Chapter 7 - The Hostage Counterplay
Before I could savor their panic, my radio crackled violently.
"Ms. Kaelen! Code Red in the penthouse boardroom!" It was one of the guards I had left with Arthur. "Sylvia panicked! She grabbed my sidearm! She’s holding it to Arthur’s head!"
I cursed under my breath. Sylvia, desperate to avoid prison, was trying to buy her own way out by holding the prime suspect hostage.
"Keep the shadow board locked in the suite," I ordered Vance. "I have to deal with the rats in the penthouse."
I sprinted down the emergency stairwell, ignoring the agonizing protests of my body. When I burst into the boardroom, the scene was chaotic. Sylvia had Arthur in a headlock, a heavy Glock pistol pressed directly against his temple.
"Back up!" Sylvia screamed, her eyes wide with manic desperation. "I want a helicopter! Unlock the roof access! I am not going to federal prison for him!"
Arthur was sweating profusely, his aristocratic arrogance completely shattered. "Sylvia, put the gun down, you stupid woman! If you pull that trigger, you’re looking at a lethal injection!"
"You ruined my life!" Sylvia shrieked at him. "You promised me wealth, you promised me power! You made me complicit in murder!"
I walked slowly into the room, holding my hands up. "Sylvia, look at me."
She whipped the gun toward me for a second before pressing it back to Arthur's head. "Open the roof, Victoria!"
"I can't," I lied smoothly. "The lockdown is hardwired into the mainframe. It takes thirty minutes to reboot. You have no way out."
"Then I'll kill him!" she sobbed.
"Do it," I said.
The room froze. Arthur’s eyes bugged out of his head. "Victoria! What are you doing?!"
"He killed my father," I said, stepping closer, my voice devoid of any emotion. "He paid a man to drive me off a cliff. He sold my family's legacy to criminals. If you want to pull the trigger, Sylvia, go ahead. You’ll save the state a million dollars in trial fees."
Sylvia’s hands shook violently. She wasn't a killer. She was a greedy hotel manager who got in over her head. The weight of actually taking a human life paralyzed her.
"I... I can't," she whimpered.
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I lunged forward, grabbing the barrel of the gun and twisting it sharply out of her grip. Sylvia collapsed to the floor in a heap of sobs. I unloaded the magazine and tossed the weapon to my guards.
"Zip-tie her," I ordered. I looked down at Arthur, who was hyperventilating in his chair. "And bring him. It’s time for a family reunion."
