Chapter 5 - The Glass Partition
The glowing red text on Marcus’s tablet reflected clearly in Vivienne’s cold blue eyes.
Claire leaned forward from her velvet chair, looking at her father’s screen.
Claire: "Dad... what location did the system flag?"
Marcus pointed his thumb toward the floor beneath their feet.
Marcus: "The transfer request wasn't sent from an offshore server in Nassau. It was broadcast from a satellite terminal located directly inside the sub-basement of this ballroom."
Sheriff Pike stopped pacing, his face darkening with confusion.
Sheriff Pike: "Sub-basement? There’s no sub-basement under the country club, Reed. It’s a solid concrete slab foundation."
Marcus looked at Pike with quiet, disdainful pity.
Marcus: "The blueprint filed with the Greenwich municipal board in 1988 was a dummy document, Raymond. Beneath this marble floor lies a three-story hardened communication center built during the Strategic Defense Initiative."
Preston stepped away from the marble pillar, his voice shrill.
Preston: "This is insane! We’re a private country club! We host weddings and golf tournaments!"
Marcus closed his folding tablet with a sharp snap.
Marcus: "You host golf tournaments on top of a federal continuity bunker, Preston. And your mother has been using its secure satellite relay to bypass international banking regulations for twenty-five years."
Vivienne raised her head high, her glamorous features hardening into an icy shield.
Vivienne: "My family preserved that facility when the federal government abandoned its maintenance budget in 1999! We funded its power grid out of our own estate!"
Marcus took three slow steps toward her, stopping just two feet away, his towering frame completely blocking the light from the nearest chandelier.
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Marcus: "You didn't fund it to preserve national security, Vivienne. You funded it to create a ghost network for human trafficking and illegal weapons trade across Latin America."
A collective gasp echoed through the four hundred guests assembled along the perimeter.
