Chapter 10 - The Ultimatum on the Bridge
Marcus kept the barrel of his weapon steady, his eyes darting frantically between Elena and the empty road behind her. "Get in the car, Elena. Now."
"You lied to me," Elena said, not moving an inch. She stood tall against the chain-link fence, the morning wind whipping her damp brown hair across her face. "You aren't protecting the truth. You're just another piece on the same bloody chessboard."
"Arthur is playing you," Marcus said, his voice dropping into a desperate plea. "If you meet him at the federal plaza, you won't make it inside the building. His own security detail will eliminate you before you reach the revolving doors, and they'll pin the entire multi-billion-dollar arms scandal on a dead, disgraced corporate auditor."
"And if I get in your car?" Elena challenged, crossing her arms. "Where are we going then? To another damp warehouse? To another shootout?"
"We're going to the Department of Justice field office in New Jersey," Marcus said, keeping his finger resting safely outside the trigger guard. "It's the only federal building in the tri-state area that isn't compromised by Vanguard's payroll. We have the raw server dumps. We have the ledger. But we need you to authenticate the digital signatures."
Elena stared at him, weighing the terrible options laid out before her. Every instinct screamed that she was trapped in a game where every player was lying. But as she looked down at her muddy designer shoes, she realized she had already lost the normal life she fought so hard to build.
"If we go to New Jersey and this doesn't work..." Elena started, stepping closer to the passenger door.
"If this doesn't work, we won't have to worry about the consequences," Marcus interrupted grimly, unlocking the door from the inside.
May you like
Elena pulled the handle and slid back into the front passenger seat of the Escalade, slamming the heavy door shut just as a second, unmarked vehicle tore around the corner of the service road with its high beams blindingly bright.
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