Chapter 10 - The False Haven
The massive blast of the shotgun illuminated the dark cabin in a brilliant, terrifying flash of bright orange light.
The lead mercenary was thrown violently backward completely through the doorway, his body crashing heavily onto the wooden porch.
The other two highly trained men instantly scrambled for tactical cover, raining an absolute hail of automatic gunfire directly into the kitchen.
I aggressively pressed myself completely flat against the floorboards, desperately shielding the computer tower with my own body.
Sharp wood splinters and shattered glass rained heavily down on me in a chaotic, highly deadly storm.
Then, the glowing computer monitor emitted a sharp, highly distinctive high-pitched chime that easily cut through the deafening gunfire.
The screen suddenly flashed a bright green box reading completely clearly: Transfer Complete.
The massive, highly incriminating cache of illegal financial records and blackmail files had successfully reached the FBI servers.
I had actually, finally won.
The wail of state police sirens suddenly echoed extremely loudly from the bottom of the mountain road.
Arthur’s highly advanced automated security system had silently triggered a distress call the exact moment the first window completely broke.
Realizing their covert mission was completely compromised, the surviving mercenaries rapidly abandoned the siege and sprinted toward their vehicles heavily hidden in the woods.
I lay completely still on the floor, absolutely exhausted, intensely listening to the roar of their engines fading entirely into the distance.
Minutes later, a heavily armed tactical police team aggressively stormed the cabin, strictly lowering their weapons when they saw me sitting quietly beside Arthur's body.
The state police securely transported me to a highly restricted federal building in Boston under extremely heavy guard.
For the very first time in forty-eight incredibly traumatic hours, I sat in a brightly lit interrogation room quietly holding a warm cup of coffee.
The lead FBI agent had already thoroughly reviewed the files, completely and officially clearing my name of both the poisoning and Gareth’s murder.
I felt a massive, overwhelming wave of relief completely wash over me, absolutely knowing I was finally free from the Langston family forever.
The heavy metal door of the secure interrogation room clicked open, and the lead female agent walked calmly inside.
She smiled incredibly warmly, casually carrying my father's familiar brown leather medical bag right in her hands.
She completely placed the bag gently on the metal table right in front of me.
"Gareth sends his warmest regards, Irene," the agent said smoothly, her highly friendly smile completely never wavering.
I froze completely, an incredibly suffocating wave of pure, absolute terror fiercely crushing my chest.
May you like
"Now, specifically tell me where the real flash drive actually is," the agent whispered, leaning incredibly close to my terrified face.
"Because the highly sophisticated decoy drive you just uploaded was specifically designed to completely erase our entire federal database."
