Chapter 6 - The Double Cross
I screamed and jumped in front of my mother to shield her from the gun.
Mark kept his weapon perfectly steady, his eyes completely unreadable in the moonlight.
"Move out of the way, Sarah," he demanded in a low, dangerous voice.
"I will never let you hurt her!" I cried, glaring fiercely at my treacherous fiancé.
Mark let out a heavy sigh and slowly lowered his handgun toward the dirt.
He reached into his tactical vest and pulled out a small, encrypted satellite phone.
"I am not here to kill you," Mark said, tossing the phone directly to my mother.
"I purposely missed my shots in the parking garage so you could get away."
My mother caught the phone and looked at him with intense, untrusting suspicion.
"Why would a loyal Syndicate dog suddenly bite his master?" she asked coldly.
Mark explained that he had genuinely fallen in love with me during his undercover assignment.
When the Syndicate ordered him to bring me in for lethal extraction, he decided to defect.
"I have a private helicopter waiting in a clearing two miles from here," Mark said.
"It will take us to a secure FBI black site where the Syndicate cannot reach us."
My mother studied his face for a long, agonizing moment before finally lowering her rifle.
"If you are lying to me, I will snap your neck with my bare hands," she promised.
We followed Mark silently through the dense, dark forest.
After thirty minutes of grueling hiking, we reached a wide clearing.
A sleek, black helicopter was waiting with its rotors spinning softly in the night air.
We quickly climbed aboard, and Mark ordered the pilot to take off immediately.
I collapsed into the leather seat, finally feeling a tiny spark of genuine hope.
I reached out and squeezed Mark's hand, silently thanking him for saving our lives.
The helicopter flew smoothly for two hours before finally beginning its descent.
I looked out the window, expecting to see an official government building or a military base.
Instead, we landed on the private helipad of a massive, heavily fortified glass skyscraper.
The giant neon logo on the side of the building read "ARCHANGEL MEDICAL."
I turned to look at Mark in absolute horror.
May you like
He smiled wickedly and clicked a pair of heavy steel handcuffs securely around my wrists.
"I am really sorry, babe, but the promotion was just too good to pass up," Mark sneered.
