Chapter 10 - The Insider's Gambit
Before Arthur could reach for the ID badge, the tiny LED status light on the custom digital signal repeater inside the briefcase suddenly flashed from steady green to a rapid, blinding strobe of crimson.
A high-pitched digital whine filled the air around our feet.
"Get down!" Arthur roared, lunging forward and shoving me hard against the bulkhead wall just as the small device emitted a sharp, chemical pop and a thin ribbon of acrid gray smoke curled upward from its internal circuit board.
A second later, the cockpit radio speakers at the front of the aircraft crackled to life, broadcasting an automated priority alert directly from the terminal tower frequency:
“Vanguard Flight 271, attention. All internal network diagnostics have just been forcibly wiped from the primary terminal server. Your onboard flight management system has been locked out by an external override signal originating from a secondary corporate relay.”
Captain Vance’s voice echoed back down the aisle, tight with rising panic: "Tower, this is Flight 271! We have a confirmed internal security compromise! Override the lockout from your end!"
“We can't, Captain,” the tower dispatcher replied, the voice trembling slightly over the static. “The override signal isn't coming from the airport anymore. It’s bouncing off a private satellite uplink registered directly to... Vance-Global Holdings corporate headquarters downtown.”
Arthur slowly stood up from the floor, brushing a speck of soot from his suit sleeve. His expression wasn't panicked anymore; it was carved out of cold, absolute granite.
He pulled out his encrypted smartphone, dialed a direct seven-digit extension without looking at his contacts list, and pressed it to his ear.
"This is Arthur Parker," he said into the phone, his voice carrying an icy, terrifying authority that could cut glass. "Lock down the executive vault, freeze all primary ledger accounts, and deploy the private security detail to the forty-second-floor boardroom immediately."
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He paused, his eyes narrowing as he stared down at the smoking briefcase in seat 34E.
"Tell my uncle Julian," Arthur continued coldly, "that the family meeting he scheduled for tomorrow morning is happening right now... whether he likes it or not."
