Chapter 8 - The Desperate Stand
Annie refused to leave my side even as the laser sight danced across her forehead.
She applied massive pressure to my shoulder to stop the rapid blood loss.
I begged her to run toward the police barricade and save her own life.
She firmly told me that she had lost one family and refused to lose another.
Daniel suddenly burst out of the backdoor holding Victoria tightly as a human shield.
He yelled up at the balcony and threatened to kill Arthur's wife if he fired another shot.
Arthur hesitated for a fraction of a second when he saw his partner held at gunpoint.
That tiny hesitation was all the tactical police snipers needed to acquire their target.
A synchronized volley of precise gunfire shattered the balcony doors and struck Arthur multiple times.
He dropped the sniper rifle and collapsed heavily over the stone railing.
The police swarmed the backyard and quickly took Victoria and the remaining mercenaries into custody.
Paramedics rushed onto the lawn and loaded me onto a waiting stretcher.
Annie held my uninjured hand tightly as they rolled me into the back of the ambulance.
The sterile smell of the hospital room woke me up several hours later.
My shoulder was heavily bandaged but the doctors assured me I would make a full recovery.
Annie was asleep in the uncomfortable plastic chair directly next to my bed.
She looked incredibly peaceful without the constant weight of survival crushing her shoulders.
I gently squeezed her hand and her bright eyes fluttered open immediately.
She smiled warmly and told me that Daniel and his sister were completely safe.
She also mentioned that the microchip had been securely handed over to the federal authorities.
The encrypted data provided enough evidence to dismantle Arthur's entire global criminal syndicate.
Her father's legacy had finally been used to bring down the men who murdered him.
I thanked her for saving my life and my estate with her incredible brilliance.
She modestly claimed that she was just doing her job as my security consultant.
I sat up slightly and told her that her current job title was entirely insufficient.
May you like
I offered her a permanent position as the head of my global engineering and technology division.
She laughed softly and asked if the new job came with a dedicated laboratory.
