one hand and his gun in the other.
"You can't run from this, Alex!" Vance yelled down over the sound of rain and sirens. "I own the district attorney! I own the state inspectors! You have a dead wife, a disgraced brother, and a child who will grow up in foster care when I'm done with you!"
"You don't own my father," I roared back, stepping out into the middle of the flooded courtyard. "And you don't own Clara's truth!"
Four state police cruisers tore around the corner of the building, their red and blue strobe lights illuminating the rain like neon fire. They screeched to a halt, blocking all exits. Armed officers spilled out, rifles raised.
"STATE POLICE! DROP YOUR WEAPONS! STEP AWAY FROM THE CATWALK!" Miller’s voice boomed through a megaphone.
Vance’s security guards scrambled back into the building, abandoning their boss. Vance stood alone on the catwalk, the rain pouring over his expensive suit as he slowly lowered his gun. He looked down at me, his eyes filled with pure venom.
Miller rushed up to me, pulling me behind the cover of a police cruiser. "Did you get it?"
I pulled the glowing cloning drive from my pocket and held it out. "Everything. Shipping manifests, offshore accounts, wire transfers to Derek, and the direct orders Vance sent to my mother’s house."
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Miller took the drive, his face grim. "It's over for him."
As the officers bounded up the stairs to place handcuffs on Vance, I collapsed against the side of the police car, looking up at the dark sky. The storm was far from over, but for the first time since I stepped foot in my house, I felt Clara’s presence beside me, whispering that we had taken the first step toward justice.
