Chapter 8 - The Infiltration
At 11:30 PM, rain swept over the glass towers of downtown Chicago. The flagship skyscraper of Reed Enterprises towered sixty stories above Michigan Avenue, illuminated by glowing blue floodlights.
In the alley behind the building, a unmarked black delivery van pulled to a quiet stop beside the loading dock.
Inside the van, Maria Lopez wore her old navy blue custodian uniform, holding her master security keycard in her hand. Beside her sat Marcus Sterling and two former federal investigators holding encrypted data-cloning equipment.
“Maria,” Marcus said softly, looking at her with deep respect. “You don't have to do this. If Victoria’s private security catches you inside that building, they will call the police immediately.”
Maria looked at the keycard in her palm, then pulled a small photograph of Emily from her pocket.
“When my husband died two years ago, nobody helped us,” Maria said, her voice steady and filled with a quiet strength Marcus hadn't seen before. “Mr. Jonathan is fighting for his life while those terrible people try to hurt him. He protected my daughter today. I am going to help him tonight.”
Two minutes later, the service door at the rear of the loading dock clicked open as Maria swiped her master keycard.
The green light flashed softly. ACCESS GRANTED.
Using the private freight elevator reserved for overnight sanitation staff, Maria, Marcus, and the investigators rode straight up to the sixty-floor executive suite. The building was dead quiet, echoing only with the distant hum of the central air conditioning system.
They slipped into Jonathan’s former executive office—a massive room lined with dark walnut wood, high-end art, and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city skyline.
Mounted on the west wall hung a massive, nine-foot oil painting of the Chicago riverfront.
Marcus stepped behind the painting, feeling along the carved wooden frame until his fingers pressed against a small, hidden pressure latch. A section of the wall slid open silently, revealing a brushed-steel digital safe.
“Jonathan gave me the emergency override combination,” Marcus whispered, rapidly punching eight numbers into the keypad.
Click.
The heavy steel door swung open. Inside lay a series of black hard drives labeled REED_PRIVATE_ARCHIVE.
“Got them!” Marcus exclaimed quietly, pulling the drives from the safe.
Suddenly, the heavy oak doors of the office burst open!
The bright overhead lights slammed on, blinding them. Standing in the doorway was Andrew Vance, flanked by four armed corporate security guards.
“Well, well,” Andrew chuckled darkly, holding a small silver pistol in his hand. “The loyal attorney and the trash custodian. Did you really think we wouldn't monitor the security log when a master keycard was used on the executive floor?”
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Maria gasped, stepping back behind Marcus.
Andrew stepped into the room, pointing the gun directly at Marcus’s chest. “You’ve been a thorn in my side for fifteen years, Sterling. But tonight, it ends. Hand over those hard drives, or my men will make sure neither of you leaves this building alive.”
