Chapter 5 - The Ambush at the River
The deafening crack of gunfire echoed across the open river valley, sending flocks of birds into the grey sky.
Detective Vance dropped to his knees in the mud, throwing his hands up in absolute terror.
The heavily armed men swarmed the medical tent, completely surrounding Andrew's stretcher.
Natalie instinctively drew her sidearm, stepping in front of the wounded man to protect him.
"Lower your weapon, Officer!" the leader of the masked men barked, keeping his assault rifle trained on her.
"If you shoot, he dies right here, and you never get the truth about the five million."
Andrew looked up at the masked men, his eyes widening in sudden, horrifying recognition.
"You..." Andrew whispered, trembling violently against the mattress. "You're the ones who framed me."
The leader pulled down his ski mask, revealing a harsh scar running across his right cheek.
He smiled an ugly, menacing smile that made the blood run cold in Natalie's veins.
"You shouldn't have looked inside that envelope in your truck, Miller," the man sneered.
"We used your bank routing numbers to launder the stolen credit union cash."
Detective Vance looked completely bewildered from his position on the ground.
"Wait... you aren't federal agents?" Vance stammered, looking back and forth in confusion.
"We are the people who actually run this town, Detective," the leader laughed darkly.
He gestured to two of his men, who grabbed the edges of Andrew's stretcher and hoisted him up.
"Hey! Let him go!" Natalie screamed, raising her gun and preparing to fire despite the overwhelming odds.
Before she could pull the trigger, the leader pressed a remote detonator button in his hand.
A massive explosion ripped through the highway overpass above them, sending tons of concrete crashing down.
The falling debris formed an impenetrable barrier of rubble, completely blocking the road and trapping Natalie.
By the time backup units managed to clear the concrete hours later, Andrew and the armed men had vanished.
Detective Vance stood up, dusting the mud off his expensive suit with a strangely calm expression.
Natalie turned to him in fury, demanding to know why he hadn't fired back at the kidnappers.
Vance simply holstered his weapon, looked her dead in the eye, and told her to drop the investigation.
He claimed Andrew was clearly a dangerous criminal whose syndicate partners had just rescued him.
Natalie knew the exact opposite was true, and she realized the local police department was deeply compromised.
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She drove straight back to the hospital, determined to protect little Ashley from the corrupt forces closing in.
When she walked into Ashley's room, she found the bed completely empty and the window wide open.
