Chapter 8 - The Counterattack
The distraction was exactly what Daniel needed.
He tackled Richard into the muddy grass, punching him fiercely in the jaw.
The flash drive flew out of Richard’s hand and skittered across the tarmac.
Victoria sprinted forward and snatched the drive from the ground.
The mercenaries recovered from their shock and aimed at Daniel.
Before they could fire, dozens of police cruisers burst through the chain-link gates.
Red and blue lights flooded the rainy airstrip.
SWAT officers swarmed the mercenaries, demanding they drop their weapons.
Captain Reynolds had used his aviation emergency frequency to summon the entire county force.
Daniel pinned Richard to the ground, holding him by his expensive collar.
"Call your man in Columbus!" Daniel roared.
"Tell him to leave my house right now!"
Richard spat blood onto the grass and laughed cruelly.
"It is too late, Carter."
"My man had orders to eliminate them if I didn't check in every ten minutes."
"And it has been fifteen."
Daniel’s world stopped spinning.
He dropped Richard and scrambled for the discarded tablet in the mud.
He frantically wiped the screen clean to look at the live feed.
The kitchen was completely empty.
The chairs were overturned, and a window was shattered.
"No," Daniel whispered, tears streaming down his face.
"Emma, please."
Victoria ran to his side, staring at the empty screen in horror.
The police dragged a handcuffed Richard away toward a cruiser.
"You lose, Victoria," Richard shouted over the sirens.
"The cartel will destroy this company, and you will have nothing."
Daniel collapsed onto the wet concrete, unable to breathe through the grief.
Suddenly, his cell phone vibrated violently in his soaked pocket.
May you like
He pulled it out with trembling, muddy fingers.
It was a FaceTime request from an unknown Columbus number.
