Chapter 47: Vocal Mimicry

The elevator doors slid open at the ground floor.

Lucas walked out of the cab and bypassed the security desk with long, rapid strides. He pushed through the revolving glass doors and stepped onto the busy sidewalk. The cold morning air hit his face. He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed the new number Morgan Hale had texted him last night.

She answered on the first ring. "Tell me you have a plan."

"Who has the pickup order?" Lucas asked. He kept his voice low and merged into the flow of pedestrian traffic.

"A local bonded service," Morgan replied. Her keyboard clacked furiously in the background. "Diamond State Couriers. The request just cleared the Delaware state portal. They are picking up the wet-ink formation document for Northshore in ten minutes. The delivery instructions route it straight to Pell and Garrity for secure disposal."

"He is shredding the only proof," Lucas said.

"How did he know we found the shell?" Morgan demanded. "I used a proxy server. The state registry does not log search inquiries."

"I tipped him," Lucas admitted. "He walked into Victoria’s office and tried to get her to sign a retainer for Northshore disguised as a soil survey. I had to physically block her hand. I did not say the name out loud but he saw me read the letterhead. He knows the third shell is compromised."

Morgan let out a harsh breath over the line. "If that paper goes into an incinerator, we have nothing. A digital scan of a lifted signature will not hold up in federal court. He walks away clean."

"Give me the dispatch number for Diamond State Couriers," Lucas said. "And the order ID."

"I am texting it to you now," Morgan said. "But Lucas, they require verbal confirmation and an authorization email from the client to reroute a bonded package."

"I will handle it. Drive to Wilmington and wait at the FedEx hold center on King Street. I am sending the document there under your name."

He ended the call before she could argue.

His phone buzzed a second later with the dispatch details. He stared at the screen. He needed to call a secure courier service and convince them to hand over classified legal documents to an unauthorized address. He could not use his Silver Tongue skill to charm them. Dispatchers were trained to ignore charm and follow strict protocols.

He needed to be the client.

Lucas opened the System interface in his mind. He had fourteen hundred Acquisition Points sitting in his bank. He navigated to the Skill Shop and scrolled past the psychological enhancements until he found the exact tool he needed.

[Vocal Mimicry (Level 1) - Cost: 600 AP]

[Description: Grants the Host the physical ability to perfectly replicate the vocal pitch, cadence, and unique speech patterns of any individual they have previously heard speak.]

He confirmed the purchase.

A strange, tight sensation gripped his vocal cords. The muscles in his throat contracted and shifted. He cleared his throat. He did not sound like himself. The faint hum of the vibration felt entirely foreign.

He dialed the dispatch number for Diamond State Couriers.

The line rang twice before a tired woman answered. "Diamond State Dispatch. How can I help you?"

Lucas opened his mouth. He focused on the memory of the silver-haired lawyer standing in the archive and in the executive suite. He recalled the smooth, aristocratic pacing and the subtle underlying arrogance.

"This is Nathan Cole," Lucas said.

The voice that came out of his mouth was flawless. It was the exact deep, polished baritone of the Vertex Management deputy general counsel.

"Hello, Mr. Cole," the dispatcher said. Her tone immediately shifted to professional deference. "Are you calling regarding the priority pickup at the state archives?"

"I am," Lucas said, keeping Cole’s smooth cadence steady. "We have a logistical emergency on our end. The Market Street office just experienced a severe plumbing failure. The entire floor is flooded. I cannot have sensitive legal documents delivered to a compromised location."

"I understand, sir," the dispatcher said. "We can hold the package at our secure facility until the office reopens."

"That will not work," Lucas replied sharply. He injected the precise amount of corporate irritation Cole used when his orders were questioned. "The document is required for an active compliance audit today. I need it rerouted to our independent auditor immediately."

The dispatcher hesitated. "Sir, standard protocol requires me to deliver to the registered agent on file. I can reroute it, but I need an authorization email from a Vertex Management account confirming the new address."

"I am sending it from my phone right now," Lucas said.

He pulled the phone away from his ear and opened his work email. His attach?? account sat on the same Vertex domain as everyone else’s. He typed a short authorization on behalf of Nathan Cole, copied the legal disclaimer he had seen at the bottom of Cole’s memos, and signed it as Cole’s office.

He typed in Morgan’s name and the address for the shipping hold center in Wilmington. He hit send.

He put the phone back to his ear. "Refresh your inbox."

He heard the faint click of a mouse over the line.

"I have the authorization, Mr. Cole," the dispatcher confirmed. The tension in her voice vanished. The paperwork matched the voice on the phone. The bureaucratic requirements were satisfied. "I am updating the driver’s route right now. The package will be dropped at the King Street hold center for Morgan Hale."

"I appreciate the efficiency," Lucas said in Cole’s voice. "Have a good morning."

He ended the call.

He stood on the sidewalk and let out a long breath. The tight sensation in his throat relaxed as he mentally deactivated the skill. He had just stolen the most dangerous piece of evidence in the city right out from under a seasoned corporate lawyer.

He dialed Morgan again.

"It is done," Lucas said in his normal voice. "The courier drops it at the King Street center within the hour. They hold it until close. Bring your ID to sign for it."

"I am already on the highway. Two hours, maybe less," Morgan said. The sound of wind rushing past her car echoed over the phone. "You actually pulled it off."

"Secure the paper and let me know when you have it in your hands."

"I will," Morgan said. Her voice grew quiet and serious. "But Lucas, we have another problem. If Cole believes the original document is being shredded right now, he knows his exit strategy is gone. He knows you read the letterhead. He is not going to sit at his desk and wait for Victoria to figure it out."

Lucas frowned. The cold morning wind suddenly felt a lot sharper.

"He is going to run," Lucas realized.

"He has two years of stolen capital stashed in Harlan and Brennan," Morgan said. "He will empty the accounts, pack a bag, and be on a plane to a non-extradition country by sunset. By the time I get this physical paper back to Victoria, he will be a ghost."

Morgan hung up to focus on the drive.

Lucas stared at his phone. Morgan was right. Cole was wrapping up his loose ends. The lawyer had tried to secure the final snare with Northshore today, but Lucas had blocked it. Cole had immediately moved to burn the evidence in Delaware. The next logical step for a cornered predator was to flee the blast zone.

Lucas could not physically stop a senior executive from leaving the building. He could not alert Vertex security because he had no proof to show them yet.

If Cole got on a plane, the entire operation failed. Camilla would never get justice for Pier Nine. Victoria would be left holding a massive scandal without the culprit in custody to take the fall.

He needed to keep Cole anchored to the city.

He had to make the lawyer believe running was a mistake. He had to give Cole a reason to stay and negotiate.

Lucas looked up at the towering glass facade of Vertex Management. He understood how corrupt men thought. Cole believed everyone in the financial district was driven by greed. If someone uncovered a scam, they did not report it out of moral obligation. They leveraged it for a payout.

Lucas smiled grimly. He opened his contacts and scrolled until he found the internal extension for the deputy general counsel.

He pressed the call button.

The line rang three times before Cole answered.

"Nathan Cole," the lawyer said. His voice was smooth and perfectly composed. He sounded like a man who believed his Delaware problem was currently being shredded into confetti.

"We need to talk," Lucas said. He did not use the vocal mimicry. He used his own voice, lacing it with a dark, greedy edge.

"Mr. Vintage," Cole said. A faint trace of caution entered his tone. "I am quite busy preparing for the weekend. What can I do for you?"

"You can meet me," Lucas said. "You saw me block the retainer in her office. You know what I saw on that letterhead. And I know you just tried to have the Delaware registry purged."

Silence fell over the line. The smooth facade finally cracked.

"I do not know what you are talking about," Cole said quietly.

"Do not insult my intelligence," Lucas snapped. "I know about Harlan. I know about Brennan. And I know about the third shell you built with her signature. If you try to get on a plane today, I will walk back into her office and tell her everything."

"If you were going to tell her, you would have done it an hour ago," Cole observed. The lawyer’s sharp mind was already calculating the angle. "Why didn’t you?"

"Because Victoria pays well," Lucas said, letting the Silver Tongue skill inject raw ambition into his words. "But I know you have secured a lot more over the last two years. I want a cut of the exit fund. If you pay me, I keep my mouth shut and you get to walk away clean on Monday."

Cole let out a slow breath. The blackmail made perfect sense to him. It explained why the young consultant had blocked the contract but kept the secret.

"The library on the fourth floor," Cole said. His voice was cold and transactional. "Ten minutes. Come alone."