Chapter 9
The deafening roar of the helicopter’s twin turboshaft engines drowned out the frantic shouts of the local deputies as they scrambled for cover behind their cruisers. Bullets sparked off the pavement, sending jagged shards of asphalt flying into the night air. Arthur dropped flat onto the damp grass, shielding his head with his arms as the aircraft hovered menacingly just thirty feet above the manicured lawn.
Through the churning dust, a winch cable dropped rapidly from the belly of the helicopter, splashing down into the center of the driveway. Two tactical operatives emerged from the burning wreckage of the front porch, firing a concentrated burst of smoke grenades to obscure the perimeter before grabbing the heavy steel hook of the winch.
"Vance! Get up here or the girl dies right now!" a distorted voice bellowed from the helicopter’s external PA system.
Arthur froze, his heart dropping into his stomach. Marcus Sterling stepped out onto the boarding ramp of the aircraft, holding a ruggedized tablet that displayed a live infrared feed of the underground storm shelter beneath the pantry. On the small screen, Clara and Maya could be seen huddled together in the darkness, unaware that a thermal probe had already located their sanctuary.
"You promised to leave them out of this, Marcus!" Arthur screamed over the roar of the rotors, scrambling to his feet as he took a step toward the winch.
"People in our line of work lie, Arthur," Sterling shouted down with a cold, mocking smile. "Grab the cable. We're leaving."
Arthur looked back toward the police cruisers. The deputies were pinned down, unable to intervene against heavy military-grade firepower without risking civilian casualties. He had no choice. If he refused, Sterling’s secondary team would breach the storm shelter within thirty seconds.
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He lunged forward, grabbing the heavy steel hook just as the winch motor whined loudly, hauling him off the ground and up into the freezing night air. The wind whipped violently around his jacket as the helicopter banked sharply, turning away from the burning house and rocketing toward the dark, sprawling expanse of the Cascade Mountains.
Below them, the lights of the suburban home shrank into a distant, burning ember, disappearing entirely as the aircraft plunged into a thick blanket of fog and low-hanging mountain clouds.
