Chapter 8 - The Ultimatum
Victor's cruel smile stretched wide as he kept the heavy revolver pressed firmly against Gideon's skin.
"You always were too damn sentimental for your own good, Gideon," Victor mocked, his eyes gleaming with sheer malice.
Gideon slowly lowered his silenced pistol, knowing that any sudden movement would result in an instant bullet to the brain.
"Where is the mother, Victor?" Gideon demanded, his voice remaining terrifyingly calm despite the deadly situation.
"She is currently in a highly secure vehicle headed straight for the bottom of the Chicago River," Victor lied smoothly.
Gideon's jaw clenched in absolute fury, but he expertly maintained his cold, calculated composure.
"You really expect me to believe you killed your only viable leverage against me?" Gideon challenged accurately.
Victor chuckled darkly, taking a slow step back but keeping the deadly weapon perfectly aimed at Gideon's chest.
"You are absolutely right, she is alive for exactly five more minutes," Victor admitted with a twisted grin.
Victor aggressively pulled a highly sophisticated digital tablet from his tailored suit jacket and tossed it onto the empty hospital bed.
"Transfer the decrypted dockyard footage to my secure offshore server right now, and I will let the woman live."
"And if I refuse to give you the files?" Gideon asked coldly.
"Then I kill you right here, and my men will effortlessly hunt down that little brat you hid," Victor threatened loudly.
Gideon slowly walked over to the hospital bed and carefully picked up the glowing digital tablet.
He pretended to type in the complex security credentials required to initiate the massive file transfer.
In reality, Gideon was actively triggering a hidden distress beacon embedded directly inside his tactical watch.
The silent signal immediately alerted a massive FBI anti-corruption task force that Sarah the journalist had secretly assembled outside.
"The file size is massive, Victor, it is going to take a moment to properly buffer," Gideon stalled effectively.
Victor grew highly impatient, aggressively waving the silver revolver in Gideon's direction to hurry him up.
"I built the Witmore Foundation to save innocent lives, Victor, not to cover up your disgusting weapon smuggling ring," Gideon stated loudly, ensuring the FBI audio bugs captured a full confession.
"The foundation is merely a highly profitable shield, Gideon, and you were always too weak to see the real potential!" Victor shouted angrily.
Suddenly, the deafening, mechanical roar of heavily armed FBI helicopters echoed violently outside the large hospital windows.
Victor instantly realized he had been completely outsmarted and played for a total fool.
His face twisted into a mask of pure, unadulterated rage as he wildly raised his gun.
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Gideon aggressively lunged forward, violently swatting the heavy revolver away with his left arm just as Victor pulled the trigger.
The deafening gunshot completely shattered the tension in the room as Gideon fell heavily to the polished floor.
