Chapter 16
1033 Words
"Close the door," Aaron ordered, his steady hand never wavering as the pistol remained fixed on Brock. The security guard complied with trembling fingers. The laptop screen's glow cast eerie shadows across the gatehouse walls, illuminating the incriminating evidence for all to see.
Neither guard dared to move. Brock's eyes darted between Aaron and the gun, calculating his chances. Tyson's massive frame seemed to have shrunk, his broad shoulders hunched inward as if trying to make himself smaller.
Sarah remained frozen in her chair, zip ties cutting into her wrists. Her pulse hammered in her ears as Aaron stepped further into the room, his attention entirely focused on the two guards.
"Sir, we can explain-" Brock began, his voice cracking.
"Shut up." Aaron's command sliced through the air. "I trusted you both. Gave you responsibilities beyond your station. And this is how you repay me? Stealing private family information?"
Behind Aaron, the door creaked open. Hannah appeared in the doorway, her silk robe clutched tight around her body. Anola followed close behind, her face carried disdain even though it was this late.
"Aaron? What's happening?" Hannah's gaze swept across the gatehouse, taking in the scene before her. "Why are you pointing a gun at them?"
Anola stepped forward, her eyes narrowing as she recognised the disgraced guards. "What are these two still doing on the property? I thought they'd been dismissed."
"They were supposed to be gone by morning," Aaron replied without turning, his focus not shook. "Instead, I caught them with something that belongs to us."
None of them had noticed Sarah yet. She pressed herself back against the wall, desperate to become invisible. Outside the window behind her, a shadow moved with impossible speed. A hand reached in through the partially open window, silently severing her restraints with a single touch.
It was Atlas.
The zip ties fell away. With inhuman swiftness, Atlas reached through the window, grabbed Sarah's arm, and pulled her through the opening in one fluid motion. The guards and Finnegans, engrossed in their confrontation, remained oblivious to her escape.
"I was walking the grounds," Aaron continued, "and noticed unusual activity at the gatehouse. These two were reviewing confidential family documents."
Anola stepped forward, her breath catching as she glimpsed the laptop screen. "Where did you get those?"
Outside, Atlas pressed a finger to his lips, gesturing for Sarah to run. She nodded, squeezing his hand once before disappearing into the darkness of the estate grounds.
"Reed!" Aaron's voice suddenly called out, loud enough to carry across the lawns. "I know you're out there. Get in here now!"
Atlas straightened, smoothing his appearance. He adjusted his facial prosthetic, centering himself in James Reed's persona. With measured steps, he approached the gatehouse, crafting his expression into one of professional concern.
"Sir?" Atlas stepped into the room, his gaze taking in the scene with calculated precision. "You called for me?"
Aaron turned slightly, keeping the gun trained on the kneeling guards. "Perfect timing, Reed. Or is that even your real name?"
The question hung in the air, heavy with accusation. Atlas maintained perfect composure, his expression shifting to measured confusion.
"I don't understand the question, sir," he replied calmly.
Anola moved closer, her eyes boring into him. "I think you do. These men claim they caught a woman spying on the estate tonight. A woman who apparently had access to highly sensitive family information."
"Information that only someone inside the house could have provided," Aaron added, his voice dangerously soft.
Hannah remained by the door, her face pale, eyes darting nervously between the people in front of her.
Atlas's mind worked at lightning speed, instantly identifying the opportunity in Aaron's statement. They hadn't seen Sarah themselves.
"A woman?" Atlas furrowed his brow, injecting the perfect measure of professional concern into his voice. "That's interesting, because I was just completing my perimeter check when I noticed these two behaving suspiciously."
"What do you mean?" Aaron asked, his suspicion evident but his curiosity piqued.
"I overheard them discussing selling information to Westfield Enterprises." Atlas delivered the lie with perfect conviction. "I was on my way to your suite to report when you called me here."
"That's bullshit!" Brock shouted, his face reddening. "We caught a woman with a USB drive full of your family's secrets!"
"Really?" Atlas raised an eyebrow, gesturing around the room. "And where is this woman now? I don't see anyone here but us."
Aaron's gaze swept the gatehouse, registering for the first time the absence of any prisoner. Doubt flickered across his face.
"She must have escaped when you entered," Tyson insisted desperately.
"Or she never existed," Atlas countered smoothly. "A convenient fiction to cover your theft."
Aaron's finger tensed on the trigger. "The documents are real enough."
"Which raises the question of how they obtained them," Atlas agreed. "Sir, perhaps we should secure these men properly and continue this discussion somewhere more private."
Anola's eyes never left Atlas's face, searching for any tell, any c***k in his performance. "You seem remarkably untroubled by all this, Mr. Reed."
"My job is to remain calm in such crisis mam," Atlas replied, meeting her gaze steadily. "It's what you pay me for."
Aaron stepped closer, studying Atlas's features with uncomfortable intensity. "There's something about you, Reed. Something I can't quite place."
Atlas held his ground, neither retreating nor advancing. "I'm an open book, sir."
"Are you?" Aaron's voice dropped to a near whisper. "Then explain why these men would fabricate such an elaborate story."
"Perhaps because of the truth that they were planning to sell your family secrets, carries a heavier consequence than being caught with a mysterious woman who conveniently disappeared."
The standoff continued, Aaron's intelligence clashing with Atlas's careful deception. The air in the gatehouse grew thick with tension as each man measured the other.
Just when it seemed the impasse would never break, the door burst open. A breathless security guard stumbled in, his eyes wide with urgency.
"Master Aaron! He's here!" The guard's chest heaved with exertion. "At the main gate!"
Aaron lowered his weapon slightly, momentarily distracted. "Who?"
The guard's next words fell like thunder in the small room:
"Atlas Prime, sir. He's demanding entry."
- Writer
