Chapter 6 - The Ghost Network
The atmosphere inside the sealed Grand Easter Ballroom transformed from anxious confusion to absolute, paralyzing horror.
Guests began moving away from Vivienne and Preston, pulling back toward the far edges of the room as if the family carried a contagious disease.
Vivienne’s hands trembled against her emerald dress, but her sharp blue eyes refused to break contact with Marcus’s steel-blue gaze.
Vivienne: "You have no proof of those accusations, Marcus! You’re a disgraced former field commander operating without a badge!"
Marcus reached into his fitted black henley, pulling out a silver flash drive attached to a steel wire lanyard around his neck.
Marcus: "I don't need a badge, Vivienne. The Black Code isn't an arrest warrant. It’s a containment order."
Sheriff Pike’s hand dropped completely away from his holster as his knees went soft.
Sheriff Pike: "Containment order...? What the hell does that mean, Reed?"
Marcus looked at Pike, his voice calm, flat, and devoid of any human warmth.
Marcus: "It means no one leaves this room until the military response team completes the physical sweep of the sub-basement levels."
Preston rushed toward his mother, grabbing her shoulder in full-blown panic.
Preston: "Mother! Tell him he’s lying! Tell him there’s no military team coming!"
Vivienne didn't answer. Her gaze was fixed on the ceiling, where the deep-red emergency lights suddenly switched from a steady glow to a rapid, rhythmic flashing pulse.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
A heavy electronic chime sounded three times over the ballroom’s public address system.
A synthetic female voice echoed from the hidden wall speakers:
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Voice: "FACILITY CONTAINMENT LEVEL FOUR CONFIRMED. ORBITAL LINK SYNCHRONIZED. SPECIAL TACTICAL DISPATCH IS EN ROUTE. ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: EIGHT MINUTES."
Preston fell backward onto the marble floor, his navy linen suit crumpled, his pale-blue eyes wide with absolute, helpless terror.
