Chapter 4 - The Confession of a Coward and the Shadow of the Cartel
The harsh overhead bulb of hold cell four hummed ominously as Maya Vance towered over the cowering form of Jason Sterling.
Evelyn stood near the open doorway, her hands pressed tightly over her mouth to stifle her sobs, watching her only son reduced to a trembling wreck.
Maya didn't yell. She didn't draw a weapon.
She simply walked over to the stainless-steel table, pulled out the metal chair, and sat down with agonizing slowness.
"Get up, Jason," Maya said, her voice a low, gravelly hum that commanded absolute obedience.
Jason scrambled frantically on the floor, dragging himself back up into the chair, his eyes wide and bloodshot, staring at Maya as if she were a ghost haunting him from the Hindu Kush mountains.
"I... I was just following orders," Jason stammered, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.
"Dad said it was a corporate test. He told me the private defense contractor needed real-time movement data to calibrate their new tactical drone software."
"And the quarter-million-dollar wire transfer into your mother's reactivated maiden-name account?" Maya asked, leaning forward, resting her elbows on the table and locking her gaze onto his.
"Was that just calibration pay, Jason?"
Jason swallowed hard, his throat dry as bone.
"That... that wasn't for me," Jason whispered, casting a terrified glance toward his mother standing by the door.
"Dad said we needed offshore capital to secure our retirement. He said the military was going to downsize, and we needed a safety net. He was the one who typed the routing codes into my terminal while I was in the restroom!"
Evelyn let out a sharp, strangled cry, sliding down the concrete wall until she hit the floor, completely broken.
"He used you, Jason," Maya said, her voice unyielding, stripping away any remaining illusion of parental innocence.
"He used your access code, he used your mother's biometric signature, and he used my squad as target practice to line his own pockets with blood money."
"Who was the buyer, Jason?" Maya demanded suddenly, her voice snapping like a whip.
"What was the name of the private defense contractor?"
Jason hesitated, his eyes darting frantically around the cell as if expecting someone to step out of the shadows and shoot him through the concrete walls.
"Vance Logistics," Jason whimpered.
Maya’s breath hitched.
The name hit her like a physical blow.
Vance Logistics wasn't just a private defense contractor; it was a global maritime shipping syndicate owned and operated by Viktor Vance—a ruthless arms dealer and international fugitive who had been hunted by federal intelligence agencies for over a decade.
And Arthur Sterling, the high-ranking civilian official under the Department of Defense, had been on Viktor Vance’s payroll the entire time.
Before Maya could press Jason for the location of Viktor Vance's domestic server hub, the secure intercom on the cell wall blared to life.
"Staff Sergeant Vance! Colonel Sterling!" Lieutenant Miller's voice shouted, breathless and laced with absolute panic.
"Get out of the cell block right now! We just received an emergency alert from the Pentagon perimeter!"
Maya jumped up from the chair, drawing her sidearm instantly as she rushed out into the corridor.
"Talk to me, Miller! What's happening?!"
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"Car bomb!" Miller screamed over the blaring alarms echoing through the facility.
"A vehicle just breached the outer security gate and detonated directly beneath the data lab wing!"
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