Chapter 10
The cruiser smashed through the rusted chain-link gate, the metal screaming under the impact before giving way and sending wire mesh cascading across the hood. Elena kept her foot heavy on the gas, fishtailing across the loose gravel of the rail yard as rusted boxcars loomed like monolithic shadows in the foggy night air. Behind them, the pursuing SUV plowed through the broken gate as well, its tires losing traction momentarily before stabilizing in pursuit.
"Mom, they're pulling up alongside us!" Sarah yelled, bracing her hands against the dashboard as the SUV slammed its side into the passenger door of the cruiser with a sickening crunch of metal.
Elena fought the steering wheel, counter-steering to keep the vehicle from spinning out into a stack of wooden pallets. The impact threw Miller hard against the backseat partition, knocking the arrogant smirk off his face.
"You're going to kill us all, you crazy bitch!" Miller shouted over the roar of the engines.
"Shut up, Miller!" Elena barked, her eyes fixed on the flickering light of a red signal flare burning near a dilapidated loading platform ahead. That was the rendezvous point. Agent Sterling’s unmarked federal vehicle was parked beside the tracks, its hazard lights blinking rhythmically.
Elena swerved hard, cutting across the parallel steel tracks, the cruiser’s suspension groaning violently as the tires bounced over the iron rails. The pursuing SUV tried to follow the shortcut, but its lower ground clearance proved fatal; the vehicle bottomed out with a deafening crunch, its front axle shattering against a raised rail spike and sending the car spinning violently into a pile of discarded industrial tires.
Elena brought her cruiser to a skidding halt ten yards from Agent Sterling’s car, killing the headlights in one fluid motion.
Agent Sterling stepped out of the shadows of the loading platform, her service weapon drawn but pointed safely at the ground, her trench coat fluttering in the cold wind. She opened the cruiser’s passenger door immediately, pulling Sarah out to safety while casting a sharp eye at the handcuffed prisoner in the back.
"Good timing, Detective," Sterling said crisply, inspecting the damage to the cruiser's side panel. "We didn't think you'd make it through the perimeter."
"The perimeter is porous when you know who’s running the gates," Elena replied, stepping out of the car and drawing a deep, steadying breath of the cold air. She popped the trunk, retrieving the lead-lined pouch containing the micro-SD cards she had secured from Arthur Stromtron earlier that day. "Here's the financial ledger. Everything you need to dismantle District 4 from the captain's office down."
Sterling took the pouch, sliding it securely into her tactical vest. "And the retail employee? Arthur Stromtron? Is he secure?"
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Elena paused, a sudden wave of anxiety washing over her. In the chaos of the precinct raid and the high-speed pursuit, she had completely forgotten about the middle-aged store employee she had left standing in the MegaMart parking lot.
"I told him to go off the grid," Elena said slowly. "I hope he listened."
