Chapter 9: The Breach
Chaos erupted on the pier. Sirens wailed in the distance as Ruiz and his tactical team closed the two-mile gap in record time. I was running blindly through the fog, the sound of Dad's rifle providing cover fire as two men scrambled out of the crashed van, returning wild, inaccurate shots toward the crane tower.
I dove behind a rusted shipping container, my chest heaving. The earpiece crackled.
"Emily, status!" Ruiz shouted over the radio.
"I'm behind the red container near the water!" I gasped. "Vance is hit, but his men are armed!"
"Hold your position. We are sixty seconds out."
Gunfire echoed around me. I peered around the edge of the steel box. Vance was gone. He had vanished into the fog, leaving the USB drive lying in the dirt. I hesitated, then lunged forward, grabbing the drive before scrambling back into cover. If he survived this, he wasn't getting the money.
Blue and red lights shattered the darkness as four armored police cruisers smashed through the chain-link gates of the shipyard. The remaining mercenaries threw their weapons down instantly, raising their hands in surrender.
Dad climbed down from the crane, his face etched with fury and relief. He ran to me, wrapping me in a crushing embrace.
"Are you hurt?" he demanded, inspecting me for wounds.
"I'm fine. Dad, I'm fine," I breathed, shaking uncontrollably. "Vance got away."
Ruiz approached, his gun drawn, flanked by SWAT officers. "We'll lock down the city. Hospitals, underground clinics, ports. He has a shattered hand; he won't get far. We have his men in custody."
We had won. We had secured the drive and captured his crew. But as I stood there in the freezing fog, a terrible, sinking sensation settled in my stomach. Something was wrong. Vance was a professional. He wouldn't have exposed himself unless he was a distraction.
My phone vibrated in my pocket.
It was an automated alert from the Federal Bureau of Prisons. My heart stopped beating. My trembling fingers swiped open the notification.
URGENT: SECURITY BREACH AT STATE PENITENTIARY. MULTIPLE INMATES ESCAPED DURING MEDICAL TRANSPORT INMATE RYAN BENNETT - UNACCOUNTED FOR. LEVEL 5 LOCKDOWN INITIATED.
I stared at the screen, the words blurring together.
"Emily?" Dad asked, noticing my expression.
"Ryan," I choked out, handing the phone to Ruiz. "He escaped."
Ruiz read the alert, his face draining of color. "The micro-transactions to Vance. It wasn't just to terrorize you. It was to pay off the prison transport guards. Vance attacking the shelter, this entire standoff at the pier... it was all a diversion to draw law enforcement away from the highway."
"He's not running away," Dad realized, his voice dropping to a terrifying whisper. "He doesn't care about the money anymore. He’s a dead man walking, and he knows it."
"Where is he going?" Ruiz asked, pulling out his police radio.
I looked at my father, pure terror seizing my soul. "He's going to the only thing he believes he still owns."
"Ava," Dad said.
"But my mother took her out of state!" I yelled, panicked. "They're at the safe hotel!"
"Did you tell anyone the address?" Ruiz asked urgently.
"No! Just Dad!"
Dad’s eyes widened. "The GPS on your mother’s car. Ryan had tracking software installed on all your devices before the arrest. We scrubbed your phone, but your mother’s car..."
"He’s tracking the car," I whispered, my blood turning to ice.
"Ruiz, get a chopper in the air right now!" Dad bellowed, breaking into a sprint toward his truck. "They're three hours north! If Ryan has a head start, he's already halfway there!"
May you like
I leaped into the passenger seat as Dad started the engine. The tires spun, kicking up gravel as we tore out of the shipyard. We were racing against the clock, hurtling down the highway at a hundred miles an hour.
Ryan was free. The monster had broken out of his cage. And he was heading straight for my daughter.
