Chapter 5 - The Shattered Glass
The violent impact sent the unmarked police cruiser spinning wildly off the wet asphalt.
Natalie screamed as the car crashed through a wooden guardrail and plunged down a steep, muddy embankment.
The vehicle flipped once, the terrible sound of crushing metal drowning out the pouring rain outside.
The cruiser finally slammed into a massive oak tree, shattering the windshield and plunging the cabin into darkness.
Natalie hung upside down, held tightly in place by her seatbelt, her head spinning with intense pain.
She unbuckled the belt with trembling fingers and crashed heavily onto the ruined roof of the car.
She looked over at the driver’s seat, finding Raymond unconscious with a deep gash across his forehead.
She shook his shoulder desperately, screaming his name until he finally groaned and opened his bloodshot eyes.
He kicked his shattered door open, dragging himself and Natalie out into the freezing, torrential downpour.
They scrambled up the muddy hill, hiding behind a thick cluster of pine trees just below the road.
Above them, the massive black SUV idled menacingly on the shoulder, its bright headlights piercing the darkness.
Two heavily armed men in tactical gear stepped out of the vehicle, holding high-powered rifles with flashlights attached.
They slid down the muddy embankment, aiming their sweeping lights directly toward the wrecked police cruiser.
Raymond pulled his service weapon from his shoulder holster, checking his magazine in the pouring rain.
He whispered to Natalie that she needed to run into the dense woods while he created a lethal distraction.
Natalie violently refused, stating that she was not going to leave the only person actively trying to protect her.
She pulled the burner phone from her pocket and noticed it was still connected to Marcus's banking application.
She quickly clicked the button to cancel the ten million dollar wire transfer, initiating a massive security freeze on the account.
Within seconds, the tactical radio attached to one of the hitmen loudly crackled to life in the darkness.
Marcus's furious voice echoed through the trees, screaming that the bank accounts had just been entirely frozen.
He ordered his men to capture the bride alive, because he needed her biometric scan to unlock the restricted funds.
The hitmen immediately changed their tactics, turning their flashlights toward the dense tree line where Natalie was hiding.
Raymond stepped out from behind the oak tree, raising his weapon and firing two precise shots in the dark.
One of the hitmen dropped heavily into the mud, his rifle clattering uselessly against the rocks.
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The second hitman quickly took cover behind the wrecked cruiser and returned a deafening wave of suppressive fire.
Just as Raymond prepared to flank the shooter, a bright red laser sight suddenly appeared directly on the center of Natalie's chest.
