Chapter 16 - Secrets in the Dark
By the time we reached the cabin, the blue lights of state police cruisers and Eleanor’s sedan were already painting the trees in flashing hues of red and blue. Tyler had called them using the emergency landline I’d installed.
Tyler ran out onto the porch, throwing his arms around Leo and me. "You found him! You found him!"
The paramedics checked us over. Miraculously, Leo only had minor bruises. I had two cracked ribs and a severe concussion, but I refused to go to the hospital until the two men in the woods were brought in by the police.
Eleanor walked into the cabin, her face pale as she looked at the shattered window. "Jack, the police found a laptop in the trunk of the suspects' car. They weren't just here to kidnap Leo. They were operating out of a local safehouse less than twenty miles from here."
"A safehouse?" I rasped, wincing as the paramedic wrapped a bandage around my chest.
"Yes. It seems the Voss Foundation had a backup facility—a data hub that contains the names of every remaining investor, handler, and corrupt official on their payroll. These two men were sent to secure Leo because his blood work from the hospital was going to be used as a primary bargaining chip to sell their 'research' to overseas buyers."
I stood up, pushing the paramedic away gently. "Then it's not over. As long as that data hub exists, someone else will just come to finish the job."
"The FBI is coordinating a raid for tomorrow morning," Eleanor said.
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"Tomorrow morning is too late," I said, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "They know these two failed. The moment the safehouse realizes their men are caught, they'll burn the data and vanish into the wind. And my family will be looking over our shoulders for the rest of our lives."
Marcus stepped forward, his expression grim but determined. "He's right, Eleanor. We cut the head off the snake tonight, or we never sleep again. Jack, I'm coming with you."
