Chapter 9 - Trapped in the Rented Brownstone While the City Goes Dark
To bypass the street-level security cameras that Gavin Pike had rewired, Vance parked the armored SUV two blocks away behind an abandoned industrial laundry depot.
The rain had turned into a torrential downpour, masking the sound of their footsteps as Ethan, Mia, and Detective Vance navigated the rear access easement behind the row of luxury restaurants lining the avenue.
Mia led them through an old cast-iron coal chute that connected directly to the historic foundation of Bellweather’s basement—an entrance known only to the original founders.
They dropped silently onto the brick floor of the dry storage cellar. The building above them was eerily silent, save for the rhythmic thud of heavy footsteps moving across the mezzanine floorboards overhead.
A sharp, pungent odor hit Ethan’s nostrils.
Gasoline.
"They've already poured the accelerant," Vance whispered, unholstering his department-issued sidearm and checking the chamber. "We have maybe ten minutes before they light the fuse."
"Look," Mia pointed toward the service elevator cage.
Through the wire mesh, they could see Gavin Pike dragging heavy black plastic contractor bags toward the back of the walk-in freezer. Beside the main office desk stood Daniel Reed, dressed in a sharp three-piece wool suit, calmly feeding thick folders of physical financial vouchers into an industrial cross-cut shredder.
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"Twenty-two years," Ethan muttered under his breath, his fists clenching until his nails bit into his palms. "My father treated him like a brother."
"Greed doesn't care about brotherhood, Mr. Brooks," Vance said quietly. "On my mark. We breach the mezzanine stairs."
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