Chapter 25 - The Phoenix Network
Back in Phoenix, the silence of the 3rd Street house was broken by the frantic ringing of Emma’s secure satellite phone—a piece of military equipment she had kept hidden for emergencies. It was a pre-programmed distress signal from Marcus’s vehicle, indicating a perimeter breach.
Emma jumped up from the couch, her face turning pale. "Leo, they’ve been compromised. Victoria’s people found them at the cabin."
Leo felt a wave of icy terror wash over him. "What do we do? We’re thousands of miles away. If we call the local police, Victoria’s federal connections will intercept the dispatch!"
"We don't call the police," Emma said, her military instincts taking complete control of her mind. She walked to her desk, opening a encrypted communication software on her laptop. "When I was a captain, I served with a network of veterans who now run a private security firm based out of Albany. They owe me their lives from our time in Kandahar. It’s time to call in the debt."
For the next ten minutes, Emma spoke in a rapid-fire series of military coordinates, operational codes, and tactical instructions. She mobilized a six-man rapid-response team, equipped with legal authority as licensed state investigators, to intercept the SUVs at the Adirondack cabin.
"They are twenty minutes away," Emma said, shutting her laptop with a definitive snap. She looked at Leo, whose hands were trembling as he held a crying Ruth. "Now, we play our card. We don't wait for Victoria to attack us in the courts. We force her into the light."
"How?" Leo asked.
"We use the media network you built for the Grand Pavilion leak," Emma said, her eyes flashing with a ruthless determination. "We schedule a live, international press conference from our backyard tomorrow morning. We announce that we are turning over the unredacted master drive to the International Court of Justice in The Hague—bypassing the corrupt elements of the U.S. Department of Defense entirely."
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"That’s a massive gamble, Emma," Leo said, stepping closer to her. "If we do that, we are declaring war on Victoria's entire political network."
"She threatened our daughter, Leo," Emma said, her voice dropping to a whisper that gave him goosebumps. "There is no negotiation left. We either destroy her capacity to hurt us, or we spend the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders. Help me set up the cameras."
