Chapter 7 - The Trap in the Lobby
The grand marble lobby of the Old Colony Building was deserted save for the three figures blocking the exit. The high arched windows showed the blizzard raging outside, casting long, dark shadows across the polished floor.
Rachel stopped five paces from the foot of the stairs, her hand remaining inside her coat pocket where her fingers brushed against the cool metal of the flash drives.
"Where is the guard?" Rachel asked, keeping her voice even.
"Mr. Higgins was offered a very generous early retirement bonus ten minutes ago," Evelyn replied with a slight, predatory smile. "He left through the rear exit. We are entirely alone, Rachel."
Julian Vance stepped forward, his dark eyes locked onto Rachel's coat pocket. "Give us the drives and the ledger, Rachel. We know what David kept in that vault."
"David told me everything," Rachel said, looking directly into Evelyn's eyes, refusing to step backward. "He told me about the sub-standard steel. He told me about the bookkeeper in Norfolk. He told me about the two workers who died when the dock collapsed."
Evelyn's smile vanished. Her eyes hardened into two sharp points of blue steel.
"David was a weak, cowardly little technician who panicked when real money was on the line," Evelyn spat softly. "He took documents that didn't belong to him and spent ten years hiding in a miserable apartment in South Chicago washing his own dishes. You think those documents matter now? The federal authorities closed that file six years ago."
"Then why did you follow me?" Rachel countered. "Why did you stage that ridiculous scene at the hotel? Why did you frame me for stealing your ring?"
"Because you were the only variable left," Julian said, taking another step closer. "We knew David had a vault in Chicago, but we didn't know which institution held it. When we tracked your bank accounts after David died, we saw your shift schedule at the hotel. Planting the dragon key in your cart was the easiest way to force you into bringing us straight to the box."
Rachel felt a cold splash of shock hit her chest. "The key... you planted David's key?"
"We found the key in David's old office safe in Virginia two months ago," Evelyn said, taking a step forward. "We knew it matched a lock in Chicago, but without you leading us to the Old Colony Vault, the key was useless. Thank you for doing the heavy lifting, Rachel. Now hand over the pocket contents."
One of the men behind Julian reached into his suit jacket, revealing the dark handle of a weapon.
Rachel took a slow, deep breath. She looked at the heavy marble pillars surrounding the room, at the tall brass elevator cages, and at the emergency alarm box set into the wall three feet to her left.
"You're right about one thing, Evelyn," Rachel said quietly. "David was quiet. He was gentle. But I'm not David."
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With a lightning-fast motion, Rachel smashed her elbow against the glass face of the fire alarm box.
A deafening, ear-splitting siren shattered the silence of the lobby. Red strobe lights began flashing wildly along the ceiling, and high-pressure water spouts instantly erupted from the sprinkler valves overhead, drenching the marble floor in a heavy, freezing shower.
