Chapter 14 - THE HANGAR
David froze.
Malik’s eyes stayed on him.
Not Martin.
Good.
“Let him go.”
Martin shook his head.
“I need your archive key.”
“You kidnapped an eleven-year-old for a password?”
“I brought him somewhere private because you stopped listening.”
Malik’s lips tightened.
David saw the anger there.
Not panic.
“Martin, he is a child.”
“I know exactly who he is.”
“That makes this worse.”
Martin’s hidden hand came into view.
No gun.
A heavy steel wrench.
David exhaled through his nose.
“Put it down.”
“I’m not going to hurt him.”
“You’re holding a wrench behind his head.”
“Because I knew you’d bring agents.”
David glanced toward the open side door.
No movement.
The federal agent had stayed outside.
Maybe waiting.
Maybe listening.
Martin’s eyes flicked to David’s phone.
“Drop it.”
David set it on the concrete.
“Kick it over.”
He did.
The phone slid halfway across the hangar.
Martin’s shoulders loosened.
“Now give me the archive key.”
“Why?”
“So I can remove internal review records before Vance decides to dump everything on us.”
“Us?”
Martin’s jaw flexed.
“You and I built that company.”
“You sold pieces of it in secret.”
“I took money to keep the Mesa contract alive.”
“You suppressed safety warnings.”
“I delayed them.”
“People were on those planes.”
“No one died.”
David stepped forward without thinking.
Martin lifted the wrench.
“Stop.”
David stopped.
Malik’s left hand had disappeared into his pocket.
David noticed.
Martin did not.
“You remember when our payroll bounced?” Martin asked.
David stared at him.
“Don’t do this.”
“When we had twelve employees and seven days of cash? You said we would never compromise engineering. I said ideals don’t make payroll.”
“And I was right.”
“No. You got lucky.”
Martin’s voice broke.
“Every company our size makes deals. Every airline leans on vendors. Every vendor softens language. That’s how the industry works.”
David’s hands curled.
“Not when soft language hides a fire.”
Martin looked at Malik.
The boy did not move.
“I didn’t know 227 would overheat today.”
“But you knew it could.”
“I knew the relay had incidents.”
“You knew Vance was using Altair units.”
“I knew they were cheap.”
“You knew he owned part of the supplier.”
Martin looked away.
That was answer enough.
David took another slow breath.
“Why was Malik’s seat in your account?”
“Luis stole my credentials.”
“Why was Vance monitoring them?”
Martin’s face tightened.
“Because he had leverage.”
“What leverage?”
“Payments. Messages. Everything.”
“He owned you.”
“No.”
“He owned you enough to know when Luis assigned my son to 2A.”
Martin’s grip shifted on the wrench.
“I tried to fix that.”
“You told Mercer to move him?”
“No. Vance did.”
“Then why were you at the airport?”
Martin looked at Malik.
“I needed the drive before the feds opened it.”
David’s voice went flat.
“So you followed my son.”
“I followed the evidence.”
“You took him.”
“I needed you to come alone.”
Malik suddenly spoke.
“You talk too much.”
Martin looked down.
“What?”
Malik pulled his hand from his pocket.
His phone screen glowed.
Emergency call active.
Martin’s face changed.
A tiny speaker icon pulsed.
Everything he had said was transmitting.
“You little—”
He lunged for the phone.
Malik twisted away.
David moved.
Martin swung the wrench.
It cut through the air inches from David’s shoulder.
David drove into him.
Both men crashed against the tool cabinet.
Metal drawers exploded open.
Sockets scattered across the floor.
Martin shoved David backward and turned toward Malik.
“Give me the phone!”
Malik ran.
Martin grabbed the back of his sweater.
David launched forward.
Then the hangar doors erupted with white light.
“FEDERAL AGENTS! DROP IT!”
May you like
Martin froze.
