Chapter 92: Playing Along with the Scene

"I breached the Vanguard estate like you asked," Anna said, wind audible in the background. "He had private security waiting. The attempt failed. I lost the bike during the exit and had to move on foot."

"Send your location," Jude said.

A GPS pin appeared on the screen, marking an unfinished industrial site near the waterfront.

"Silas might have recognized my silhouette during the engagement," Anna added. "I failed the assignment, sir."

"Stay down until I get there," Jude said. "I’m 25 minutes out."

He hung up, cut across the median, and headed toward the industrial zone.

A smile touched the corner of his mouth. He didn’t need to guess what was happening...

Telling Anna to go after Silas Vanguard’s ear had been a direct test of her loyalties.

Silas wasn’t going to let that happen, so the obvious counter was a staged failure, using Anna to draw Jude out to an isolated perimeter where they could handle him privately.

12 hours earlier, before taking the serum, Jude would have sent an armed security detail to clear the area.

Now, walking into the setup was the cleanest way to close the issue directly.

...

5 miles away, on the eastern industrial edge, an abandoned 12-story concrete building loomed in the dark. Anna stood under the scaffolding with her phone to her ear.

"He’s on his way alone," Anna said.

On the other end, Silas laughed. "Good. He still thinks you answer to him. He’s coming straight into it."

Anna didn’t answer. She hung up, pocketed the phone, and looked out over the cracked asphalt.

She had set the trap, but she felt no satisfaction in it. She knew Silas’s temper; this wasn’t going to end with a warning. Silas intended to take Lawson’s ear to return the insult.

The memory of that morning crossed her mind... waking up on the sofa at the estate, covered with a blanket after he had looked after her through the night.

She shook the thought off. Sympathy for an assignment had no place in her work, but the thought of what was coming kept her on edge.

25 minutes later, the rumble of an engine came down the access road as the black Koenigsegg stopped near the concrete structure.

Jude checked the empty surroundings through the windshield.

There were no active cameras or open buildings for half a mile. Silas had picked a clean spot.

He sent a text: Outside.

A figure in black gear stepped out from behind a concrete pillar, limping slightly as she crossed the gravel with one hand pressed against her left shoulder.

She opened the door and got into the passenger seat.

Her face was pale, and blood showed between her fingers where her jacket had been cut.

"You’re bleeding," Jude said, looking over.

They had gone as far as staging an actual cut to keep her cover intact.

"It’s shallow. Just get us out of here, sir," Anna said, her voice tight.

"Hold on," Jude said, putting the car in gear and pulling back onto the road.

If the setup was running as planned, Anna needed to keep her position, which meant the intercept had to happen on the road to make it look like they had been tracked.

A quarter-mile down the straightaway, headlights flared in the rearview mirror, closing the distance quickly.

An SUV cut out from a cross street ahead, sliding sideways to block both lanes.

Jude hit the brakes, stopping 20 feet from the front bumper as a sedan pulled up tightly behind them, cutting off the exit.

Jude looked toward the passenger seat. "Who is that?"

Anna drew her weapon with her right hand. "It’s Silas Vanguard’s team. They must have followed my route. Stay inside the car, sir. I’ll handle it."

Watching her step up to protect him from the very ambush she had arranged, Jude kept his expression steady, waiting for the doors of the SUV to open...

Doors swung open on both vehicles, and 8 men in dark coats stepped out onto the asphalt.

A heavy-set point man with a scarred jaw stepped toward the front of the car, slapping a hand against the Koenigsegg’s hood. "Kill the engine and step out."

Jude unclipped his belt. Beside him, Anna laid a hand across his forearm. "Stay inside, sir. Let me handle it."

She pushed her door open and stepped out onto the road, stopping in front of the lead man.

"The driver has nothing to do with what happened tonight," she said evenly. "He came out to pick me up. Clear the lane and let him leave. I’ll get in the van."

The man looked past her toward Jude and gave a dry laugh. "Let him drive off so he can call the precinct the second he clears the turn?"

"Calling the police puts me in custody for trespassing on the Vanguard property," Anna replied. "Once I tell him what’s at stake, he won’t make the call."

The man hesitated, glancing back toward the lead vehicle.

The rear door of the armored SUV opened, and Silas Vanguard stepped out in a dark overcoat, clapping his hands in slow, steady rhythm.

Anna’s expression tightened.

"Loyal to the end," Silas said, stepping into the headlights. "The crew might not know who’s behind the wheel, but I recognize the man who cost me $2 million last night. Step out, Mr. Lawson. Let’s talk."

Jude watched them through the windshield, amused by the performance.

Having heard Silas and Lucas discuss Anna’s placement at the gala, he knew the routine was purely for his benefit.

He opened the driver’s door and stepped out onto the tarmac, keeping his voice tight to play along with the scene. "Silas Vanguard. What is this? I have contacts in the department... pulling a blockade out here is a mistake."

Silas laughed out loud. "Threatening me with police? Your assistant broke into my home tonight with a weapon. Call whoever you want... let’s see who they take in first."

"Don’t act clean," Jude fired back. "You sent Razor Hu and 30 men to shut down my waterfront site this morning. I have his statement."

"And why haven’t you handed it over?" Silas stepped forward, smiling. "Because a name scribbled by a hired hand doesn’t hold up in court. You couldn’t touch me through the legal route, which is why you sent someone to my house instead."

Jude kept quiet, letting his expression darken as if backed into a corner.

Silas watched him, satisfied. "Still want to bring the badges into this? Seems to me we both have reasons to keep this between us. Wouldn’t you agree?"

Jude looked at him for a second. "What do you want?"

In reality, Jude had held back Razor’s note because Silas had enough corporate cut-outs to tie up a case in court for years.

An off-the-books meeting gave him the opening to handle things cleanly, and keeping the police out of it suited both sides.

"Simple," Silas said, spreading his hands. "You took a shot at me, and I owe you a response. We settle it right here on the road. A one-on-one match. Whoever takes it gets to make one demand of the other. No refusals."

Anna stepped in immediately. "Sir, don’t agree. He brought people specifically for this."

Silas looked around the dark road. "Do you think you have room to turn it down, Mr. Lawson?"