Chapter 6 - The Clean Sweep
Arthur held the tiny USB drive between his fingers as if it weighed a hundred pounds. He looked at it, then looked at Tristan, his eyes shining with a complex mixture of respect, sorrow, and terrifying resolve.
"Your father was the smartest analyst I ever hired," Arthur said, his voice hardening into steel. "I see he passed his mind down to his son."
Arthur turned to the man in the three-piece suit holding the titanium briefcase. "Miller."
"Yes, Director?"
"Take this drive," Arthur ordered, flipping the USB to his aide. "Execute Protocol Omega on the four names listed in the root directory. Freeze their assets, terminate their security clearances, and have them brought to the bunker in Zurich by tomorrow morning. I will conduct the interrogations personally."
"Understood, sir," Miller replied, stepping back into the lead Suburban and opening his encrypted laptop instantly.
Arthur then turned his head slowly toward his cousin Vance, who was currently sweating so heavily his grey wool vest was soaked through.
"Mr. Vance... please..." Vance whimpered, his knees finally giving out as he fell to his knees on the wet asphalt. "I'm family! I didn't know anything about board members or murders! I was just running the store!"
"You're a disgrace to the name," Arthur said coldly. "You saw a cold, hungry old man in the rain, and your only instinct was to guard thirty dollars worth of gasoline. You saw a young man show basic human decency, and your only instinct was to exert your petty power over him."
Arthur looked at one of the tactical guards. "Foreclose on this property immediately. Strip him of his franchise license, seize his bank accounts under the corporate debt recovery clause, and ensure he is off this lot by midnight."
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"No! Please! You can't do this to me!" Vance shrieked, clutching at the guard's trousers as he was dragged toward the office doors. "It's my life! I have nowhere to go!"
"You have the street," Arthur said, turning his back on his cousin without a second thought. "Perhaps a few nights in the rain will teach you the value of a fifty-dollar bill."
