Chapter 9 - The Second Ledger
Howard entered only after Bastion searched him.
He carried no weapon.
Only another ledger.
“I've had this for eleven years,” he said.
Beatrice stared at her boss.
“You might have mentioned it.”
“I was trying not to die.”
“Popular excuse lately.”
Howard placed the ledger down.
Alexander Mercer had hired him secretly.
Years before Beatrice joined the firm.
Howard helped trace Meridian.
That was why Beatrice's accounting firm had eventually been selected.
Not by the enemy.
By Alexander's contingency plan.
Two opposing groups had manipulated the same audit.
Howard opened the ledger.
A name appeared.
GABRIEL VOSS.
Founder of Meridian.
Bastion's biological father.
Officially dead.
Of course.
Beatrice had stopped being impressed by death certificates.
Voss had built an intelligence-for-hire operation that later became a criminal network.
Alexander exposed part of it.
Voss retaliated.
The car accident that killed Alexander wasn't an accident.
Victor had tried to warn him.
Too late.
“And Evelyn?” Bastion asked.
Howard looked away.
“She escaped Voss while pregnant.”
Alexander protected her.
Elena raised the child because Evelyn feared Voss would find him.
Bastion absorbed the truth without visible reaction.
But Beatrice saw his hand close into a fist.
Howard continued.
“Voss wants Mercer Logistics.”
“Why?”
“Ports. Aircraft. Warehouses. Customs relationships. Your company gives Meridian legitimate access to half the world.”
“And forty million?”
“Operational funding.”
Beatrice understood the final mechanism.
Voss would frame Bastion for laundering money through criminal shipments.
Kill him.
Then seize Mercer assets through proxies while the organization collapsed.
Clean.
Elegant.
Cruel.
“Pier Twenty-Three,” Beatrice said.
Howard nodded.
“Voss will expect you.”
“Then we give him what he expects.”
Bastion immediately said, “No.”
Beatrice ignored him.
She created a duplicate encrypted drive.
It contained enough real evidence to look convincing.
But buried inside was a tracing program that would identify Meridian's secure financial server when connected.
At 11:58 p.m., Beatrice walked onto Pier Twenty-Three alone.
At least she appeared alone.
Bastion's men surrounded the area from concealed positions.
A black SUV waited.
The rear door opened.
Gabriel Voss stepped out.
Silver hair.
Expensive coat.
Calm eyes.
Beatrice understood immediately where Bastion's stillness came from.
Not upbringing.
Blood.
“I expected you to be frightened,” Voss said.
“I expected you to be taller.”
He smiled.
“You understand why Bastion likes you.”
“Bastion doesn't like anyone.”
“He likes you.”
“Tragic character flaw.”
Voss extended his hand.
“The drive.”
She held it.
“Evelyn first.”
His smile faded.
Beatrice hadn't known whether he had Evelyn.
His reaction confirmed it.
“Clever.”
“Frequently.”
A second vehicle arrived.
Evelyn was pushed out.
Alive.
Beatrice handed over the drive.
Voss connected it to a tablet.
Tracing software activated silently.
Five seconds.
Ten.
Fifteen.
Connection established.
Server located.
Then Voss smiled.
“You really thought I wouldn't inspect your code?”
Beatrice's stomach dropped.
He turned the tablet.
TRACE DETECTED.
Men emerged from the shadows.
Too many.
Bastion's team was surrounded.
Voss leaned close.
“You weren't selected because you're stubborn, Ms. Abbott.”
“Why, then?”
“Because Bastion would care if you died.”
Beatrice's blood went cold.
Voss looked beyond her.
“Come out, son.”
Bastion stepped from the darkness.
May you like
Voss raised a gun toward Beatrice.
And Bastion dropped his own weapon.
