Chapter 13 - Mask of BetrayalThe transaction vault on Deck One was built like a bank vault, wrapped in six-inch-thick reinforced steel. Two armed guards stood outside the heavy door, while an administrator in a pristine suit sat behind bulletproof glass.
Anna was seated on a metal chair inside the vault, her wrists bound in zip-ties. She looked up as the heavy steel door creaked open, her expression cold and prepared for another tormentor.
Adrian walked in, stopping five feet from her. He looked at the administrator behind the glass.
"Clear the room for physical inspection," Adrian demanded, dropping his Whitmore authorization card onto the metal tray.
The administrator checked the system, saw the $100 million transfer pending authorization, and nodded. "You have five minutes, sir. The guards will remain outside."
The heavy vault door closed, locking them in private.
Anna glared at him, her gray eyes burning with hatred. "Whatever Charles wants from me, he won't get it. You can throw me to the bottom of the ocean, but I will never give you the encryption codes."
Adrian slowly raised his hands to his face. He reached up, untied the silk mask covering his features, and let it fall to the floor.
Anna froze. Her eyes went wide, filled with disbelief and overwhelming shock.
"Adrian?" she gasped, her voice breaking. "No... no, you're dead. Charles said..."
"Charles lied about everything, Anna," Adrian said softly, dropping to one knee before her. He pulled a small titanium combat blade from his sleeve and cleanly sliced through the heavy zip-ties on her wrists. "Scott is alive."
Anna clutched her freed wrists to her chest, tears spilling over her eyelashes. "What... what did you say?"
"Scott is alive," Adrian repeated, taking her trembling hands in his. "He survived the crash. Charles locked him away, but I found him. He’s at a safehouse right now with your son. Leo is safe, Anna. He found me."
Anna let out a ragged, sob-wracked scream that she instantly smothered with her hand, falling forward into Adrian's chest. He held her tight, feeling the agonizing weight of thirteen months of terror leaving her body.
"He's waiting for you," Adrian whispered into her hair. "Now we get out of here."
Suddenly, the red emergency lights inside the vault began to flash violently. A deafening klaxon pierced the air.
ATTENTION ALL SECURITY UNITS. SECURITY BREACH ON DECK ONE. BOX 7 IS AN IMPOSTOR. AUTHORIZATION TOKEN REVOKED BY COMMAND.
"Adrian!" Scott’s voice screamed through the earpiece, drowned in static. "Charles managed to access an emergency sat-link from his lawyer's car! He flagged the token! The ship's captain knows you're not Charles! They're locking down the vault!"
Before Adrian could react, the heavy steel door of the vault slammed shut with a sickening metallic THUD. The magnetic bolts shot home, trapping Adrian and Anna inside the airtight room.
Outside the thick glass window, Nikolai Krasnov stepped forward, flanked by six heavily armed mercenaries with assault rifles.
May you like
Krasnov tapped the glass with the barrel of his gun, a cruel, vicious smile tearing across his face.
"Well, well, little Whitmore," Krasnov grinned over the intercom. "It seems you bought a very expensive coffin."
Related Stories
