Chapter 13
The red LED light on the silver flash drive blinked with increasing fury, casting a strobe-like effect across Leo’s small, calm face. Mark lunged forward to grab the device from his son's hand, but Leo pulled back with surprising agility, his grip on the metal casing immovable for a child of his age.
"It’s time to go, Daddy," Leo said softly, his voice carrying an uncanny authority that froze Mark in his tracks.
Sarah reached for the rear passenger door handle, pulling it open with a sharp click. "Mark, forget the drive. Get in the car. We can break through the fence at the back of the property before the transmission finishes."
Outside, Arthur Vance didn't move from his spot on the driveway, but a second black sedan pulled silently around the corner, blocking the exit of the cul-de-sac with its headlights off. Two men in identical charcoal suits stepped out of the second vehicle, moving with a synchronized, mechanical precision that suggested military training.
"Thirty seconds, Mark," Vance called out, checking his wristwatch with irritating detachment. "You can't outrun a network that owns the stoplights."
Mark vaulted over the hood of the Honda, ignoring the dull pain in his knee, and wrenched the driver's side door open. He threw himself into the seat, jammed the ignition key into the column, and twisted it hard. The engine sputtered, coughed once, and then roared to life, the dashboard instruments glowing with a blinding array of warning lights that hadn't been there ten minutes ago.
Leo tossed the flash drive onto the passenger seat next to Sarah. The red light stopped blinking, turning into a solid, unwavering green.
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"The upload is complete," Sarah gasped, staring at the small screen on the dashboard where a green confirmation checkmark had just appeared next to a file labeled PROJECT HEIRLOOM.
Mark threw the gearshift into reverse, revving the engine until the tires squealed against the concrete floor, and prepared to slam his foot down on the gas to smash through the partially open garage door.
