Chapter 13: The Closing Net
The cold morning air rushed into the cabin as Arthur peered through the narrow crack of the open door. Fifty yards away, half-concealed by the dense morning fog and the towering trunks of pine trees, two figures in dark tactical gear were moving methodically through the brush, scanning the ground for footprints. They wore unmarked black uniforms and carried suppressed carbines—federal recovery agents who had tracked their digital footprint through the region’s emergency medical network.
"Tom," Arthur whispered urgently, keeping his eyes locked on the approaching shadows. "We've been compromised. They're at the edge of the clearing."
"Hold on, I'm almost done!" Vance hissed, his knuckles white as he watched the digital progress bar on the scanner tick upward. "Eighty-five percent... ninety percent..."
Inside the cabin, the high-pitched whirring sound of the induction reader seemed deafeningly loud. Chloe bit her lip, trembling as she watched the door, her hands clutching the sheepskin blanket so hard her knuckles turned white.
"Ninety-five percent... complete!" Vance snapped, grabbing the device and pressing a hard reset button. The black box emitted a soft beep before the internal memory wiped itself clean in a puff of acrid smoke, rendering the classified data permanently destroyed. "It’s gone. All of it. They have nothing left to track."
Before Vance could finish the sentence, a heavy boot slammed against the exterior wooden wall of the cabin, and a sharp voice cut through the stillness of the forest.
"Federal agents! Step away from the doorway with your hands visible!"
Arthur did not hesitate. He drew his service pistol, stepped back from the entrance, and pulled the heavy wooden door shut, throwing the deadbolt just as a barrage of heavy fists hammered against the timber frame.
"Arthur Vance! Stand down! You are harboring classified state property!" the agent shouted from the porch.
Arthur turned to Vance and Chloe, his face carved from granite. "Get out through the root cellar hatch in the floorboards. It leads to the ravine behind the ridge. I'll buy you ten minutes."
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"Dad, no!" Chloe cried out, sliding off the cot despite the searing pain in her abdomen. "I'm not leaving you here!"
"You have to," Arthur said, his voice brooking no argument as he gently pushed her toward the trapdoor in the floor. "The data is gone, Chloe. They want me now, not you. Run, and don't look back."
