Chapter 6 - The Unexpected Shield
The silver sports car hit Elena’s SUV with bone-crushing force, sending both vehicles sliding across the wet bridge.
The masked gunman was thrown from the open hatch, his weapon clattering harmlessly into the churning river below.
Elena’s SUV struck the heavy steel bridge guardrail, its front wheels dangling precariously over the dark abyss.
Arthur slammed on his brakes, bringing his heavy truck to a halt mere feet from the wreckage.
He drew his sidearm and kicked his door open, ready for an immediate firefight.
To his absolute shock, the driver's door of the crumpled silver sports car pushed open.
Stepping out into the rain was Julian Sterling himself, dressed in a bespoke Italian overcoat stained with his own blood.
"Arthur, hold your fire!" Julian shouted, raising two open hands in the air.
Arthur leveled his gun directly at Julian's chest, his finger tightening on the trigger.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't put a bullet through your heart right now, Sterling," Arthur snarled.
"Because I didn't order the kidnapping of your boy!" Julian yelled over the sound of the howling wind.
"Elena played us both, Arthur!"
"She used my corporate shell accounts to launder your trust fund money, promising me half of Vance Energy shares."
"Ten minutes ago, my analysts discovered she transferred all that capital into a private military contractor's escrow account in Eastern Europe."
"She was never working for me; she used my name to keep you looking in the wrong direction while she executed a total extraction."
Arthur glanced at the dangling SUV, where Elena was frantically kicking at the jammed passenger door.
"Where is the lead vehicle taking Leo?" Arthur demanded, keeping his weapon steady.
"To Hangar Four at the coastal airstrip," Julian replied, clutching his broken ribs in pain.
"A private cargo plane is scheduled to depart for an undisclosed airfield in Montenegro in twelve minutes."
"If that plane leaves the ground, you will never see your son again."
Elena finally managed to crawl out of the broken side window of her vehicle, her face smeared with blood and rain.
She looked at Arthur, then at Julian, her eyes burning with pure, unadulterated venom.
"You fools think you can stop what is coming?" Elena shrieked into the storm.
"The men taking your son aren't hired bodyguards, Arthur; they are the Vanguard Syndicate, and they don't leave survivors."
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Suddenly, the red lights of the lead SUV, which had stopped on the far side of the bridge, turned back toward them.
Three men in full tactical armor stepped out onto the asphalt, raising assault rifles toward the bridge.
