Chapter 6 - The Burned Bridge
The sheer force of the blast shattered the truck's windshield into a million pieces.
I threw my arm across my father to protect him from the flying glass.
A massive military drone hovered ominously in the night sky, its camera lens glowing red.
They had fired a hellfire missile to completely destroy the only bridge leading out of the county.
We were trapped on an isolated stretch of highway with a literal death squad hunting us.
I threw the truck into reverse, tires aggressively screeching against the asphalt.
I backed up blindly until we reached the dark entrance of an abandoned mining tunnel.
I drove the battered truck deep into the rocky cavern until we were safely hidden from the drone's thermal cameras.
I turned off the engine, and the silence of the cave was deafening.
"You worked for a trafficking syndicate?" I asked, my voice shaking with absolute disgust.
My father buried his face in his trembling hands.
"I didn't know what they were shipping when I first took the job, Maya," he cried softly.
"When I found out, I stole their entire financial ledger to give to the FBI."
"But they threatened to kill you and your brother, so I hid the drive and never spoke a word."
He looked up at me with tears streaming down his bruised face.
"Priscilla married David just to get close to me and find the drive."
I felt violently sick to my stomach.
My entire life, my career in law enforcement, was built on a foundation of terrible lies.
I reached for the encrypted drive, realizing it was the only leverage we had left to survive.
I plugged it into my encrypted federal phone, praying the battery would last.
The screen lit up, asking for a biometric thumbprint.
I pressed my father's trembling thumb against the scanner.
The files instantly decrypted, displaying thousands of names, dates, and massive bank transfers.
I scrolled down to the very first name on the syndicate's current payroll.
My heart stopped beating entirely.
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The current head of the human trafficking syndicate wasn't Priscilla's father.
It was my own brother, David.
