Chapter 7 - The Final Showdown
BOOM!
A blinding flash of white light and a deafening concussive roar shattered the glass office walls.
I breached the doorway before the glass shards even hit the floor.
Whitaker was screaming, clutching his face, blind and disoriented. Marcus Vance drew a silver revolver, but Ethan fired three rapid shots, disarming him instantly and sending him crashing against the heavy metal desk.
I lunged across the room, catching Whitaker by his throat and slamming him down onto the conference table.
“Remember me, Director?” I growled into his ear, pressing my pistol barrel firmly under his chin. “The small, clumsy woman who wasn't built for this profession?”
Whitaker gasped for air, his face pale with terror as his vision slowly cleared, recognizing me through the haze. “You... how... how are you alive?!”
“Because while you were busy taking bribes, I was studying combat tactics,” I said coldly.
I pulled out my secure satellite phone and flipped on the high-definition video camera.
“Say hello to the Federal Grand Jury, Director,” I commanded.
On the screen, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Vance (no relation to the criminal cartel) appeared, along with Grant Blackwood and ten federal agents standing in the command center.
“Director Paul Whitaker,” Sarah Vance announced clearly. “We have recorded your confession, your financial transfers from Marcus Vance’s offshore accounts, and live tactical footage of this federal kidnapping. Put your hands behind your head.”
Whitaker dropped to his knees, weeping like a coward as federal tactical teams flooded into the terminal, securing Marcus Vance and his remaining henchmen.
Ethan rushed to his aunt’s side, swiftly cutting the heavy zip-ties holding her to the chair.
“Aunt Elena,” Ethan said gently, pulling her into his arms. “It’s over. You’re safe.”
Elena looked up at her nephew, tears streaming down her bruised face, then looked at me. “Who... who is this girl?”
May you like
Ethan looked up at me, a profound, radiant smile breaking across his handsome face—a smile that made my heart leap in a way no combat mission ever had.
“She’s the guardian who saved our family,” Ethan said softly.
