Chapter 7 - The Hostage in the Penthouse
Damian wiped the fake blood from his face with a silk handkerchief.
He aimed his heavy pistol directly at my head, his hand completely steady and calm.
Bennett stood up from the control console, clapping slowly in mock admiration of my dramatic entrance.
Damian confessed that he had orchestrated this entire fake hostage situation with Bennett.
My brother explained that the real cartel buyers wanted Conrad dead and the business officially handed over to the next generation.
Damian needed a massive public terrorist attack to cover up the targeted assassination of our father.
He proudly admitted he was going to blow up the ballroom with everyone inside, including Julian and Sarah.
Bennett held out his hand, demanding the flash drive containing the evidence of their treason.
I kept my gun aimed squarely at Bennett's chest, refusing to hand over the drive.
Damian laughed cruelly, warning me that my naval fleet was thousands of miles away and could not save me here.
I told Damian he was absolutely right about my ships being too far away.
I casually tossed the silver flash drive onto the expensive glass table between us.
Bennett eagerly snatched the drive, plugged it into his laptop, and initiated the massive data transfer.
I watched the progress bar slowly fill on the computer screen, counting down the seconds in my head.
Damian stepped closer to me, bragging about how easy it was to outsmart a decorated Admiral.
He raised his gun, entirely prepared to shoot me the moment the download was complete.
The computer screen suddenly flashed violently with a bright red warning signal.
Bennett screamed in pure panic as his laptop began sparking and smoking uncontrollably.
I hadn't given them the stolen shipping manifests.
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I had given them a highly classified military virus designed to permanently destroy any network it touched.
Before Damian could pull his trigger, the thick glass windows of the penthouse completely shattered inward.
