Chapter 10 - The Unfinished Business
I scrambled through the rubble, my hands bleeding and my lungs burning.
I grabbed Bennett and Lauren, dragging them toward the jagged opening leading to the night air.
We stumbled up the exterior concrete stairs and collapsed onto the cool, damp grass of the backyard.
The fresh air rushed into my lungs, and Bennett finally took a deep, shuddering breath and began to cry.
Lauren held him tightly, whispering that everything was going to be okay.
I heard the wail of approaching sirens as neighbors finally reacted to the massive explosion.
Suddenly, David stumbled out of the shattered back door, his clothes singed and his face bleeding.
He raised a secondary weapon, a small revolver he had hidden in an ankle holster.
Before he could aim it at us, a floodlight illuminated the entire yard, blinding him.
A heavily armed SWAT team swarmed over the wooden fence, shouting orders to drop the weapon.
David hesitated for a fraction of a second, and a sniper's non-lethal round struck his chest, dropping him instantly.
Paramedics rushed to our side, wrapping us in warm blankets and administering pure oxygen.
We survived the terrifying night, and David was securely locked away in a federal holding cell.
A few days later, we were safely recovering in a high-security luxury hotel paid for by the FBI.
The nightmare was finally over, and Bennett was smiling as he watched cartoons on the television.
I began unpacking his small duffel bag to find his favorite stuffed animal.
At the bottom of the bag, underneath a pile of clothes, I found a sleek, unmarked black envelope.
My heart skipped a beat as I carefully tore the thick paper open.
Inside was a typed note bearing the official seal of my company's elusive CEO.
The note read that David was just a disposable pawn, and I still possessed what belonged to the syndicate.
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Attached to the paper was a recent photograph of Aunt Lauren, sleeping peacefully in her hospital bed across town.
A red laser sight was clearly visible in the picture, resting directly on the center of her forehead.
