Chapter 6 - The London Wire
The hum of the HVAC system in the Vance Logistics boardroom suddenly felt suffocating. I stared at the encrypted footer on my phone screen, watching the blue progress bar finish syncing with the Department of Defense server.
The routing number wasn't just connected to a London logistics firm; it belonged to Meridian Supply Group—a multinational defense contractor currently bidding against Vance Logistics for a massive, multi-billion-dollar North Atlantic supply chain contract. And sitting at the helm of Meridian Supply Group was a man Arthur Vance knew better than anyone.
“Julian Sinclair,” Arthur whispered, reading over my shoulder as he stepped away from the conference table. The color had completely drained from his face, leaving him looking frail against the afternoon light. “Sinclair was my chief operating officer ten years ago before he took a severance package and launched Meridian overseas. He didn't just want to compete with us. He wanted to dismantle us from the inside.”
Ethan walked over from the window, his jaw tight. “That explains how Marcus got the data on the naval logistics bidding discrepancy in the first place. Sinclair didn't just give Marcus advice; he fed him the exact parameters to compromise our internal compliance so the federal government would step in and freeze our bidding eligibility.”
“And once Vance Logistics was frozen,” I added, locking my phone screen and sliding it back into my pocket, “Meridian would automatically absorb our entire federal portfolio. A hostile takeover executed not through a stock buyout, but through a fabricated federal compliance scandal.”
Sterling, the corporate counsel, wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. “If Sinclair’s fingerprints are on those Cayman accounts, we have grounds for an emergency injunction. We can petition the federal court tomorrow morning to freeze Meridian’s current bids.”
“A legal injunction takes weeks, Sterling,” I said sharply. “And in federal procurement, weeks are all a competitor needs to capture a supply chain. By the time the court reviews the paperwork, Meridian will have locked down the North Atlantic contracts, and Vance Logistics will be bankrupt.”
Arthur looked up at me, his eyes carrying a heavy, pleading weight. “Then what do we do, General? You’ve dismantled Marcus’s internal coup, but Sinclair is operating out of London, out of our legal jurisdiction.”
“Jurisdiction only matters if you play by corporate rules, Arthur,” I said, walking toward the boardroom doors. “Sinclair thinks he’s running a boardroom chess match across the Atlantic. He forgot that military logistics doesn't stop at international borders when national security supply lines are compromised.”
Ethan fell into step beside me as I headed out into the hallway. “You’re deploying to London?”
“Not an official deployment,” I said, pressing the button for the private elevator. “A field inspection. Sinclair wants to play dirty with defense contracts? Let’s see how he handles a joint Department of Defense and corporate audit delivered right to his London doorstep.”
Ethan’s phone buzzed in his hand. He glanced at the screen, and his expression darkened instantly. It wasn't a corporate alert or a message from the Pentagon.
“It’s Clare,” Ethan said, holding out the screen.
May you like
I looked down. A single text message from my sister: They’re coming after Mother. The press is outside the Brookline house, and Marcus’s lawyers just froze our family accounts. Victoria... please. I didn't know.
---
