Neptune One Case File 3: The Curtis Heist. Neptune One: Case Files, #3

A jewellery store robbery should have been routine. Instead, it becomes a hostage crisis. When a desperate armed robber barricades himself inside Neptune One's Water Environment Simulation-a luxury tropical paradise hidden inside the station's vast retail precinct-Commander Beth Baxter and Security Team III are called in before hundreds of shoppers become trapped in the crossfire. As negotiations begin, Beth discovers the suspect is a former combat engineer with military explosives training, unstable PTSD, and a plan that's rapidly spiralling out of control.
One wrong decision could turn the station's busiest shopping district into a massacre. But when the hostages are finally rescued, the real crime is only just beginning. Half a million credits in rare gemstones have vanished. With no obvious way they could have disappeared during the siege, Beth uncovers evidence that someone else has been playing a far more dangerous game. Now the hunt races through Neptune One's crowded retail levels, ventilation systems, and departing shuttle terminals before the thief can disappear into space forever.
Fast-paced, cinematic, and packed with tactical police action, The Curtis Heist is the third standalone novella in the Neptune One Mystery series. Perfect for readers who enjoy military science fiction, futuristic police procedurals, and fast-moving space station thrillers.