Chapter 6 - The Hitmen
I made it back to Arthur’s penthouse with the data.
"We have it all," Arthur said, his eyes wide as he looked at the screen. "Routing numbers, wire transfers, cartel payouts. We have enough to put Marcus and Eleanor in federal prison for the rest of their natural lives."
"Then we call the FBI," Maria said firmly.
Arthur shook his head. "We can't just call the local field office. Marcus has half the LAPD on his payroll. We need to go straight to the top. I have a contact at the Department of Justice in Washington. But it’s going to take 24 hours to get him here."
Those 24 hours almost cost us our lives.
At 3:00 AM, the reinforced steel door of Arthur's penthouse was blown completely off its hinges.
Smoke filled the living room as four heavily armed cartel fixers, dressed in black tactical gear, stepped into the apartment. Marcus wasn't waiting for the police; he had called in the death squad to erase the evidence.
"Get down!" I yelled, shoving Maria behind the heavy marble kitchen island as bullets shredded the expensive leather furniture.
Arthur, pulling a shotgun from beneath his desk, returned fire, taking down the first attacker. The penthouse turned into a warzone. Glass shattered, drywall exploded, and the deafening roar of gunfire echoed through the night.
"We have to go!" I shouted, grabbing the laptop.
May you like
We crawled toward the private elevator. Arthur laid down suppressing fire, but one of the attackers managed to clip him. Arthur grunted, taking a bullet to the shoulder, but he kept moving.
We piled into the elevator, slamming the override button. As the doors slid shut, bullets sparked against the closing metal. We were bleeding, exhausted, and hunted, but we were alive. And we had the keys to the kingdom.
