Chapter 10 - The Truth Unveiled
I stepped through the destroyed doorframe with my empty hands raised high.
The lead mercenary was holding a terrified Lily against his chest with a knife to her throat.
Two other armed men kept their rifles trained directly on my chest.
I stopped moving and tossed the tiny black micro-SD card onto the dusty floor between us.
The leader smiled greedily and ordered one of his men to retrieve the massive payout.
As the guard bent down to pick up the drive I lunged forward with explosive speed.
I grabbed the barrel of the nearest rifle and forced it violently upward into the ceiling.
I pulled a combat knife from the guard's tactical vest and drove it into his leg.
He collapsed screaming and I spun around to face the second mercenary.
I used the falling man as a human shield as the second guard opened fire.
I threw the bloody knife perfectly hitting the second man directly in the shoulder.
The leader panicked and shoved Lily away so he could raise his weapon at me.
I did not hesitate and closed the distance before he could even pull the trigger.
I delivered a crushing blow to his throat sending him crashing into the drywall.
The house suddenly swarmed with flashing red and blue lights as police sirens wailed outside.
The neighbors had heard the explosions and called the massive local SWAT team.
The remaining syndicate members fled into the night abandoning their fallen comrades.
I gathered Lily and Maya into my arms and carried them safely out onto the front lawn.
Caroline was arrested inside the surveillance room and dragged away in heavy iron handcuffs.
I sat on the back of an ambulance wrapped in a blanket with my two beautiful daughters.
The police secured the stolen drive and promised to put the syndicate away forever.
I finally had the truth and I knew we could start a real life somewhere safe together.
The girls fell asleep leaning on my shoulders completely exhausted by the nightmare.
As the paramedics patched my shoulder I noticed a black sedan parked down the street.
A man in a pristine white suit rolled down the window and stared directly at me.
May you like
He slowly raised a small camera and took a single flash photograph of my face.
Then he smiled a terrifyingly familiar smile and drove away into the dark morning mist.
