Chapter 6 - The Broken Alliance
I dove behind a rusted shipping container just as the concrete exploded where I had been standing.
The helicopter circled like a massive metal bird of prey, firing wildly into the darkness.
I could hear Vanessa screaming in terror from the catwalk above.
I crawled on my stomach through the mud and debris until I reached the fallen imposter.
She was bleeding heavily from her shoulder and gasping for air.
"Help me," she coughed, grabbing the sleeve of my jacket.
"Where is the chairman?" I demanded, pulling her behind the thick steel of a crane.
"He is not a man," she wheezed, spitting out blood.
"It is a shadow corporation called Vanguard," she revealed weakly.
The gunfire stopped momentarily as the helicopter repositioned itself for another attack.
"Daniel!" Vanessa's voice echoed from above, laced with genuine panic.
I looked up and saw her struggling to hold onto the baby carrier while dodging debris.
Despite everything she had done, I could not let my daughter fall.
I sprinted out from behind cover and fired three shots at the helicopter's windshield.
It was a desperate move, but the pilot flinched and pulled the aircraft upward.
The sudden movement caused the gunner to lose his balance and drop his rifle.
The helicopter banked sharply and roared away into the night sky to regroup.
I climbed the metal stairs to the catwalk two steps at a time.
Vanessa was slumped against the railing, crying hysterically with Lily safely in her arms.
I snatched the baby carrier from her grasp and checked my daughter.
Lily was sleeping peacefully, completely unaware of the chaos around her.
"They tried to kill me," Vanessa sobbed, looking at her bloodstained hands.
"You are a liability to them now," I said coldly, pointing my gun at her chest.
"I can help you destroy them, Daniel," she pleaded, dropping to her knees.
"Why should I ever trust you?" I asked, my finger hovering over the trigger.
"Because I know where they keep the original genetic patent," she confessed.
"It is in a biometric vault beneath the old Carter family estate," she explained.
I lowered my gun slowly, realizing she was my only ticket to ending this nightmare.
Suddenly, the entire pier was illuminated by flashing red and blue lights.
Dozens of police cruisers swarmed the shipyard, their sirens deafening.
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"Daniel Carter, drop your weapon and put your hands in the air!" a megaphone blared.
I was surrounded, framed for murder, and completely out of time.
