Chapter 16: The Crossfire
The safeties clicked off. Twelve rifles were trained directly on Leah and Mateo. The deafening silence of the warehouse was broken only by the crackle of the burning files in the metal barrel.
Mateo didn't flinch. He pushed Leah firmly behind him, shielding her with his body, his 9mm pistol still aimed squarely at his father.
"You want to kill us, Dad?" Mateo yelled, his voice echoing in the cavernous space. "You'll have to shoot me first. Let's see how the board reacts when they find out their new CEO murdered his own son to cover up a thirty-year-old crime."
Chairman Sterling’s expression remained entirely impassive, a mask of cold, corporate detachment. "The official police report will state that you and the girl were caught in a cartel crossfire at the docks. A tragic consequence of your youthful rebellion. Goodbye, Mateo."
Sterling nodded to his men.
Before a single trigger could be pulled, the deafening roar of a heavy engine shattered the tension.
The reinforced steel doors of the warehouse buckled outward. A split second later, a massive armored black SUV smashed through the metal, sending sparks and debris flying into the air. The vehicle slammed into the nearest group of Sterling’s mercenaries, scattering them like bowling pins.
"Get down!" Mateo roared, tackling Leah behind a stack of wooden shipping pallets as gunfire erupted.
The SUV’s doors flew open, and Vance—Julian’s fiercely loyal head of security—stepped out, wielding a tactical shotgun. Behind him emerged three more of Julian’s private elite guards, heavily armed and wearing Kevlar.
And in the passenger seat, gripping the dashboard with white knuckles, was Julian Mercer.
"I told you I wasn't letting you do this alone!" Julian shouted over the gunfire, ducking as a bullet shattered the windshield.
"Suppressing fire! Keep them pinned!" Vance barked, pumping his shotgun.
The warehouse instantly descended into absolute chaos. The sound of automatic weapons firing echoed like thunder, tearing through the wooden crates and pinging off the metal shipping containers.
Sterling’s men, caught completely off guard by the ambush, scrambled for cover. Sterling himself lost his composure, dropping his umbrella and sprinting toward the idling helicopter on the tarmac, surrounded by two bodyguards.
"The drive!" Leah screamed over the noise.
She peeked around the edge of the pallet. Hayes had abandoned the burning barrel and was sprinting toward the side exit, the silver hard drive clutched tightly in his fist.
"I've got him!" Mateo shouted. He leaped out from cover, firing two precise warning shots at Hayes's feet.
Hayes stumbled, dropping the silver drive as he frantically dove behind a forklift. Mateo lunged forward, snatching the drive from the concrete floor.
"Mateo, watch out!" Leah screamed.
One of Sterling’s mercenaries had flanked them, raising his rifle directly at Mateo’s back.
BANG!
The mercenary dropped his weapon and collapsed, clutching his shoulder. Vance stood fifty feet away, smoke trailing from the barrel of his shotgun. He gave Leah a sharp nod.
"We have what we need!" Leah yelled, pulling Mateo back toward the armored SUV. "Let's go!"
They scrambled into the back seat as bullets rained against the bulletproof paneling. Vance threw the SUV into reverse, spinning the heavy vehicle around with a screech of tires, and smashed back through the mangled warehouse doors, leaving the blazing barrel and Chairman Sterling's shattered ambush behind them.
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As they sped away into the stormy night, Leah looked down at the silver hard drive in Mateo’s trembling hands.
They had the proof. Now, they were going to start a war.
