Chapter 11 - Blood Lines
Rain poured down relentlessly as Marcus and Maya emerged onto a desolate beach near the harbor.
The distant explosion cast an eerie orange glow against the dark water and low-hanging clouds.
Marcus sat on a concrete barrier, staring at the small metal drive in his bleeding palm.
"Why would Eleanor give this to me if her own partners are trying to kill her for it?" Marcus asked.
Maya pulled off her tactical gloves and squeezed the water out of her dark hair.
"Because Eleanor didn't build Vault 7 to sell power, Marcus," Maya said, her tone dead serious.
"She built it because someone forced her to," Maya added, pulling up a classified file on a handheld tablet.
Marcus looked down at the tablet screen, his breath hitching in his throat.
The file showed old medical records and black-and-mail documents dating back twenty years.
Eleanor hadn't been acting out of pure corporate greed or cold ambition.
A shadowy international syndicate known as The Snail had held a lethal file over her family for decades.
If she didn't complete the Vault 7 software, they were going to execute Sarah when she was just a child.
Eleanor had staged the public assault in the lobby to make Marcus look like a rogue agent.
She knew he was the only man brave enough and tough enough to survive the hunt and destroy the network.
She had made herself the villain in her daughter's eyes to keep her daughter alive.
Marcus closed his eyes as the staggering truth crashed down upon his mind.
Every insult, every cold look, and every act of violence had been a desperate act of protection.
May you like
"She's playing both sides until the very last second," Marcus whispered in disbelief.
"And right now, The Snail is moving in to liquidate her," Maya said, pointing to a flickering red dot on her map.
