Chapter 15 - The Sister's Gambit
The lead mercenary released my father’s collar, letting him slump back into the armchair. He turned his cold, tactical gaze fully onto Caroline, leveling the rifle at her chest. “Show me,” the mercenary ordered, his voice muffled behind a black balaclava. Caroline swallowed hard, her hands trembling as she pointed toward the kitchen island. “It’s on a secure flash drive,” she lied smoothly, her voice gaining a fraction of strength. “Julian gave it to me before he was arrested.” “He said if anything happened, it was my insurance policy.” My mother, hiding behind the far side of the counter, covered her mouth to muffle a sob. The mercenary gestured with the barrel of his rifle, forcing Caroline to walk slowly toward the kitchen. Caroline moved with deliberate hesitation, buying every single second she could. She knew there was no flash drive. She also knew that the moment these men realized she was lying, they would kill everyone in the room. But what the mercenaries didn't know was that Caroline had spent the last week obsessively replaying the night of the engagement party in her head. She remembered the exact moment Agent Vance had demonstrated the secondary trapdoor on the military server. She walked into the kitchen, opening a small drawer near the refrigerator where my mother kept spare batteries and miscellaneous keys. “Hurry up,” the mercenary snapped, stepping right behind her. Caroline reached into the drawer, her fingers wrapping around a heavy, metal object. It wasn't a flash drive. It was the emergency distress beacon I had given my parents years ago when I first made flag rank, disguised as a standard garage door opener. I had told them to press it only if their lives were in absolute, imminent danger. “Where is it?” the mercenary growled, losing patience. “Right here,” Caroline whispered. She spun around and slammed her thumb down on the red panic button. Instantly, a deafening, high-decibel siren erupted from the security system installed in the walls, accompanied by blinding strobe lights that flooded the entire first floor. The mercenaries flinched, instinctively raising their arms to shield their eyes from the blinding flashes. At that exact moment, the front windows of the house shattered inward as a heavily armored SWAT transport crashed right through the front gate. Agent Vance’s rapid response unit had arrived. Dozens of red laser sights cut through the smoke and strobe lights, painting the chests of the mercenaries. “Federal Agents! Drop your weapons!” a voice boomed over a megaphone outside. The lead mercenary looked at Caroline, cursing violently under his breath, before dropping his rifle to the floor. Caroline slumped against the kitchen counter, sliding down to the hardwood floor, sobbing uncontrollably as the house swarmed with federal agents. She had finally done something brave.
