Chapter 15 - The Unbroken Line
Beneath a discarded tarp near the edge of the pier, a black tactical case sat open. Inside, a digital display was counting down from three minutes, wired into three drums of industrial explosive set to scuttle the entire dockside facility.
Julian saw it over Clara’s shoulder, his exhausted eyes widening in horror. The federal agents were securing Marcus and Evelyn fifty yards away, completely unaware of the charges ticking down beneath the waterline.
"Dad..." Lily whispered, pointing toward the blinking red digits: 02:41... 02:40...
Julian tried to stand, but his legs collapsed beneath the lingering weight of the paralytic drug. Clara picked up the phone, but the screen was locked in the aftermath of the federal data dump; it possessed no interface for the cartel's detonation rig.
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From the shadows of the nearby container, a surviving mercenary, wounded and bleeding, held the secondary remote detonator with a dying man's spite. His thumb hovered over the red manual trigger. He stared directly at the two girls in their torn white sundresses.
Clara stepped in front of Lily, Julian reaching out with his bare hands to pull both girls to his chest as the man’s thumb pressed downward.
