Chapter 3 - A TEMPORARY ALLIANCE
The stall door opened slowly, with a high-pitched squeak.
Sarah emerged first, her thin frame tensed like a coiled spring, her eyes darting past Richard toward the hallway exit. She held Emma closely against her side, her arm wrapped tightly around her daughter's waist.
Up close, Richard could see the sheer exhaustion etched into her features. Her cheeks were hollow, her dark eyes sunken, yet there was a fierce, sharp intelligence behind her gaze that refused to break.
"Who are you?" Sarah demanded, her voice low and guarded. "Why did you intervene?"
"My name is Richard Vance," he said gently, taking a small step back to give her space. "And I intervened because I don't like watching armed men corner women and little girls in public restrooms."
Sarah's eyes narrowed. "Vance? You told him your name was Vance?"
"It happens to be my actual surname," Richard smiled faintly. "Coincidence, I assure you. No relation to your friend in the raincoat."
Emma peeked out from behind her mother’s coat, her dark curls tumbling over her forehead. She looked at Richard, then down at his shiny shoes, then up at his face.
"Are you going to buy my mommy a burger?" Emma asked innocently.
Sarah’s face flushed with a mixture of shame and fierce protectiveness. "Emma, hush."
Richard looked at the little girl, his heart twisting slightly. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a clean leather wallet, pulling out a crisp hundred-dollar bill and setting it on the sink counter.
"I can do better than a burger," Richard said softly, looking back at Sarah. "Your husband’s security team isn't going to leave the block. They’ll have spotters at the front exit, the back delivery alley, and likely the subway entrance on 48th Street. If you walk out there alone, they’ll pick you up within two minutes."
Sarah knew he was right. Victor was methodical. The moment he stepped outside, he would set up a perimeter.
"Why do you care?" Sarah asked, her voice tight with suspicion. "You don't know me. You don't know what Julian is capable of."
"I know Julian Sterling," Richard said, his expression turning serious. "Vanguard Equity considered shorting Sterling Global stock six months ago after noticing massive irregularities in their international freight filings. Julian Sterling is a ruthless, arrogant megalomaniac who thinks laws are suggestions for poor people."
Richard pointed toward the rear door of the restroom, which led to a private utility corridor for staff.
"My driver is parked in the alley behind the kitchen," Richard explained. "It's a black Maybach with tinted glass. If you come with me right now, we can be out of the midtown grid before Victor Vance realizes you didn't leave through the lobby."
Sarah looked down at Emma. The child was pale, her small lips chapped, trembling from the cold air that leaked under the door frame. Sarah had no money left. Her phone was off to prevent location tracking. She was out of options, out of strength, and running out of time.
"If you try anything..." Sarah warned, her eyes burning with a mother's lethal threat.
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"If I try anything, you can hit me with that brass paper towel dispenser," Richard replied flatly. "Deal?"
Sarah took a deep breath, clutching Emma’s hand tightly. "Deal."
