Chapter 8 - The Hangar of Fire
The armored SUV sped wildly down the bumpy, secluded dirt road, completely abandoning the federal convoy.
Mom pounded her fists against the bulletproof glass separating us from the rogue driver, but it didn't even leave a scratch.
I tried to pull the door handles, but the child locks were engaged, trapping us inside a rolling steel cage.
The driver ignored our screams, navigating deep into an abandoned industrial park on the edge of the county.
The SUV finally screeched to a halt inside a massive, rusted airplane hangar.
The heavy steel doors of the vehicle clicked open, and the driver aimed a high-powered rifle at us, ordering us to step out.
We stepped onto the oil-stained concrete floor, shivering in the cold, cavernous space.
David stepped out from the shadows of the hangar, leaning heavily on a crutch, his knee heavily bandaged from where I hit him with the thermos.
He looked furious, humiliated, and more dangerous than I had ever seen him.
"You caused a lot of problems for me today, Sarah," David snarled, pulling a silver handgun from his waistband.
He pointed the gun directly at Mom's chest, his hand perfectly steady.
"Now, we are going to get on my private plane, fly to a place with no extradition laws, and you two will learn what real discipline is."
Behind him, a small twin-engine aircraft was fueled and ready, its propellers beginning to spin loudly.
Mom stepped directly in front of me, shielding my body entirely with hers.
She didn't cry, and she didn't beg for mercy.
Her eyes scanned the dark hangar, landing on a massive stack of red aviation fuel barrels just ten feet away from David.
Mom slowly reached into her jacket pocket, her fingers wrapping around the flare gun she had secretly taken from the hospital's emergency kit during the chaos.
She pulled the bright orange plastic gun out and aimed it directly at the metal barrels.
"If you don't drop your gun right now, David, we are all going to burn together," Mom said, her voice echoing with terrifying conviction.
David laughed, a cruel, echoing sound that bounced off the metal walls.
"You don't have the courage to do it, Sarah, you're too weak," he sneered, cocking the hammer of his gun.
Mom didn't say another word.
May you like
She pulled the trigger, launching a blazing red flare directly into the center of the highly explosive barrels.
The impact ignited a massive, deafening explosion that sent a shockwave of heat and fire ripping through the hangar.
