Chapter 6 - The Fall of Vanguard
The silence in the Royal Society auditorium was absolute.
Venture capitalists looked at each other in horror. Representatives from the Ministry of Defense immediately stood up and began walking out the exit doors.
"You... you sabotaged us!" Vance screamed, pointing a shaking finger at Maya.
"She didn't sabotage you, Vance," Detective Inspector Miller of the New Scotland Yard announced, stepping onto the stage flanked by four uniformed officers. "You stole a minor's intellectual property, committed corporate extortion, and attempted to execute a fifty-million-dollar fraud against the international patent office."
Inspector Miller pulled a set of handcuffs from his belt.
"Julian Vance and Kenneth Pryce," Miller said loudly, "you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit high-value commercial fraud, computer misfeasance, and extortion."
As the officers snapped the steel cuffs onto Vance's wrists, Vance looked over at me, his eyes filled with rage.
"You got lucky, Whitmore!" Vance spat. "You found some homeless prodigy by accident!"
"It wasn't an accident, Julian," I said, looking down at sleeping Sophie, then up at Maya. "She walked out of economy because she had kindness in her heart. You lost because you thought people were things to be bought and discarded. Take him away."
The reporters rushed forward, camera flashes blinding the stage as Vance and Pryce were led out in chains.
May you like
I turned to Maya, who was standing quietly amidst the chaos, looking at the empty stage where her stolen work had just been reclaimed.
"Come on, Maya," I said gently, touching her shoulder. "We have a real press conference to host."
