Chapter 8 - The Hostage Exchange
The thick black smoke from the dying engine completely filled the cabin of our ruined pickup truck.
I violently kicked the jammed driver's door open and pulled Julia out onto the wet asphalt.
Marisol scrambled out of the passenger side, desperately clutching Renata tightly to her chest.
We were completely exposed on the dark highway with absolutely nowhere left to run or hide.
The surviving armored SUV slowly pulled to a halt just fifty yards away from our wrecked vehicle.
The heavy doors opened, and Sterling finally stepped out into the pouring rain wearing an immaculate tailored suit.
He held a massive black umbrella over his head, looking completely unbothered by the chaos and destruction around him.
He was flanked by six heavily armed mercenaries who immediately aimed their laser sights at our foreheads.
Sterling casually walked toward us, stepping carefully over the shattered glass and twisted metal on the road.
He stopped ten feet away and offered me a polite, sickeningly fake smile that made my stomach churn.
He told me that my stubborn refusal to die quietly was becoming a very expensive inconvenience for his partners.
He demanded that I hand over the signed transfer documents and the encrypted flash drive immediately.
I stood my ground and told him that the coast guard had already intercepted the corrupted FBI director.
Sterling laughed cruelly and revealed that he owned the local coast guard commander just like he owned the FBI.
He snapped his fingers, and two massive mercenaries violently ripped Renata directly out of Marisol's desperate arms.
Marisol screamed in pure agony, fighting like a wild animal until a mercenary struck her viciously with the butt of his rifle.
I lunged forward to protect them, but three guns were instantly pressed hard against my skull.
Sterling knelt down to the terrified little girl and pulled a heavy silver revolver from his designer coat.
He cocked the hammer and pointed the deadly weapon directly at Renata's innocent face.
He looked up at me and said I had exactly five seconds to surrender the documents before he pulled the trigger.
I felt my heart completely shatter into a million pieces as I watched the brave little girl crying in the rain.
I slowly reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out the blood-stained transfer papers and the flash drive.
I tossed them onto the wet pavement at Sterling's expensive leather shoes in absolute defeat.
Sterling smiled triumphantly, picking up the items and signaling his men to slowly back away toward their vehicle.
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He kept his gun aimed at Renata and told me to enjoy my final moments on the side of the road.
Before he could pull the trigger, Julia triggered a hidden explosive charge she had secretly planted inside the flash drive.
