Chapter 17 - Every Screen in the City
Graham slapped the elevator's emergency stop. “What did you do?”
“Something your people never thought a waitress could pull off.”
Mara had given June the drive and Samuel's access codes before entering. Now June fed the recovered files into Meridian's internal broadcast network while Ruiz sent copies to prosecutors, reporters, and the election commission.
The elevator screen flickered. A grainy video showed men carrying chemical drums into Larkspur's basement. Graham's signature appeared beneath a procurement order. Then came the footage of children being taken away.
Graham lunged for the control panel. Mara shoved the red mitten into his hand.
“My sister wore that the night you stole her,” she said. “Look at it.”
He tossed it aside. “You think the public cares about old footage? I built hospitals. I funded schools.”
“And you buried people under them.”
He slapped her hard enough to send her against the wall. Pain flashed through her jaw. She tasted blood.
“Watch your mouth,” he said.
Mara smiled through split lips. “You just hit me on a security camera.”
Graham stared at the lens. Its red light blinked steadily.
At the top floor, the commission's screens filled with footage. The chairwoman stopped speaking. Reporters raised their phones. Across the city, news channels interrupted regular programs to show the documents June had sent.
But the victory lasted only seconds.
A new warning appeared on every display: EMERGENCY AIR PURGE INITIATED.
Samuel's voice burst through Mara's earpiece. “He's opened the old chemical system. The tower was built over the same ventilation network.”
Graham straightened his tie. “Everybody thinks you can win by exposing the truth. Truth doesn't mean much when nobody lives to tell it.”
Mara backed toward the elevator door.
“Stop the purge,” she said.
“Give me the encryption key.”
“No.”
May you like
Graham took out a remote with a single red button. “Then I suppose you'll watch the people upstairs die.”
He pressed it.
