Chapter 5 - The Ambush
Claire gripped the flash drive tightly in her sweaty palm.
“If you shoot me, you’ll never get out of this bunker before the roof collapses,” Claire said, backing away from the terminal.
Vanessa chuckled, adjusting her grip on the weapon.
“My uncle doesn't care if I burn, as long as the digital trail burns with me.”
“You shouldn't have turned off the system, Claire.”
“You made this very messy.”
Vanessa raised the barrel of the gun directly at Claire’s chest.
Suddenly, a loud crack echoed through the bunker.
Vanessa screamed and dropped her weapon as a bullet tore through her shoulder.
Marcus stood at the top of the stairs, his handgun smoking.
“Move, Claire!” Marcus roared.
Claire ducked her head and sprinted up the stairs, leaping over a groaning Vanessa.
Marcus grabbed Claire by the waist and hauled her through the steel door just as the ceiling of the bunker began to collapse inward.
They ran through the burning warehouse, dodging falling debris and walls of fire.
They burst out into the freezing Chicago air, gasping for oxygen.
Sirens wailed in the distance.
Marcus dragged her toward the SUV and shoved her inside.
He peeled out of the industrial park just as the first fire trucks arrived.
Claire sat in the passenger seat, coughing violently and clutching the drive to her chest.
“You shot her,” Claire wheezed, staring at Marcus.
“I didn't kill her,” Marcus replied, keeping his eyes on the road.
“But she will definitely hold a grudge.”
He pulled the car onto the interstate, heading away from the city center.
“We need to decrypt that ledger right now and send it to my superiors,” Marcus said.
Claire looked at him in confusion.
“Your superiors?”
“Ethan is your boss.”
Marcus reached into his jacket and pulled out a leather wallet.
He flipped it open and tossed it into her lap.
A silver badge gleamed in the dim light of the dashboard.
“I don't work for Ethan Cole,” Marcus said grimly.
“I work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
“I’ve been deep undercover in his security team for two years building a RICO case against him and the cartel.”
Claire stared at the FBI badge, a massive wave of relief washing over her.
She had an ally.
She plugged the flash drive into her laptop and opened the file.
Her relief vanished instantly.
“Marcus,” Claire whispered, staring at her screen in horror.
“The ledger is completely encrypted with a military-grade cipher.”
“It will take a supercomputer ten years to crack this.”
Marcus slammed his hand against the steering wheel.
“Then we are dead.”
“No,” Claire said, her eyes narrowing as she studied the code structure.
“I recognize this encryption signature.”
“It wasn't written by Ethan, and it wasn't written by the cartel.”
May you like
She looked up at Marcus.
“It was written by the United States Department of Defense.”
