Chapter 4 - The Boardroom Coup
While Frank hurried toward the rear storage cage to retrieve the physical binder containing the damning mechanical failure reports, Daniel’s satellite phone buzzed once more. It was Marcus Vance.
""Daniel, it's worse than we thought,"" Marcus reported, his keyboard clicking frantically in the background. ""Twenty minutes ago, an anonymous institutional fund based out of Geneva shorted Carter Aviation Group stock by four hundred million dollars. Simultaneously, an offshore entity registered to Victor Hale's brother-in-law transferred fifty million dollars into a private escrow account in Panama.""
""He's betting the entire company against my life,"" Daniel said, his voice dropping into arctic coldness. ""If Flight 417 crashes, the stock plummets sixty percent overnight. Victor steps in as acting CEO, exercises his emergency buyout warrants, buys the depreciated stock for pennies on the dollar with offshore money, and takes total private control of the airport network.""
""What are you going to do?"" Marcus asked. ""I can have federal marshals at the terminal in forty minutes.""
""Forty minutes is too late. The boarding doors close in twelve minutes,"" Daniel stated firmly. ""If Victor realizes the plan has failed before the aircraft is officially secured, he has a private Gulfstream parked at the executive terminal fueled and ready for international airspace. He’ll vanish before the feds can cross the tarmac.""
At that moment, Frank returned, clutching a thick red leather folder stamped with the Carter Aviation safety seal. Inside were the raw telemetry printouts showing massive hydraulic pressure fluctuations and the handwritten grounding order signed by three independent certified mechanics—all stamped with Victor Hale's signature overriding the grounding with the notation: EXECUTIVE AUTHORIZATION GRANTED - ROUTINE SENSOR ANOMALY.
""Take photos of every single page on your secure phone, Marcus, and upload them directly to the Department of Transportation Inspector General and the FBI corporate fraud division,"" Daniel instructed, snapping high-resolution images of each page with his encrypted device. ""Then send a copy to my daughter’s personal legal team.""
Daniel turned to Maya, who was watching him with wide, resolute eyes. ""Maya, do you still have your security clearance to access Gate 12 from the tarmac ramp?""
May you like
""Yes, Mr. Carter,"" she said without hesitation. ""My credentials are fully active.""
""Good,"" Daniel said, unzipping his worn jacket and rolling up his sleeves. ""We are going to walk up that jet bridge together. Flight 417 is not taking off, and Victor Hale is about to find out that a man in scuffed boots can take down an empire.""
