Chapter 2 - The Armored Escort
Noah stared at the silver pocket watch resting perfectly in Harold Bennett's palm.
The intricate engravings on the metal casing matched his father's old watch exactly.
The police had told Noah and his mother that the watch was entirely lost in the fiery car crash.
Before Noah could ask a single question, the doors of the black SUVs swung open simultaneously.
Dozens of massive men wearing tactical gear and communication earpieces stepped out into the pouring rain.
They quickly formed a heavily armed defensive perimeter around the tiny city deli.
The glass door of the shop opened again as Mr. Vance stepped out to investigate the loud commotion.
The angry manager froze completely when he saw the terrifying wall of armed mercenaries.
"What is the exact meaning of this?" Vance squeaked, his previous confidence entirely vanished.
One of the massive guards took a highly threatening step toward the terrified manager.
Harold simply raised a single finger, and the armed guard immediately stepped back into line.
"You will go back inside and entirely forget you ever saw this boy," Harold told Vance coldly.
Vance nodded frantically, backing slowly into the shop and quickly locking the door behind him.
Harold turned his piercing blue eyes back to a heavily shivering, utterly confused Noah.
"We do not have much time to casually talk out here in the open."
"You need to get into the armored vehicle right now if you actually want to stay alive."
Noah looked at his rusted delivery bicycle and then at the heavily armored convoy.
His natural instincts screamed at him to run far away from these incredibly dangerous strangers.
But the undeniable sight of his father's silver watch completely overpowered his deep fear.
He slowly nodded and allowed Harold to gently guide him into the back of the largest SUV.
The interior of the vehicle looked exactly like a highly sophisticated mobile command center.
Glowing computer screens and advanced communication equipment lined the thick leather walls.
As soon as the heavy armored door slammed shut, the convoy aggressively accelerated down the dark street.
Harold poured a glass of warm water from a hidden compartment and handed it politely to Noah.
"Your father was a brilliant and highly determined investigative journalist, Noah," Harold began explaining quietly.
"He uncovered a massive international conspiracy involving corrupt politicians and a lethal crime syndicate."
Noah shook his head in absolute disbelief, fiercely struggling to accept this terrifying new reality.
"My dad was just a regular, boring accountant for a local shipping company," Noah argued weakly.
Harold let out a sad, heavy sigh and opened a glowing digital tablet on his lap.
"That shipping company was actually a massive front for an international weapons smuggling ring."
"He was secretly auditing their illegal accounts to completely expose their vast criminal empire."
Harold handed the digital tablet directly to Noah, displaying a photograph of a highly classified document.
"He desperately mailed me this evidence the very same night his car was mysteriously forced off the bridge."
Noah felt hot tears welling up in his exhausted eyes as he stared at his father's familiar handwriting.
Suddenly, a deafening metallic crash violently shook the entire armored SUV.
Noah was thrown incredibly hard against the leather seats as the highly trained driver swerved aggressively.
May you like
"We have immediate incoming hostiles," the driver yelled frantically from the front seat.
Noah looked out the reinforced window and saw a massive, unmarked garbage truck aggressively ramming their convoy.
