Episode 24: The Vanguard Ghost
350 Words
The neon sign of Vanguard Security flickered in the rain, casting long, distorted shadows across the street. We were parked two blocks away in a rusted-out van Kabir had hot-wired.
"My father's office is on the fourth floor," I said, my voice cold. I was looking at the architectural blueprints we had pulled from the encrypted ledger. "If he’s still part of this, the physical contracts—the ones that prove he was forced or bribed—will be in the 'Red File' in his safe."
"Aria, this isn't a publishing house," Kabir warned, checking his sidearm—a taser he’d taken from the warehouse. "These people are trained killers. If we're caught, there’s no lawyer who can get us out."
"I don't care," I replied, pulling my hood over my head. "He’s my father. I need to know if he’s a villain or a victim."
We moved through the shadows of the parking garage. Using the hack Kabir had developed for the drones, we looped the security cameras for a five-minute window. We slipped into the elevator and pressed '4'.
The floor was silent, smelling of expensive floor wax and stale coffee. We reached the office labeled ANAND SHARMA - CONSULTANT.
I began searching the mahogany desk while Kabir hacked into the standalone terminal. "Aria, look at this," he whispered. He pointed to a photo on the desk. It was a picture of me at my graduation, but the glass was cracked. Tucked behind the frame was a small, handwritten note: 'The price of her life is your silence. Don't let her find the London Ledger.'
The realization hit me like a physical blow. He wasn't a greedy man; he was a terrified father.
"He didn't take the money for himself," I whispered, tears blurring my vision. "He took it to keep me alive. They were using my life to control him."
Suddenly, the lights in the hallway turned red. A synthesized voice echoed through the building: "Security breach. Level 4. Lockdown initiated."
The heavy steel shutters began to slide down over the doors and windows. We were trapped.
- Writer
