Chapter 2 - The Burning Bridges
Adrian dropped the electronic tracker onto the wet pavement and crushed it instantly beneath his expensive leather shoe.
He slid swiftly into the driver's seat and slammed the heavy door shut.
The Audi's powerful engine roared to life just as the first black SUV aggressively rammed their rear bumper.
Audrey gasped and tightly gripped the leather dashboard as the luxury sedan violently lurched forward.
Adrian spun the steering wheel sharply to the left and slammed his foot entirely down on the gas pedal.
The tires screamed against the slick, rain-soaked concrete as they rapidly drifted around a concrete pillar.
"Keep your head completely down," Adrian ordered with absolute, chilling calmness.
A sudden burst of heavy automatic gunfire shattered the back window of their vehicle.
Glass shards rained down on the backseat like a deadly, sparkling hailstorm.
Adrian navigated the spiraling exit ramp of the parking garage at a dangerously high speed.
He expertly merged into the heavy late-night city traffic to use the civilian cars as a physical shield.
The two pursuing vehicles struggled to keep up as Adrian violently weaved between slow-moving semi-trucks on the interstate.
After ten tense minutes of reckless driving, he finally lost them in the maze of the industrial district.
He pulled the heavily damaged Audi into a dark, abandoned warehouse and cut the engine entirely.
The sudden, ringing silence inside the car was completely deafening.
Audrey sat up slowly and brushed a few pieces of broken safety glass out of her messy hair.
"They really want the master ledger," she whispered with a highly trembling voice.
Adrian pulled out his secure, encrypted cell phone and dialed a private number to secure her home.
Audrey shook her head frantically in the dim moonlight filtering through the broken windshield.
"I did not leave the physical ledger at my townhouse," she confessed softly.
Adrian paused with his thumb hovering directly over the digital call button.
"Where exactly is it?" he asked her.
"I locked it inside a private safety deposit box at the downtown First Sterling Bank," she answered.
Adrian finally exhaled a long, heavy breath of temporary relief.
His phone suddenly buzzed with an incoming encrypted message from his top lieutenant, Dante.
Adrian opened the brief text message and stared blindly at the bright screen.
His jaw tightened so fiercely that a small muscle twitched violently in his cheek.
"What is it?" Audrey asked with a sudden, fresh wave of pure panic.
Adrian slowly turned the phone screen around so she could see the terrifying digital photograph.
It was a live picture of Audrey's beautiful townhouse completely engulfed in massive, raging flames.
"They already burned your entire house to the ground," Adrian stated grimly.
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He put the phone away and slowly reached under his seat to retrieve a loaded Glock handgun.
"And First Sterling Bank is currently owned by the Russian syndicate, which means they are waiting for us."
