Chapter 10 - The Flash Drive
Mud splattered across Maya’s face as David pushed her hard behind the thick stone retaining wall. Bullets chewed through the brush above them, sending a shower of splintered wood and wet leaves raining down on their backs.
"Stay down!" David shouted over the deafening noise of the gunfire.
Maya clutched the luxury handbag to her chest, her fingers desperately probing the side pocket where the flash drive was supposed to be. Her heart skipped a beat—the pocket was empty. In the panic of the chase, the small metal drive must have slipped out and fallen somewhere in the grass during her run.
Across the clearing, Julian shouted an order to cease fire.
"Flush them out!" Julian commanded. "They don't have anywhere to run. The fence is electrified."
Footsteps crunched heavily on the gravel and wet earth as the two guards began to fan out, closing in on their position from both sides. Maya looked up at David, her eyes wide with terror.
"The flash drive," Maya whispered, her voice shaking uncontrollably. "It’s gone. It must have fallen out when I ran through the meadow."
David’s jaw clenched, but he didn't panic. Instead, he reached into his own coat and pulled out an identical silver metal drive, holding it up with a grim smile.
"Don't worry," David whispered back. "Your mother sent me the master backup this morning before she passed. What they have is just a decoy."
Before Maya could respond, a bright flash of light erupted from the edge of the woods, followed by the blare of sirens wailing in the distance. Not local police sirens—the distinct, heavy wail of state troopers.
Julian froze, turning his head toward the estate gates as red and blue lights painted the canopy of trees.
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"Who called the state police?!" Clara shrieked, her composed facade finally shattering into absolute panic.
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