Hero Complex

Chapter One
 Bard Verstrand studied the monitor. She squinted and leaned closer trying to make out the images from the discreetly placed surveillance camera in the corner of the science lab.
 “This is live, correct?” She jabbed at the screen and turned to the group of her employees standing aimlessly behind her. 
 No one answered.
 “I asked if this was live.” 
 “Yes, ma’am. She’s, uh, Dr. Scales is in the lab now. It’s a live feed from our camera.”
 Bard studied the monitor again. She found the spying distasteful, but she had no choice. 
 “Antonio, how close is she?”
 Now that he’d been summoned, Bard’s right-hand man stepped forward and leaned over the desk, mirroring her own position. “She’s almost completed her work. Our window of opportunity likely closes at the end of the day. You know what needs to be done.”
 Sweat materialized on Bard’s palms and her mouth felt dry. She scrubbed her hands on her outrageously expensive pencil skirt to rid herself of the outward sign of her unease. 
 Antonio put his hand on her shoulder and spoke so only Bard could hear. “I know you’ve been unsure about taking this path, but trust yourself. Your father left the company to you for exactly these moments. He trusted you to find the innovations that would steer Verstrand Industries into the future, and you have. It’s time to take what’s yours.”
 Bard nodded as she once again watched Bronte Scales. She was a brilliant scientist who’d rented lab space in her building for years. The science might be above her head, but she prided herself on understanding people and she’d known the moment Bronte had set foot in the building she could one day help her fulfill her legacy. 
 “I don’t have much choice, do I?” Bard could hear the regret in her own voice. What was her act of self-interest, her act of survival, going to cost Bronte?
 “If she’s as gifted as you say, there is more out there for her to discover.” Antonio stood, ready to give the order for his men to move on Bronte’s lab.
 Bard hesitated. Was she so afraid of disappointing her father that she was ready to ruin a woman’s career? She’d never thought herself a coward. She considered the feeling of sitting in front of her father and telling him Verstrand Industries had nothing new to bring to market for the foreseeable future because she didn’t have the ovaries to confront one unarmed, unsuspecting scientist. 
 “Let’s move.” Bard stood so abruptly her chair skittered back, slamming into the man standing at attention behind her desk. “I’m coming with you.”
 “Ma’am, you don’t have to do that. You can watch here.” Antonio pointed to the monitor.
 “I’m coming. I want to ensure all the data and materials are secured. There’s a lot riding on this operation.” Bard headed for the door forcing her men to scramble to keep up. 
 Antonio fell in beside her barking orders into his radio, coordinating the raid they’d been planning for weeks. 
 Once outside the door to the lab, Antonio silently directed the men into their final positions. Bard had watched these maneuvers on other operations via the emotionally distanced video feed Antonio dutifully provided, but it was altogether different participating in the action herself. 
 Her heart pounded so aggressively as she watched Antonio silently count down that she could feel it in her neck, her temple, and her fingers. No one around her looked the least bit uneasy. Were they not frightened? How did they keep their nerves at bay?
 Before Antonio finished his countdown and Bard could worry herself into an ulcer or into rushing the door before the rest of the team was ready, someone called out from within. 
 “It’s unlocked. No need to break it down. Come in when you’re done posturing in the hall.”
 Bard clenched her teeth and grabbed Antonio by the front of the shirt. “That’s her. How does she know we’re here?”
 Antonio looked to the door as if it might provide the answers he clearly didn’t have himself. 
 “If she knew we were coming she’s probably in there destroying the data or hiding it well enough we’ll never find it. Get your men in there and secure what we came for.” Bard let go of Antonio’s shirt and shoved him toward the lab. 
 Despite Bronte’s assurance the door was unlocked, one of the men broke it anyway. Bard shoved her way in after the first three entered. She was dismayed at the scene that greeted her. 
 A trash can stood in the middle of the room engulfed in flames. The fire suppression system hadn’t engaged so Bronte must have disabled it before setting fire to the bin. Beakers, pipettes, and test tubes were smashed in the sink and on the floor. 
 “Sorry for the mess, boys.” Bronte casually leaned against one of the lab benches, her hands in the pockets of her white lab coat. “Although I guess you aren’t concerned about that.” She nodded at the door lying on the floor.
 Bard balled her fists. Her wrists were like iron and her face was on fire. She stormed to Bronte and stopped inches from her. “How dare you destroy what was mine.”
 “None of this was ever yours.” Bronte pushed off her perch nearly colliding with Bard. 
 “Everything and anything I need to make Verstrand Industries successful is mine.”
 Bronte reached behind her, grabbed her laptop which was still open on the bench, and stepped around Bard. “If you say so. The thing is, here in the real world there are laws and rules, and general human decency. You and your ten armed goons have a look around if you want. Put out the fire when you’re done and fix the door. I’ve got nothing to say to you.”
 Bard grabbed Bronte’s arm as she walked past. She took a