Chapter 17 - The Flight to the Coast
The black truck roared through the empty, rain-slicked streets of Chicago, its tires throwing up massive sheets of water as Mark navigated toward the interstate.
In the back seat, Clara had woken up, her small hand holding her pink firefighter hat tightly as she looked out the window. "Mama, is the bad fire gone?"
"Yes, sweetie," Sarah said, turning in her seat to offer a warm, reassuring smile, though her hands were still shaking from the adrenaline. "Mark put the fire out. We’re going on a little trip, okay? To see the big water."
"To the lake?" Clara chirped.
"Yes, baby. To the lake," Sarah whispered, her eyes meeting Mark’s in the rearview mirror.
They couldn't stay in Chicago. Thorne’s associates were everywhere, and the destruction of the vault would bring the corrupt elements of the city’s power structure down upon them like a pack of wolves. They needed a safe place, a sanctuary where they could analyze the ledger and deliver the evidence to someone who couldn't be bought.
"We go to Cape Elizabeth," Mark said, his voice low and steady. "To Caleb and Lily. Caleb has a secure satellite connection that bypasses the local federal nodes. If we can get the data to his terminal, he can upload it directly to the national security database in Washington."
"That’s a fifteen-hour drive, Mark," Sarah said, her brow furrowing as she looked at the GPS. "We’ll have to cross three state lines. If Thorne’s people have our license plate—"
"They won't have it for long," Mark said, pulling the truck into a secluded rest stop off Interstate 90.
He stepped out into the pouring rain, his movements fast and precise. He removed his license plates, replacing them with a set of clean, unregistered plates he kept in his rescue kit under the back seat—a precaution he had learned during his years of tactical rescue training.
He hopped back into the cab, wiping the water from his face. He turned to Sarah, his hand reaching out to wrap securely around hers, his grip a warm, unshakeable shield.
"No matter how far we have to run, Sarah," Mark whispered, his eyes locked onto hers with an intense, unyielding devotion. "We run together. I am not letting them take our life."
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"I know," Sarah smiled, her green eyes shining with a brilliant, peaceful light. "Because you are the first one running."
They merged back onto the highway, the dark silhouette of the Chicago skyline vanishing into the grey storm behind them as they headed east toward the dawn.
