Chapter 5 - The Lumber Mill
Daniel lunged forward and violently tackled María and Emily into the damp mud.
A suppressed bullet hissed through the air, tearing through the exact spot where the child had just been standing.
The bullet struck a heavy oak tree, splintering the bark in a shower of wood.
Daniel rolled into a firing position and shot three rounds blindly toward the sniper’s laser.
The red dot vanished instantly as the hidden shooter ducked for cover.
Daniel yelled for María to keep moving while he provided suppressing fire.
They scrambled through the dark underbrush until the silhouette of the old lumber mill appeared in the moonlight.
Claire’s rusty silver sedan was idling quietly near the rusted loading dock.
Daniel shoved María and Emily into the backseat of the car and jumped into the passenger side.
Claire slammed her foot on the gas pedal, tearing out of the dirt lot without turning on her headlights.
They sped down the empty highway, leaving the dangerous forest far behind them.
Claire gripped the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles turning completely white.
She explained that she had stolen a highly encrypted laptop from the dispatch supervisor’s office before fleeing.
Daniel pulled the black ledger from his jacket and placed it next to the laptop.
They finally had enough evidence to trigger a massive federal investigation into the corrupt city.
Emily sat quietly in the backseat, gently stroking the torn ear of her stuffed rabbit.
The little girl looked up at María with wide, exhausted eyes.
Emily whispered that her daddy always hid his most important secrets inside the rabbit’s belly.
María carefully took the ragged toy and felt a hard, rectangular object sewn deep inside the cotton stuffing.
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She used her pocket knife to cut the fabric open.
A pristine digital hard drive slipped out of the toy and fell perfectly into her waiting hand.
