Chapter 8 - The Shadow of Warehouse 14
The south side docks were a labyrinth of rusted shipping containers and towering cranes. Warehouse 14 sat at the very edge of the pier, its corrugated metal walls rattling in the fierce wind off Lake Michigan.
Vincent walked in alone, carrying the pink backpack in his left hand. Behind him, the shadows of the containers concealed Marco and ten heavily armed soldiers.
Inside the warehouse, the air was freezing. A single industrial spotlight illuminated the center of the floor. Standing beneath it was Julian Vance, surrounded by twenty elite mercenaries in tactical gear. Tied to chairs behind them were Frank’s wife and his two teenage daughters, their mouths taped, their eyes wide with terror.
"You're a brave man, Vincent," Julian said, his voice echoing in the vast space. "Or a very foolish one. Where is the girl?"
"The girl is safe, Julian," Vincent said, tossing the pink backpack onto the concrete floor between them. "The files inside that bag have already been uploaded to a secure server. The moment my attorney presses 'enter' from a remote location, your entire organization is dead. Release my brother’s family, and I’ll give you the password to wipe the server."
Julian laughed, a low, mocking sound. "Do you think I’m an amateur, Vincent? We’ve already hacked your attorney's laptop. We traced the signal to your safe house ten minutes ago. My team is currently clearing the house. The girl is ours, the files are ours, and you... you are out of time."
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Vincent’s heart stopped for a single, agonizing second. The safe house. He had underestimated Julian’s cyber capabilities.
But before Julian could give the order to fire, the skylight above them shattered inward in a spectacular rain of glass.
