Chapter 7 - The Hostage Exchange
The thick, greenish gas hissed violently from hidden vents in the vault ceiling, instantly burning Lucas's eyes and throat.
He dropped to his knees, frantically pulling his shirt over his mouth to filter the toxic, suffocating chemical air.
He knew Marcus had intentionally designed this lethal trap specifically for anyone foolish enough to try and steal the documents back.
Lucas pulled his smartphone from his pocket, his vision blurring as he quickly opened a secure livestreaming application.
He connected the encrypted feed directly to the cybercrimes division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
He held the forged documents up to the camera lens, exposing the fake signatures and the illegal cartel transfer contracts.
"My name is Lucas Weaver, and I am currently being murdered by Marcus Vance inside his law firm vault," Lucas gasped into the phone.
He knew the FBI agents watching the sudden livestream would immediately dispatch a heavily armed tactical team to the building.
But Lucas also knew the federal agents would arrive far too late to save him from dying of toxic asphyxiation.
He desperately searched the small vault for any possible tool, his hands brushing against a heavy, industrial-sized fire extinguisher.
With his last ounce of fading strength, Lucas hurled the heavy red cylinder directly at the electronic control panel of the vault door.
He then pulled his pistol and fired a single round directly into the pressurized tank of the fire extinguisher.
The massive, localized explosion completely blew the electronic locking mechanism apart, blowing the heavy titanium door wide open.
Lucas crawled out into the hallway, gasping desperately for clean air as the toxic gas dissipated into the large room.
He stumbled toward the emergency exit stairwell, hearing the distant wail of police sirens rapidly approaching the building.
His phone suddenly vibrated with an incoming video call from a completely blocked, untraceable number.
He answered the call, and his blood ran entirely cold when he saw Gwendolyn's cruel, smiling face on the screen.
She was standing inside the underground safehouse, holding a suppressed pistol directly to Sarah's bleeding head.
"You really thought a cheap private investigator could stop a professional cartel hit squad, Lucas?" Gwendolyn mocked loudly.
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Lucas saw his mother crying terrified in the background, surrounded by heavily armed cartel mercenaries.
"If you want your mother to live, you will bring those original documents to the abandoned shipyard in exactly one hour," Gwendolyn demanded.
