Chapter 11 - The Federal Net
The static-heavy voice crackling over the federal agent’s shoulder radio pierced the roaring sound of the storm like a knife.
"Agent Vance, do you copy? Sector control reports a high-level override on the Sterling arrest warrant. All local units are ordered to stand down immediately," the dispatcher’s voice echoed through the ruined lighthouse chamber.
Agent Vance paused, his hand hovering over his radio mic as he glanced nervously between Arthur and the handcuffed Elena.
"Control, this is Agent Vance. Repeat transmission. Who authorized an override on an active terrorist financing case?" Vance demanded, his brow furrowed in deep confusion.
"Negative on details, Vance. Direct orders came from the Department of Justice special oversight division. The suspect, Arthur Sterling, is flagged as an active national security threat. Detain him alongside the female subject," the dispatcher ordered harshly before the signal cut out into a burst of static.
Elena let out a sharp, triumphant laugh, her face twisting into a mocking grin despite the handcuffs biting into her wrists.
"Did you really think a simple local task force could outrank the people backing me, Arthur?" Elena taunted, stepping toward him as Vance hesitantly drew his weapon once more, pointing it back at Arthur’s chest. "I told you, you don't even know the true scale of the web."
Arthur stepped backward, shielding Lily with his entire body. "Agent Vance, listen to me! She is manipulating the federal database from the inside! Look at the dossier Miller gave us before he turned—it's all right here!"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Sterling, but orders are orders," Vance said apologetically, though his eyes betrayed his own deep discomfort with the situation. "Put your hands behind your back. We are taking you in for federal debriefing."
"No! Don't touch my daddy!" Lily screamed, bursting into tears and clinging fiercely to Arthur’s neck with all her might.
Arthur’s heart broke as he felt his daughter’s tiny frame shaking with panic. He couldn't let them take him away to some black-site prison, leaving Lily completely unprotected in Elena’s crosshairs. He had to make a desperate gamble.
As Vance stepped forward with a pair of zip-ties ready, Arthur locked eyes with the agent and gave a subtle nod toward the floor behind Vance.
"Look out behind you!" Arthur yelled, pointing frantically toward the shadows.
Vance instinctively spun around, his weapon raised, expecting an ambush from Elena’s hidden accomplices. That fraction of a second was all Arthur needed.
With explosive speed, Arthur kicked out with his heavy boot, catching Vance squarely in the chest and sending the agent crashing backward onto a pile of debris. Without wasting a single millisecond, Arthur grabbed Lily, bolted toward the open balcony door, and leaped outward into the raging ocean below.
The freezing black water rushed up to meet them like a solid wall of ice.
Splash!
The impact knocked the wind entirely out of Arthur’s lungs as the churning waves swallowed them whole. He held Lily tightly against his chest, kicking his legs upward through the heavy undertow until his head finally broke the surface, gasping for air amidst the freezing rain and crashing surf.
They had escaped the lighthouse, but they were now swimming in the middle of a violent ocean storm, hunted by both corrupt federal agents and an international criminal syndicate.
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As Arthur swam frantically toward a small, hidden rocky cove along the shoreline, a sleek black helicopter descended silently from the clouds overhead, its searchlight sweeping across the dark water to hunt them down.
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