Chapter 6 - The Chase
The sedan picked up speed, its headlights blinding in the rearview mirror. I floored the SUV, the engine whining in protest as we careened around a sharp corner.
"Claire, what's happening?" Naomi shouted, bracing herself against the dashboard.
"They're tailing us! Hold on!"
I cut the lights and swung into an alleyway, hoping to lose them in the maze of the industrial district. We bumped over loose pavement, the chassis groaning, until I pulled to a stop behind a shipping container.
We sat in the dark, our breathing heavy. The black sedan cruised past the alley entrance, slowing down as they scanned the darkness. They were professional. They didn't panic. They waited.
"They know this area," I whispered. "They're circling back."
"We need to get to the main road," Naomi said. "I can call the feds."
"No feds," I said. "They’re compromised. Look at the ledger."
I flipped to the back page. One of the names listed under the 'Patrons' section was the head of the local FBI field office.
"Okay," Naomi breathed, her face hardening. "Then we disappear. We take the ledger, we take the laptop, and we go off the grid."
"I’m not disappearing," I said, a cold resolve taking root. "If I disappear, they win. We need to leak this. Not to the police, but to the press. Everyone at once."
"That's a suicide mission."
"It's the only mission that keeps me alive."
I started the engine, shifting into reverse. As the sedan rounded the corner, I gunned it, slamming into the side of their car and pushing them into a stack of pallets. The air bags deployed, and the engine died.
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"Go!" I yelled, and we roared onto the main road, the SUV’s front bumper hanging by a thread.
We were alive. But the war had just begun.
