Chapter 9 - The Ultimate Betrayal
The roaring blades of the helicopter made it almost impossible to hear anything.
I stepped out of the stolen truck, the freezing rain soaking through my clothes in seconds.
Annie stayed hidden in the passenger seat, gripping my registered handgun with both trembling hands.
Marcus stood at the edge of the chopper's cabin, using my terrified five-year-old son as a human shield.
Jordan was huddled in the corner behind them, crying silently with his hands over his ears.
"Toss the master key onto the tarmac, Arthur, or I end the bloodline right now!" Marcus screamed over the noise.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small, metallic silver hard drive.
I held it up in the harsh glare of the spotlight, making sure he could see it clearly.
"Let Justin walk down the ramp first, and then I will slide it over," I demanded firmly.
Marcus laughed completely out of control, a manic sound that chilled me to the bone.
"You really think you are walking away from this airstrip alive?" he yelled.
He shoved Justin down the metal ramp, immediately raising his gun and aiming it directly at my face.
Justin hit the wet asphalt and scrambled toward me as fast as his little legs could carry him.
I scooped my son up in my left arm, shielding his small body with my own.
"Now toss the drive!" Marcus roared, his finger tightening visibly on the trigger.
I threw the silver drive across the wet tarmac, watching it slide perfectly to the bottom of the ramp.
Marcus greedily stepped down to retrieve it, completely taking his eyes off me for one crucial second.
That was the exact moment the dark sky suddenly exploded with blinding red and blue lights.
Dozens of armored FBI tactical vehicles swarmed the runway from every single direction, completely surrounding the helicopter.
They hadn't found me through the burner phone; they had tracked the emergency beacon I activated inside the silver drive before throwing it.
Marcus realized he had been completely outsmarted and raised his weapon in a final act of desperation.
Before he could pull the trigger, a single gunshot rang out from the passenger window of the truck.
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Annie had fired, hitting Marcus squarely in the shoulder and dropping him instantly to the ground.
But as Marcus fell, his hand struck the control panel on the ramp, causing the heavy metal door to aggressively slam shut with Jordan still trapped inside.
