Chapter 17 - The Siege
The heavy oak doors of the boardroom violently rattled as FBI tactical teams began hammering on them from the outside hallway.
"Breaching in five!" a muffled voice yelled through the thick wood.
Evelyn didn't panic. Her training kicked in instantly.
She raised the silenced pistol, aiming squarely at my chest, ready to eliminate the loose end before the door gave way.
I dove sideways just as she pulled the trigger.
The bullet shattered the heavy glass table exactly where I had been standing a split second before, raining crystal shards across the expensive carpet.
Before Evelyn could re-aim, the boardroom doors exploded inward in a shower of splintered wood and metal hinges.
"FBI! Drop the weapon!" Agent Vance roared, flooding into the room with four heavily armored SWAT officers.
Evelyn hesitated for a fraction of a second, assessing her odds.
Realizing she was outgunned, she slowly lowered the weapon and raised her hands in the air, her face an unreadable mask of ice.
Caldwell backed up against the floor-to-ceiling windows, his arrogant composure finally shattering into pure terror.
"This is a mistake! I am a respected medical professional!" Caldwell yelled as two officers tackled him to the floor, aggressively twisting his arms behind his back.
"Tell your men at the clinic to stand down, Caldwell!" I screamed, scrambling up from the floor, my heart pounding in my throat.
Agent Vance grabbed Caldwell by his expensive lapels and hauled him to his knees.
"We already took them," Vance growled, leaning in close to the doctor's pale face.
"My secondary team intercepted your goons at the physical therapy center ten minutes ago. Your little video feed was on a delay."
A wave of relief so powerful it felt like a physical blow hit my chest.
Mia was safe.
"You're going away for a very long time, Doc," Vance said, slapping heavy steel handcuffs onto Caldwell's wrists.
As they dragged the brilliant surgeon out of the ruined boardroom, Caldwell locked eyes with me one last time.
The man who had saved my daughter’s leg, only to try and destroy our lives, was finally powerless.
I walked over to Evelyn's laptop, pulled the silver USB drive from the port, and handed it to Agent Vance.
May you like
"Everything my father and Caldwell ever did is on that drive," I said, my hands finally stopping their shaking.
"You did good, David," Vance nodded, putting the drive into a secure evidence bag. "It's over."
