Chapter Thirty-Six: The Surrender

No one spoke.

Marcus still stared at the phone in his hand as though it might suddenly explain itself.

"He wants to surrender."

The words didn't fit.

Arthur Hale had spent the entire night positioning himself to seize control of Silverfang.

He had manipulated the board.

Questioned my leadership.

Appeared wherever chaos erupted.

Men like Hale didn't surrender.

They negotiated.

They escaped.

Or they won.

Ronan held out his hand.

"Put him on speaker."

Marcus nodded and accepted the call.

The office filled with silence.

Then—

"Marcus."

Arthur Hale's voice sounded calm.

Almost tired.

"I assume Adrian is with you."

I stepped closer.

"I'm here."

A faint sigh came through the speaker.

"I was hoping you survived."

I frowned.

"That's an unusual thing to say."

"It has been an unusual night."

Inspector Mara Voss quietly signaled one of her officers to begin tracing the call.

The officer opened a laptop and started working.

Hale continued before anyone interrupted.

"I imagine you've discovered Genesis."

My grip tightened.

"You know about it."

"I know enough."

"You've lied to me for years."

"I have."

The admission came without hesitation.

Marcus looked stunned.

"I won't insult you by denying it."

Ronan spoke next.

"You framed Adrian."

"No."

"You attempted to remove him."

"Yes."

"What's the difference?"

"The first is a crime."

"The second is corporate politics."

His honesty was almost infuriating.

I took a slow breath.

"Where are you?"

"I'll tell you."

"But first..."

A pause.

"...I need five uninterrupted minutes."

"No."

Inspector Voss answered before I could.

"You'll give us your location first."

"You can trace the call if you wish."

Another pause.

"It won't help."

The officer looked up from his laptop.

She was right.

He silently mouthed the words.

Burner phone.

Hale knew exactly how to stay ahead of us.

"Speak," I said.

There was no point wasting time.

"I owe you an apology."

I almost laughed.

"Is that why you disappeared?"

"No."

"Then why?"

"Because someone tried to kill me."

The room became completely still.

Marcus frowned.

"What?"

Hale's breathing grew heavier.

"When the board meeting ended..."

He coughed once.

"...I never reached the elevator."

"You expect us to believe that?"

"I expect nothing."

His voice had lost its usual confidence.

"I barely escaped."

Inspector Voss folded her arms.

"Who attacked you?"

"I didn't see his face."

"How convenient."

"I saw his ring."

Every eye in the room met.

A ring.

The same clue that had appeared again and again.

"What kind of ring?" I asked.

"A silver wolf."

My heartbeat slowed.

"The Genesis symbol."

"Yes."

He coughed again.

"Which means I've been hunting the wrong people for twenty years."

Ronan's expression sharpened.

"What does that mean?"

"It means..."

A long silence followed.

"...the board isn't your enemy."

I looked at Ronan.

Neither of us believed him.

Not yet.

Hale continued.

"The board is being used."

"By whom?"

"I don't know."

"You expect us to believe you don't know who's manipulating your own company?"

"I know who benefits."

"But I don't know who's giving the orders."

That answer felt... possible.

Not convincing.

But possible.

The tracing officer suddenly looked up.

"I've got a location."

Inspector Voss leaned over the laptop.

"Where?"

The officer frowned.

"Silverfang Tower."

Marcus blinked.

"That's impossible."

"He never left?"

The officer zoomed in.

Then froze.

"No..."

"What?"

"The signal isn't coming from inside the tower."

She enlarged the map again.

My stomach tightened.

"What is it?"

Her voice dropped to a whisper.

"It's coming from beneath it."

Silence.

The call wasn't coming from the executive floor.

Or the parking garage.

Or Genesis.

It was deeper.

Much deeper.

Dr. Dawson slowly looked up.

"There isn't anything beneath Genesis."

Mr. Rowan quietly disagreed.

"There wasn't."

Everyone turned toward him.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

Rowan's face had become unusually serious.

"Genesis was built on bedrock."

"So?"

"So bedrock can't hide a radio signal."

He looked toward the floor.

"Unless someone dug deeper."

Hale spoke again.

"I don't have much time."

"Where are you?" I demanded.

"In the place your father told me never to enter."

"The place Evelyn Mercer was afraid of."

My hand instinctively closed around the brass key in my pocket.

For the door she cannot open.

The words suddenly carried a different meaning.

"There really is another level," I whispered.

Hale answered.

"Yes."

"What is it called?"

For the first time since the conversation began...

Arthur Hale sounded afraid.

Not nervous.

Not uncertain.

Afraid.

When he finally answered, his voice was barely audible.

"The Foundation."

The line went dead.

No farewell.

No static.

Just silence.

Marcus slowly lowered the phone.

Inspector Voss looked toward me.

"You don't actually intend to go back underground..."

Before she could finish, every light in my office went out.

The emergency generators failed.

The city skyline beyond the windows vanished into darkness.

For the first time that night...

The entire Silverfang Tower lost power.

And somewhere deep beneath our feet...

Something enormous woke up.