Chapter 15 - THE SWISS PROTOCOL
Z
Guns roared in the front yard as state tactical officers engaged the Apex mercenaries. Muzzle flashes illuminated the oak trees in bright, blinding strobes.
I kicked through the rotting wooden lattice under the deck, stumbled out into the dark alley behind my house, and sprinted toward the corner where Sarah’s unmarked vehicle was parked with its engine idling.
Sarah leaned across the passenger seat and threw the door open. "Get in! Now!"
I threw the green case onto the floorboards and dived into the seat just as three bullets slammed into the passenger side door panel, leaving deep lead indentations in the reinforced steel. Sarah slammed the vehicle into drive, cut the wheel hard, and blasted out of the alleyway, leaving the chaos on Elm Street behind us.
"Where is Thomas?" I panted, wiping sweat and dirt from my forehead.
"He's safe," Sarah said, her eyes glued to the road as we accelerated down the highway toward the state line. "I had two state troopers take him to a secure safehouse in Pennsylvania three hours ago when I first got wind of the Apex operation. But we can't stay in this state, Rick. Apex has judges and state representatives on their payroll. Until we clear this evidence through a federal grand jury, nowhere local is safe."
"Where are we going?" I asked, looking back at the distant red glow of emergency lights fading in our rear-view mirror.
"Chicago," Sarah replied coldly. "We're taking the fight directly to the Apex board of directors before they can destroy the Swiss trust."
Six hours later, as the sun rose over the towering steel skyscrapers of downtown Chicago, Sarah pulled our vehicle into the underground parking garage of the Federal Reserve Building.
Victoria Vance was already waiting for us near the private elevator, accompanied by two federal prosecutors holding sealed court summonses.
"They tried to take your house, Rick," Victoria said, her face pale but resolute as she looked at the green case in my hands. "Apex filed a motion six hours ago claiming Thomas was deceased and that I was an imposter."
"I have the original Zurich authorization papers right here," I said, handing her the waterproof case. "And I'm signing the power of attorney over to Thomas today."
"You don't need to sign it over to Thomas," Victoria corrected, looking at me with deep emotion. "Thomas requested something else. He signed a joint custody agreement late last night."
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She pulled a typed legal document from her briefcase and handed it to me.
The document designated Thomas Vance and Richard Miller—myself—as co-trustees of the seventy-five million dollar Vance foundation. Julian Vance had explicitly written into the original Zurich clause that if his son survived, the person who stood beside him during his darkest hour would become his permanent legal guardian and partner in managing the family legacy.
