Chapter 9 - The Tower Infiltration
The armored SUV cut through the pre-dawn rain, sliding to a halt in the subterranean parking garage of the Kane Foundation tower. The towering glass-and-steel monolith rose forty stories into the dark sky, its upper floors glowing with the amber lights of an emergency board meeting.
Mason killed the engine, turning around from the front passenger seat. "Basement security is automated on a night protocol. We have four minutes before the roving patrol cycles back past the service elevator."
I sat in the middle row, holding Eli securely against my chest in a tactical sling beneath my dark wool coat. My ribs were taped tightly beneath my shirt, the athletic tape biting into my skin with every deep breath, but the pain had faded into a dull background hum. Gabriel sat beside me, dressed impeccably in his black double-breasted suit, his tie neatly straightened, looking every bit the ruthless corporate titan rather than a man who had been hunting mercenaries in the woods hours earlier.
"Let's move," Gabriel said, opening his door into the damp chill of the garage.
We moved as a cohesive unit, slipping past the concrete pillars toward the service core. Mason took the lead, his sidearm drawn and held low at his side, clearing each corner with practiced precision. We stepped into the service elevator, and Gabriel keyed a master override code into the encrypted panel. The doors slid shut with a soft chime, and the car began its rapid ascent toward the executive suite on the fortieth floor.
"If Sterling anticipated this," I murmured, keeping my eyes fixed on the digital floor numbers ticking upward, "he'll have armed private security waiting when these doors open."
"Let them wait," Gabriel replied coldly, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt. "They answer to the chair. And as of ten minutes ago, that chair belongs to me."
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The elevator slowed to a stop with a gentle jolt. The LED display flashed forty.
Mason raised his weapon, bracing himself against the wall as the heavy steel doors began to part, revealing the polished marble floor of the executive foyer.
