Chapter 5 - The Collapse of Apex Logistics
Balthazar’s phone began to vibrate violently in his hand. Then it pinged with a second call. Then a third.
He looked down at the display, his hands shaking so violently he almost dropped the device.
"Answer it, Mr. Mercer," Colonel Vance commanded. "Put it on speaker."
Balthazar hesitated, swallowed hard, and pressed the green icon, holding the phone out toward the middle of the foyer.
*"Balthazar? Where the hell are you?"* a frantic voice screamed from the tiny speaker. It was his chief financial officer. *"The FBI and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service just kicked through the front doors of our headquarters! They have a federal warrant for every server, every hard drive, every manifest from the last three years! They just froze our operating accounts! The Department of the Navy sent a formal termination of our bidding status five minutes ago! We are completely locked out of the federal clearinghouse! What the hell did you do?"*
Balthazar couldn't speak. His throat made a dry, clicking sound.
*"Balthazar! Speak to me! They’re putting zip-ties on the accounting department right now! They’re citing billing fraud, falsified safety certifications, and kickbacks to local municipal officers—"*
Thorne reached out with one gloved finger and tapped the red button, ending the call.
"Your company is finished, Mr. Mercer," Thorne stated without a trace of pity. "Your clearances are revoked. Your assets are restrained under the federal civil forfeiture statute pending grand jury indictment. You don't have an $8.5 million contract. You have approximately six hours to find a criminal defense attorney who specializes in federal procurement fraud and national defense espionage."
Balthazar turned on Cresa like a cornered animal.
The polished, country-club veneer vanished instantly, replaced by a raw, vicious panic.
"You stupid, arrogant bitch!" Balthazar roared, lunging toward his wife. "You told me she was nothing! You told me she had no connections, no money, no power! You told me Ganon had it handled! You destroyed my entire life over a designer bag and a barbecue?"
"Balthazar, stop!" Evelyn screamed, running forward to place herself between them. "Don't speak to your wife like that! We are a respectable family! Robert, do something! Call the judge! Call Arthur from the firm!"
Robert didn't move. He stood against the mahogany sideboard, his face the color of wet parchment, his eyes fixed on the blue-sealed deed in Major Kalin's hands.
"There is no judge who can help you, Mr. Sterling," Major Kalin said, stepping forward with another document. "This is an immediate, non-negotiable Notice of Eviction and Property Surrender. Because this property was held under an at-will tenancy conditioned on lawful conduct, the commission of a felony assault on these premises invalidates your occupancy immediately."
Kalin looked at her watch.
"It is currently 0845. At 0945, a civilian logistics contractor will begin the process of packing every single item of non-affixed personal property into storage pods, which will be transported to an impound lot at your expense. At 1000, the locks on this house, the outbuildings, and the perimeter gates will be changed."
"You can't do that!" Robert whispered, his voice cracking like dry wood. "This is forty years of our lives! Everything we have is in this house! You can't put us on the street!"
"You put my wife on the street," Thorne replied, his voice chillingly level. "While her blood was still pooling between your patio stones. You told her to drag her garbage away. Now you're going to see what real garbage looks like when it hits the curb."
May you like
Outside, the heavy air brakes of two commercial moving vans hissed as they backed down the driveway, their reverse alarms chiming in a slow, rhythmic death knell for the Sterling family legacy.
***
