Chapter 11 - Fire and Deceit
"Orson pulled the alarm," Nathan yelled over the deafening siren. "He knows something went wrong!"
The overhead sprinkler system activated, dumping freezing water over the entire records room. Red emergency strobe lights bathed the hallway in an eerie, pulsing glow.
"Move! To the main rotunda now!" Justice Morales commanded.
We burst through the double doors into the grand rotunda. The crowd of reporters, lawyers, and spectators was stampeding toward the emergency exits in a panic.
Through the chaos, I spotted Orson near the judge's bench on the elevated podium. He wasn't evacuating. He stood flanked by three private security enforcers, holding a signed warrant.
"Austin Vance!" Orson bellowed through a megaphone, his voice booming over the sirens. "Surrender the child immediately under order of this court!"
Judge Higgins stood right beside him, looking pale and nervous, holding a wooden gavel.
"Higgins!" Justice Morales shouted, stepping past the federal marshals. "Stand down immediately! Your court is under federal review for judicial corruption!"
Higgins dropped his gavel, stepping away from Orson with trembling hands. "Orson, you didn't say the Supreme Court was here..."
"Shut up, you idiot!" Orson snarled, losing his polished composure entirely.
He reached inside his coat.
"Daddy, look out!" Juniper cried.
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Orson didn't draw a gun; he drew a legal injunction detonatorâa remote wipe device designed to fry the county's digital server room down below and destroy the original trust records.
"If I don't control Vance Industries, nobody will!" Orson roared, pressing the red switch.
