Chapter 8 - The Falling Titan
Blackwood’s face froze. For the first time, a flicker of genuine panic crossed his cold gray eyes.
He instinctively looked up at the ceiling sensor.
That fraction of a second was all the distraction Daniel needed.
Using his cane as a weapon, Daniel swung the heavy wooden stick with all his strength, striking the primary guard across the knee. The guard collapsed with a sickening crack, his rifle discharging harmlessly into the ceiling plaster.
Julian lunged forward, tackling the second guard to the floor, wresting the rifle from his hands.
Blackwood swung his pistol back toward me, his face twisted in a mask of pure rage. “You miserable bitch!”
POW!
A single gunshot shattered the air.
Blackwood gasped, his eyes wide with shock. He looked down at his chest, where a dark crimson stain was rapidly spreading across his crisp white shirt.
Behind him, standing in the ruined doorway of the suite, was Marcus Vance, his tactical sidearm smoking in his hand.
Blackwood stumbled backward, collapsing against the mahogany desk, knocking over a stack of legal papers before sliding down to the floor, his gun clattering away across the carpet.
Outside the windows, the sky filled with the thundering roar of helicopter blades.
Three SWAT helicopters hovered directly outside the thirty-second-floor windows, their massive searchlights blinding the crimson darkness of the room with brilliant white light.
Heavy tactical boots thundered down the hallway as dozens of heavily armed federal agents poured into the suite, securing the room within seconds.
“Clear!” an officer shouted. “Clear!”
Agent Harris strode into the room, stepping over the fallen mercenaries, his badge displayed proudly on his belt. He looked down at General Blackwood, who was gasping for air as paramedics rushed to stabilize him.
“General Richard Blackwood,” Harris said, pulling out a pair of heavy steel restraints. “You are under arrest for high treason, conspiracy to commit murder, illegal biological weapons proliferation, and grand larceny.”
Harris then turned to Julian, extending his hand. “Mr. Reed. It’s taken seven years, but we finally have the man who tried to destroy your life.”
Julian took Harris’s hand, shaking it firmly. Then he turned around and looked at me and Daniel.
May you like
The room was filled with the noise of shouting agents, whirling helicopter blades, and crackling police radios, but between the three of us, there was only a deep, profound silence.
The long night was finally over.
