Chapter 39 - The Gathering Storm
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"Vance didn't want to stop the broadcast," Madison said, her voice dropping into a razor-sharp tactical whisper. "He wanted us to wipe Victor's local server so Vance could take sole control of the global nodes."
Arthur handed the phone back to her, looking out over the blue expanse of the Pacific Ocean.
"If Vance has the master key," Arthur said grimly, "he has control over every black-budget operation in the Western hemisphere. He's not just a rogue director anymore, Maddie. He's the most powerful man on the planet."
"Then we hunt him down," Madison said simply.
Arthur turned his head to look at her, his eyes filled with a mix of pride and deep sorrow.
"You spent your whole life fighting their wars, Maddie. You served your country. You saved your brother. You could walk away right now. Take Ethan, go to Europe, live a quiet life."
Madison looked back at Ethan, who was carefully wiping grass off his drone rotors, completely oblivious to the dark storm gathering above their heads once more.
May you like
She thought of her parents, murdered in a staged crash. She thought of the years she had spent wearing a uniform, believing in honor, duty, and justice.
"There is no quiet life while men like Vance control the shadows, Grandpa," Madison said, her eyes turning into hard, unyielding steel. "I took an oath to protect this country from enemies foreign and domestic. Vance just became domestic enemy number one."
