Chapter 7 - THE NET CLOSES
"How did he find us?" Sarah asked, her blood running cold as she stared at the camera display. "I didn't connect to the internet! The USB drive was air-gapped!"
"He didn't track the computer," Richard said calmly, zooming in on the gray van’s license plate. "He tracked my car."
Sarah looked at him in confusion.
"The Maybach," Richard realized, his jaw tightening. "When I stepped into the alley behind McDonald's, Victor Vance was outside. He didn't see you get in, but he saw my license plate. A quick run through a corrupt DMV contact or a private toll-booth database, and he had the registration address for my Brooklyn property by nightfall."
"We have to leave," Sarah panicked, standing up, reaching for her laptop. "If he calls Julian, they'll bring ten men here. They'll break down the doors—"
"Sarah, look at the screen," Richard said, pointing to the monitor.
The gray van wasn't moving. Victor Vance sat inside, taking a sip from a paper cup, casually looking at his phone.
"He hasn't called in a raid team," Richard analyzed softly. "If Julian knew you were here with the ledgers, there would be three black SUVs breaching the garage gate right now. Victor is acting alone or with a small team. He's watching the house to confirm you're inside before he alerts Julian."
"Why?"
"Because Victor Vance is a mercenary," Richard said, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "If he tells Julian he found you, he gets his standard security retainer. But if he recovers the laptop himself, he holds the leverage over Julian Sterling. He can blackmail his own boss for millions."
Sarah stared at the screen. "So Victor hasn't told Julian yet."
"Not yet," Richard said. "Which gives us a narrow window of opportunity. Victor thinks he's the hunter here. He thinks he's sitting outside the house of a wealthy civilian who will panic and call the local police."
Richard turned to his desk, picking up a secure satellite phone and dialing a ten-digit number.
"Marcus," Richard spoke into the phone. "I need the secondary vehicle brought to the subterranean bay. Set up a decoy route through the Midtown Tunnel toward Queens. Make it look like a high-speed exit."
He hung up, looking back at Sarah.
"We're not going to run away, Sarah," Richard said, his voice dropping into a hard, resolute register. "Running away just keeps you in the shadows for another seven months. We're going to strike first."
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"How?" Sarah asked, her breath catching.
"We're going to get those paper logs from the Park Avenue penthouse tonight," Richard declared. "While Julian thinks you're trapped in Brooklyn."
