Chapter 8 - The Mexican Standoff
David stood completely frozen in the mud, staring down the dark barrel of Richard's heavy pistol.
He realized that Richard was absolutely not a victim, but a highly corrupt criminal trying to save his own skin.
"The real flash drive is hidden securely in a safe deposit box downtown," David lied smoothly, trying to buy time.
Richard laughed a harsh, completely humorless laugh and pressed the cold steel directly against David's temple.
"I thoroughly searched your study, I know exactly what you put in your pocket tonight," Richard sneered dangerously.
David slowly reached into his ruined trousers and pulled out the small, encrypted silver flash drive.
He held it tightly in his hand, completely refusing to simply hand over his only remaining leverage.
"If you shoot me, my daughter will scream, and Vanessa will absolutely find you out here," David bargained fiercely.
Before Richard could aggressively respond, the loud, snapping sound of breaking branches echoed through the clearing.
Vanessa and Marcus burst through the thick tree line, both holding heavy flashlights and deadly tactical weapons.
Vanessa stopped dead in her tracks, staring at her supposedly dead first husband in absolute, sheer disbelief.
"You are supposed to be rotting at the bottom of the ocean!" Vanessa screamed, her voice breaking with genuine panic.
Richard quickly pivoted, aiming his heavy pistol directly at the woman who had tried to murder him years ago.
Marcus immediately raised his own weapon, aggressively aiming it completely at Richard's chest.
David found himself entirely trapped in the center of a highly volatile, incredibly deadly three-way Mexican standoff.
Everyone was screaming completely conflicting, aggressive demands at each other through the pouring, freezing rain.
David knew this absolute chaos was his only viable chance to safely escape with his terrified daughter.
He violently threw the silver flash drive incredibly hard into the darkest, most overgrown section of the woods.
All three criminals aggressively turned their heads to watch the tiny silver object disappear into the deep mud.
In that single fraction of a second, David aggressively tackled Marcus completely to the wet ground.
Vanessa wildly fired her weapon at Richard, striking him squarely in the shoulder and dropping him to his knees.
David grabbed Sophie from the ladder and sprinted wildly away from the deafening gunfight erupting behind them.
They finally burst completely through the dense trees and stumbled exhausted onto the shoulder of a paved, illuminated road.
A local police cruiser was parked on the side of the highway, its bright red and blue lights flashing comfortingly.
David ran desperately toward the vehicle, deeply relieved to finally find absolute safety and federal protection.
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The police officer slowly stepped out of the cruiser, completely ignoring David's frantic pleas for help.
The corrupt cop simply smiled a wicked, highly familiar smile and looked directly past David into the woods at Vanessa.
