Chapter 6 - The Ash and Smoke
I grabbed Brenda by her jacket and violently threw her toward the reinforced steel door at the back of the workshop.
I dove right after her, clutching the flash drive tightly in my fist as we hit the cold floor.
The explosive charge detonated with a deafening roar that shook the very foundations of the building.
A massive wave of scorching heat and flying glass washed over us, completely obliterating Florence's beautiful workshop.
The entire front of the building was blown out into the street, sending debris raining down on the parked cars.
Thick, choking black smoke immediately filled the air as the old paper and chemicals ignited into a raging inferno.
My ears were ringing aggressively, and my vision blurred as I struggled to pull myself up from the rubble.
I checked on Brenda, who was coughing heavily but miraculously unharmed beneath a fallen wooden beam.
I helped her stand up, and we pushed open the bent steel door leading into the dark alleyway behind the shop.
We stumbled out into the cool night air, gasping for breath as the fire alarms in the neighborhood began to shriek.
I knew Mason’s hit squad would be waiting at the front of the building to confirm our charred bodies.
We used the thick smoke as cover to sprint down the narrow alley, putting as much distance between us and the fire as possible.
By miraculously surviving the explosion, we now had a massive tactical advantage over Mason.
He and his men officially believed that we were dead, and the flash drive had been destroyed in the flames.
We needed to get to a safe computer to view the contents of the drive and find the FBI contact Florence trusted.
We broke into a closed public library three blocks away, smashing a small basement window to gain entry.
We found a computer terminal in the dark reference section and plugged in the black flash drive.
The screen illuminated our dirty faces as a massive directory of encrypted files popped up on the monitor.
I opened a video file labeled with today's date, realizing Florence must have recorded it just days before her death.
Florence's face appeared on the screen, looking tired but incredibly resolute and brave.
She spoke directly to the camera, stating that Mason was planning a massive, hostile takeover of my real estate empire tonight.
He was going to use my company’s legitimate infrastructure to wash the cartel’s two hundred million dollars globally.
She revealed that Mason was hosting an emergency board meeting at my corporate headquarters at midnight to finalize the takeover.
He was going to announce my tragic suicide and claim full legal control of my assets using the forged documents.
Florence warned us that the local police and several federal judges were already on Mason’s corrupt payroll.
She gave the name and private cell phone number of Special Agent Vance, the only uncorrupted FBI agent she trusted.
I pulled out Brenda’s cell phone and immediately dialed the secure number Florence had provided.
Agent Vance answered on the second ring, his voice sharp and professional.
I told him who I was, explained the situation, and told him I had Florence’s complete evidence drive.
Vance sounded incredibly relieved and told us to meet him at an abandoned subway station downtown in twenty minutes.
We left the library feeling like we finally had a real chance to end this nightmare.
We arrived at the dark, deserted subway entrance, and a tall man in a trench coat stepped out of the shadows.
He flashed an FBI badge and smiled warmly, extending his hand to take the flash drive.
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I reached into my pocket to hand it over, but stopped when I noticed his expensive luxury watch.
It was the exact same rare, custom-made watch that Mason had gifted to all of his corrupt business partners last Christmas.
