Chapter 9 - The Three-Way Standoff
The cartel enforcers immediately raised their automatic weapons, their laser sights painting the damp concrete around Nadia.
Borel stood safely behind a barricade of police cruisers, ready to watch the slaughter unfold.
Nadia knew that if she didn't act in the next split second, she and Leo would be torn to shreds by gunfire.
She grabbed Miller by his collar and shoved him violently into the line of fire.
"The Mayor doesn't have your money, but the police chief does!" Nadia screamed at the cartel boss.
The cartel leader hesitated, his eyes shifting suspiciously toward Officer Borel and the police barricade.
Miller, completely panicked and desperate to survive, rapidly confirmed her bold lie.
"She is telling the truth, the Mayor gave the money to Borel to launder it!" Miller shrieked hysterically.
Borel's face contorted in absolute rage as the cartel enforcers suddenly turned their weapons toward the police cars.
"It is a trick, shoot the girl!" Borel yelled, drawing his own service weapon.
A nervous police officer pulled his trigger prematurely, firing a shot that struck a cartel soldier in the shoulder.
Total chaos erupted on the docks as the two corrupt factions engaged in a brutal, deafening firefight.
Bullets shattered the windows of the police cruisers and sparked violently against the rusted shipping containers.
Nadia grabbed Leo's hand and sprinted through the blinding fog, using the massive gunfight as a perfect distraction.
They ducked behind a stack of wooden pallets, bullets whistling terrifyingly close to their heads.
"We need to find a car, Nadia," Leo panted, clutching his bruised ribs.
Nadia spotted an empty cartel SUV sitting idle near the edge of the pier, its engine still running softly.
They made a desperate dash for the vehicle, completely exposed to the chaotic crossfire.
Just as Nadia reached the driver's side door, a searing pain tore through her lower abdomen.
She gasped, stumbling forward as she realized she had been hit by a stray bullet.
"Nadia!" Leo screamed, catching her before she collapsed onto the wet pavement.
"Get us out of here, Leo," she gritted her teeth, shoving him toward the driver's seat.
Leo scrambled behind the wheel and slammed his foot onto the gas pedal, tearing away from the violent warzone.
Nadia pressed her hand tightly against the bleeding wound, her vision blurring at the edges.
"Hang on, Nadia, I am taking you to a hospital," Leo cried, his hands shaking on the steering wheel.
"No hospitals, they belong to the Mayor," she whispered weakly, pulling out her phone.
She typed in the coordinates of the federal FBI building downtown, her last hope for true justice.
"Drive there, Leo, it is our only chance," she commanded, before losing consciousness entirely.
When Nadia finally opened her eyes, the SUV had crashed violently into the steel barricades of the federal building.
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Leo was desperately pounding on the reinforced glass doors, but they were completely locked.
Behind them, the flashing red and blue lights of Borel's remaining police force were rapidly closing in.
