Chapter 6 - The Trap Sprung
Before Volkov could pull the trigger of his heavy shotgun, a sudden, deafening screech of ripping metal shattered the night!
The massive skylights above the warehouse roof exploded inward in a shower of heavy glass and steel frames!
Four dark tactical ropes dropped down from the ceiling, and eight federal strike team operatives wearing heavy black body armor labeled FBI / SWAT rappelled down into the center of the warehouse, their assault rifle laser sights painting red dots across the chest of every one of Volkov’s men!
"FEDERAL AGENTS! DROP YOUR WEAPONS! DROP YOUR WEAPONS NOW!" a speaker roared from a tactical helicopter hovering above the shattered roof!
Volkov gasped in utter shock. "What is this?! Mercer, you brought the feds?!"
"I didn't bring the feds, Volkov," Dominic laughed smoothly, taking two steps back behind the heavy bulletproof door of his SUV. "Evelyn did."
Twenty-four hours ago, while sitting in the war room at Blackthorne House, I had made a private, encrypted satellite call to Special Agent Sarah Rodriguez—my former supervisor at the Department of Justice who had remained loyal and uncorrupted.
I had given her the exact coordinates of Warehouse 14, the evidence of Volkov’s illegal arms trade, and the location of Julian Sterling—in exchange for full federal immunity for Dominic Mercer and his legitimate enterprises!
"YOU TRAITOROUS BITCH!" Julian screamed at me, pulling a nickel-plated pistol from his coat pocket and leveling it directly at my face!
BANG!
Dominic didn't hesitate. He drew his sidearm in a movement so blindingly fast it was a blur, firing two rapid shots!
The first bullet struck Julian’s hand, shattering the nickel-plated pistol into pieces! The second bullet tore through Julian’s knee, sending him crashing down onto the concrete floor, screaming in agonizing pain!
Volkov’s men, seeing themselves completely surrounded by federal SWAT operatives and Dominic’s elite guards, immediately dropped their weapons onto the floor, raising their hands in surrender!
"SECURE THE PERIMETER!" Special Agent Rodriguez barked, dropping down from her rope and sweeping the floor with her rifle.
Within two minutes, Volkov and his twelve mercenaries were pinned to the floor in heavy steel handcuffs.
Julian Sterling lay on his back near a rusty steel shipping crate, clutching his shattered knee, blood pooling beneath his gray coat. He was hyperventilating, his eyes wild with terror as he looked up at the figures standing over him.
I walked over to him, my cane clicking softly against the concrete, stopping two inches from his blood-soaked trousers.
Dominic walked beside me, his gun still held casually at his side, looking down at the defeated ghost with absolute cold contempt.
Special Agent Rodriguez walked up beside us, sliding her sidearm into its holster, looking at me with tears shining in her dark eyes.
"Evelyn..." Rodriguez whispered, her voice cracking. "My God... we thought you were dead for eight years."
"I was dead, Sarah," I said softly, looking down at Julian. "Until tonight."
Julian looked up at me, coughing violently, a bitter, pathetic smile playing on his bloody lips. "You think you won, Evelyn?... You think you get to be happy now?... You're a fed... he's a mob boss... your world will never let you stay together!"
I dropped to one knee beside him, pulling the silver thumb drive from Dominic’s hand and holding it up before Julian’s fading eyes.
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"This drive doesn't just hold eighty million dollars, Julian," I whispered into his ear. "It holds the complete, unedited recordings of every corrupt politician and federal judge you ever paid off. By sunrise tomorrow, every man who helped you burn my home eight years ago will be sitting in a federal cell right beside you."
Julian gasped, the final trace of hope draining from his face as Special Agent Rodriguez grabbed his arms, clicking heavy steel restraints around his wrists, and dragging him away into the waiting federal transports outside.
