Chapter 16 - The Last War of Meridian
Jonathan Mercer did not want succession.
He wanted saleable power.
Within minutes, his men took the upper research levels.
Federal tactical teams surrounded the campus, but Jonathan threatened to trigger explosives inside the data center.
Torres coordinated with command.
Victor remained strangely calm.
“You chose badly.”
He told Celeste.
She glared at him.
“You brought Jonathan into Meridian.”
“Yes.”
“Because you thought he was controllable.”
Victor looked at Dad.
“We both made that mistake with ambitious men.”
The implication was obvious.
Jonathan.
Nathan.
Different scale.
Same disease.
A security feed showed Jonathan entering the underground corridor.
Dad turned to Victor.
“Give me core access.”
“No.”
“People will die.”
“Then Claire decides.”
I stared at both of them.
Even now they were trying to turn disaster into philosophy.
“Enough.”
My voice filled the room.
Victor looked surprised.
“So does yours.”
I pointed at Dad.
“So does his.”
“Neither of you gets to decide what I become.”
I turned toward Torres.
“Can we isolate the facility from the external network?”
Victor laughed.
“Impossible.”
I looked at Celeste.
She hesitated.
Then said.
“Not impossible.”
Victor turned toward her.
“What?”
“There’s a physical backbone beneath level eight.”
“You told me it was sealed.”
“I lied.”
For the first time, Victor looked genuinely betrayed.
Celeste smiled faintly.
“You taught me well.”
We had one chance.
Disconnect Meridian physically before Jonathan could access the core.
That would prevent both the data release and remote theft.
The drawback was brutal.
The system’s encrypted architecture would begin destroying unsynchronized data.
Including evidence.
Dad immediately understood.
“We’ll lose the archive.”
“Some of it.”
“Maybe most.”
I looked at him.
“That is the price.”
Dad did not argue.
Victor did.
“You cannot erase thirty years of history.”
“No.”
I said.
“But I can stop you from using people’s lives as ammunition.”
Jonathan reached the corridor outside.
Gunfire erupted.
Daniel Price and federal agents held the entrance.
Celeste led me toward level eight.
Dad followed.
Victor remained behind.
At the elevator, I looked back.
“Aren’t you coming?”
Victor smiled.
“This is my building.”
Then he locked the doors behind us.
Jonathan entered the command room seconds later.
The security feed showed the two old men facing each other.
Victor Sloane.
Jonathan Mercer.
One dying.
One desperate.
Their argument was silent on the monitor.
Then Jonathan raised his gun.
Dad stopped walking.
“Victor.”
A flash filled the screen.
Victor collapsed.
Celeste made no sound.
But her face broke.
For all the anger between them, he was still her father.
Jonathan turned toward the camera.
He knew we were watching.
Then he smiled.
The elevator continued descending.
May you like
Celeste wiped her eyes.
“Let’s end this.”
