Chapter 9: The Betrayal at the Rail Yard
The blinding beam of the flashlight locked onto them like a physical weight. Vance didn't hesitate; he shoved Maya behind him, drew his service pistol with practiced ease, and fired two rapid shots toward the perimeter fence before grabbing her arm.
"Run! Through the gap in the fence, now!" Vance shouted, dragging her toward the rusted chain-link barrier separating the neighborhood from the abandoned industrial rail yard.
Bullets pinged off the metal rails as return fire echoed from the darkness behind them. Maya’s legs moved on pure adrenaline, her white sneakers crunching over gravel and broken glass as she scrambled through the jagged tear in the fence. Vance vaulted right behind her, his breath ragged, clutching his trench coat tightly against his chest. They plunged deeper into the maze of rusted boxcars and towering cranes shrouded in thick, creeping fog.
They finally collapsed behind a rusted, derailed freight car, completely out of breath. The distant wail of sirens had faded slightly, muffled by the cavernous expanse of the rail yard. Maya clutched her stinging side, her grey zip-up hoodie soaked with cold sweat.
"We lost them," Vance panted, holstering his weapon and pulling the satellite phone from his pocket. "I'm uploading the drive to the federal server right now. Just give me your thumbprint for the biometric verification lock you set up."
Maya froze, her eyes narrowing in the dim light. A cold spike of realization pierced her panic. "I never set up a biometric verification lock on that drive."
Vance stopped typing, his finger hovering over the screen. Slowly, he looked up, the jagged scar on his jawline tightening as his professional veneer completely stripped away, revealing a chilling, predatory grin.
"You're a lot sharper than your brother, kid," Vance said smoothly, leveling the barrel of his service pistol directly at Maya’s chest. "Arthur didn't just pay off the local cops; he hired me to oversee the entire operation. Lucas was supposed to hand over the master drive to me tonight, but he tried to play hardball. Your mother handled him nicely, I have to admit."
Maya backed away slowly until her spine hit the cold steel of the freight car. There was no escape. She had run right out of the frying pan and straight into the fire, led by the very man she had trusted to save her.
May you like
"You're working with them," Maya whispered, the bitter truth settling over her like lead.
"I'm working for the highest bidder," Vance corrected, stepping closer with the gun steady. "Now, give me the access code to decrypt this drive, or I finish what your mother started in that basement."
