Chapter 26 - The Code Falls
"What is the meaning of this?" Harrison stammered, dropping his glass. The crystal shattered against the parquet floor, sending a spray of sparkling wine across the hem of his velvet robes.
The screen behind him flashed a bold, crimson warning banner: SYSTEM AUDIT IN PROGRESS. ASSET RECONCILIATION COMPLETE. DATA TRANSFER TO FEDERAL OVERSIGHT COMMENCING.
Panic erupted instantly among the trustees. Department chairs stood up in a clatter of mahogany chairs, shouting over one another, while two university security guards pushed frantically toward the dais, their hands fumbling for their radios.
Casey stood her ground at the podium, her voice ringing clear and steady through the wireless microphone without a single tremor.
"The department has been operating an illegal asset-seizure clearinghouse since nineteen-fifty-four," Casey announced into the silent, stunned hall, her words echoing off the Georgian plaster molding. "Professor Harrison and his associates used university endowment funds to launder millions in contraband profits under the guise of linguistic research grants."
"Shut her off! Cut the microphone!" Harrison shrieked, lunging across the mahogany table toward the podium with his fingers clawed like talons, his aristocratic veneer completely shattered.
Before he could reach her, a heavy hand gripped his shoulder from behind with the immovable force of a hydraulic press.
Harrison spun around, gasping. Standing right behind him on the dais, wearing a dark tweed suit and a brimmed fedora that cast a shadow across his scarred face, was Dominic Russo.
"Good afternoon, Professor," Dominic said in a low, gravelly voice that carried across the entire room. "I believe your time on the endowment committee has officially expired."
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Before the security guards could reach the stage, the heavy oak double doors at the back of the Faculty House swung open with a resounding bang. A squad of federal marshals in tactical gear, led by an internal affairs inspector Casey recognized from the Beacon safehouse, flooded into the room with badges held high.
"Federal oversight team! Nobody moves!" the lead investigator shouted, his voice echoing off the crystal chandeliers. "Professor Harrison, you are under arrest for racketeering, wire fraud, and international money laundering."
