Chapter 5 - The Reckoning on the Water
The slide down the dark metal coal chute was fast, rough, and terrifying.
Daniel slammed onto the stone floor of the subterranean cellar, rolling instantly to absorb the impact. He scrambled to his feet, ignoring the sharp pain in his ribs, and rushed toward the heavy steel door at the end of the stone corridor.
The door was already slightly ajar.
Inside the dimly lit underground boat slip, the engine of a twin-turbocharged black speed launch was roaring to life, its dual exhaust pipes bubbling water into the dark bay.
Elena was at the helm, her hands shaking on the wheel, while Lily sat safely in a life jacket on the leather bench behind her.
"DANIEL!" Elena screamed as he burst through the door.
Daniel jumped across the four-foot gap onto the teak deck of the boat, landing heavily just as a barrage of bullets began striking the concrete slip behind him.
"CAST OFF!" Daniel roared, rushing to the helm and slamming the twin throttles fully forward.
The 900-horsepower engines roared like enraged beasts. The speedboat shot out of the dark subterranean slip, tearing into the open waters of the Hudson River, creating a massive wall of white spray behind them.
Behind them, pulling out from the adjacent commercial pier, were two massive, black cigarette raceboats belonging to the Vance mercenaries, their twin searchlights cutting through the driving rain, illuminating Daniel’s vessel in harsh white light.
"They're gaining on us!" Elena shouted over the deafening roar of the wind and rain.
"Hold on!" Daniel shouted, taking the wheel and banking the speed launch hard to the right, slicing through six-foot ocean swells toward the open bay of Lower Manhattan.
In his pocket, his satellite comms phone buzzed. He picked it up with one hand while holding the wheel with the other.
"DANIEL!" a voice boomed over the speaker. It was Federal Prosecutor Raymond Miller—a long-time ally of Daniel’s father. "We received the encrypted data drop your automated system sent from the studio ten minutes ago! We have the offshore accounts! Federal warrants have been issued for Marcus Vance and his entire network!"
"They're chasing us on the Hudson right now, Raymond!" Daniel yelled into the phone over the roar of gunfire. "They have heavy weapons!"
"Coast Guard cutter Reliance is two miles off your bow!" Prosecutor Miller responded. "Drop your speed when you see their green flashing lights! We have tactical strike teams airborne!"
Up ahead, through the thick gray fog and rain, two bright green flashing beacons appeared near the base of the Statue of Liberty.
The massive, grey hull of a 270-foot Coast Guard cutter loomed out of the mist, flanked by two fast-response interceptor boats.
"There they are!" Daniel yelled, pulling back slightly on the throttles to signal his position.
Behind them, the lead Vance raceboat didn't slow down.
Driven by sheer, unhinged desperation, Marcus Vance stood on the open deck of his boat, screaming at his captain to ram Daniel’s vessel before they could reach the Coast Guard line.
"RAM THEM! RAM THEM NOW AND SINK THE EVIDENCE!" Marcus roared wildly.
The mercenary boat surged forward at seventy miles an hour, aiming straight for the stern of Daniel’s launch.
"DANIEL! LOOK OUT!" Elena shrieked.
Daniel spun the wheel with all his strength, spinning the boat sideways into a high-speed drift.
The mercenary boat missed Daniel’s stern by mere inches, roaring past them—and heading directly into the path of the Coast Guard cutter's bow.
"THIS IS THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD!" a booming megaphone echoed across the water. "HEAVE TO AND SURRENDER IMMEDIATELY OR WE WILL OPEN FIRE!"
Marcus Vance, completely insane with rage, raised his silver revolver and fired three shots directly at the Coast Guard bridge.
The response was instantaneous and absolute.
The Coast Guard cutter’s deck-mounted 25mm automatic cannon roared once.
BOOM!
A high-explosive round struck the engine bay of the mercenary boat. The vessel exploded into a massive ball of orange fire and black smoke, sending twisted metal and debris flying across the dark water.
The second mercenary boat immediately cut its engines, its crew throwing their hands into the air as two Coast Guard interceptors surrounded them with mounted machine guns ready.
Daniel brought his speed launch to a complete stop alongside the Coast Guard cutter.
The rain began to lighten, breaking through the storm clouds as the first golden rays of dawn began to paint the Manhattan skyline in shades of amber and rose.
Daniel turned off the engines.
The quiet return of the morning was absolute.
He turned around and looked into the back of the boat.
Elena was kneeling on the deck, holding little Lily close to her heart. The three-year-old child peeked out from under her blanket, holding her one-eared rabbit, looking up at the majestic, sunlit Statue of Liberty looming above them.
Daniel walked over, sinking to his knees on the wet deck, and wrapped his broad arms around both of them, pulling them close to his chest.
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Tears of immense relief flowed down his face, mixing with the saltwater spray on his cheeks.
"It’s over," Daniel whispered, his voice shaking with overwhelming love and relief. "Michael... it’s over. They're safe."
