Chapter 3 - The Lion’s Den
Crestview Heights was less of a neighborhood and more of a sanctuary for the untouchable. Garrett’s pickup looked like an intruder as it crunched up the gravel driveway of the Vance Estate. The house was a masterpiece of glass and steel, cantilevered over a cliffside, designed to look as though it were staring down the valley below.
He was met at the door not by a butler, but by a man who looked like he was carved out of granite. He wore a sharp, charcoal-gray suit, and his eyes scanned Garrett with the same clinical efficiency Garrett had used in the diner.
"You're late," the man said, though it was only 8:58 AM.
"I’m early," Garrett countered, stepping past him into the foyer.
Eleanor was waiting in a study that smelled of old books and high-end electronics. She was seated in a leather chair, her prosthetic leg extended. She looked better than she had the day before; the bruise on her cheek was hidden by professional-grade makeup, but her eyes held that same razor-sharp intensity.
"You came," she said, gesturing to a seat across from her.
"I have questions," Garrett said, remaining standing. "Who are you, really? And why hire a guy who’s been spending his nights sleeping on a cot in a garage?"
Eleanor tapped her tablet, and a holographic display shimmered to life in the center of the room. It showed the schematics of a human limb—an arm, then a leg—integrated with nerve-mapping technology that looked decades ahead of anything on the commercial market.
"I am the CEO of Vance Dynamics," she said. "And I am the target of a silent war. My company holds the patents for the most advanced neural-link prosthetics ever created. A group known as 'The Syndicate' has been trying to force a buyout. They aren't interested in the technology for the benefit of humanity. They want it for the military, for total control of the nervous system. The boys you saw at the diner? They weren't just bullies. They were testing my security detail. They wanted to see if I was vulnerable."
May you like
Garrett felt his jaw tighten. "You used yourself as bait."
"I needed to see who would stand up when no one was watching," she replied. "I don't need a bodyguard, Garrett. I need a ghost. Someone who knows how to operate in the dark, someone who isn't afraid to get their hands dirty. I need someone like you."
