Chapter 10 - A New Dawn
The concussive blast blew Marcus and Warren entirely across the factory floor.
Thick smoke and raining debris instantly blinded everyone in the room.
I dove forward through the chaos and tackled David to the ground.
I knocked the pistol out of his hand and struck him brutally in the jaw.
He went completely limp, knocked unconscious before he even realized what had happened.
I scooped Lily into my arms and ran toward the back exit of the burning mill.
The remaining mercenaries were too disoriented and injured by the blast to follow us.
As we burst through the back doors, dozens of armored FBI vehicles swarmed the property.
Agents poured out, securing the perimeter and arresting the surviving traitors.
A familiar face walked toward me through the flashing red and blue lights.
It was Colonel Hayes, an honest commander who had finally uncovered General Davies's treason.
"We have Davies in custody, Major, and we are cleaning up this entire mess," Hayes assured me.
Warren, Marcus, and David were dragged out of the mill in heavy steel handcuffs.
They were facing life in federal prison for treason and domestic terrorism.
I hugged Lily so tightly that my arms ached, completely overwhelmed with relief.
We were finally safe, and the nightmare was completely over.
A week later, we moved into a beautiful, highly secure safehouse on a quiet beach.
I unpacked our bags while Lily played happily in the warm sand outside.
I opened a small box of files the FBI had recovered from David's private safe.
Inside, I found a recent photograph of Lily sleeping in her bed.
May you like
On the back of her neck in the photo, someone had digitally superimposed a strange barcode.
A handwritten note attached to the photo simply read: "The buyers are still waiting for the girl."
