Chapter 11
The helicopter touched down with a dull thump on a remote, fog-shrouded helipad nestled deep within the densely wooded foothills of the Cascade Mountains. A rusted, corrugated metal hangar stood nearby, half-swallowed by creeping ivy and pine trees. Arthur was hauled roughly to his feet by the scarred lieutenant, his handcuffs clinking as he was shoved down the metal ramp and onto the damp, mossy ground.
They marched him across the clearing toward a heavy iron-reinforced door set into the side of a concrete bunker. The damp mountain air smelled of pine needles, wet earth, and the unmistakable metallic tang of approaching rain.
"Move it," the lieutenant grunted, shoving Arthur forward into the dimly lit subterranean corridor.
Inside, the bunker was surprisingly modern—a subterranean safehouse outfitted with secure communication arrays, weapons lockers, and banks of glowing computer monitors casting an eerie blue light over the concrete walls. At the far end of the room, sitting at a steel interrogation table, was a face Arthur hadn't seen in nearly five years: Elena Vance—his estranged sister, who had supposedly vanished during an undercover operation in Eastern Europe.
Elena looked up, her sharp, intelligent eyes taking in Arthur’s disheveled appearance, the torn grey suit, and the bruises marring his face.
"Well, well," Elena said quietly, standing up from the table. "They always said you were the smart one, Arthur. Looks like your brilliant career finally caught up with you."
"Elena?" Arthur breathed, his eyes widening in disbelief. "They told me you were dead. The agency said you were eliminated in Berlin."
"The agency says a lot of things when it suits their narrative," Elena replied, stepping closer, her expression unreadable. "Just like you told Clara you were a simple corporate auditor when you were actually laundering dark-ops funds for the entire syndicate."
"I was trying to get out," Arthur defended himself, straining against the grip of the guards. "I tried to blow the whistle from the inside."
"You don't get to blow the whistle on a system you built, little brother," Elena said coldly, picking up a heavy manila folder from the table and tossing it down. "You took the physical drive because you knew they were going to sacrifice you to protect the higher-ups. Now, where is it? If Marcus doesn't get that drive within the hour, the extraction team goes back for your wife and daughter."
May you like
Arthur stared at his sister, realizing that betrayal ran deeper in his family than he had ever imagined. "You're working with them? After everything they did?"
"I'm surviving, Arthur," Elena whispered, leaning in close so the guards couldn't hear. "And if you want your family to see tomorrow, you're going to tell me the exact coordinates of the lake house backup server right now."
