Chapter 13
The wail of multiple high-performance siren horns tore through the night air, echoing off the valley walls with unmistakable authority. Officer Miller froze, his smug grin vanishing instantly as the amber glow of the radio console flickered out completely. Headlights—not the dull yellow bulbs of local squad cars, but the piercing, high-intensity LED bars of state police interceptors—swept across the railway station windows in a blinding wave.
"That's impossible," Officer Miller muttered, raising his wrist radio. "All valley access roads are sealed!"
"Not from the air, they aren't," David said, a fierce, triumphant smile breaking through the dirt and bruises on his face.
Before the officer could raise his rifle to fire, the heavy glass windows of the ticket office shattered inward as a flash-bang grenade rolled across the floor. The blinding white light and deafening concussive blast threw Officer Miller backward against the wall, sending his weapon clattering across the floorboards.
Heavy tactical boots swarmed the station house. State troopers in black body armor flooded the room in seconds, subduing the local officer with practiced efficiency and pressing him face-first into the dusty floor.
A tall state police captain stepped over the debris, looking down at David and Clara with a stern but respectful expression.
"Are you David Miller?" the captain asked, holstering his sidearm.
"Yes," David breathed, pulling Clara tightly against his side. "And you need to move fast. Mayor Henderson is destroying the evidence at the municipal building right now."
The captain nodded sharply, signaling his squad to secure the perimeter. "We've already dispatched a tactical unit to the town hall. Mayor Henderson’s deputies are being rounded up as we speak."
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As troopers helped Clara wrap herself in a warm wool blanket, David looked down at his daughter. The nightmare was finally coming to an end, but the physical and emotional scars left behind by Saint Jude Academy would take a lifetime to heal.
They stepped out of the station house into the cool night air, watching as Mayor Henderson’s corrupt empire finally crumbled beneath the weight of real justice.
