Chapter 33
James slammed his foot onto the accelerator, causing the old military engine to scream as the truck surged forward with newfound urgency.
The carefully planned backroads route was no longer an option if we only had four hours before a global economic catastrophe took place.
Collins immediately grabbed her satellite phone, redialing Agent Bennett's tactical command center with trembling, furious fingers.
"Bennett, Brooks has initiated a dead-man switch protocol tied to Vance's death!" she yelled over the roar of the wind and engine.
"He's going to wipe the entire network and trigger a systemic financial meltdown if we don't get the drive into the main mainframe."
The line crackled violently, the audio cutting in and out as if something was actively interfering with our secure satellite connection.
"Collins... do you... copy?" Bennett's voice was barely audible through a wall of sudden, artificial electronic interference.
"We are... taking heavy casualties... the penthouse tower is... automated defense systems are..."
The call abruptly died, replaced by a high-pitched, agonizing whine that forced Collins to yank the phone away from her ear.
"They are jamming everything," she said, her eyes wide with frustration as she stared at the completely dead digital screen.
"Brooks has localized the jamming field around the entire northern Virginia sector; he's cutting himself off from the outside world entirely."
James glanced at the rearview mirror, his face hardening into a mask of pure tactical focus as he navigated a sharp bend in the road.
"He's not just cutting himself off," James remarked grimly, pointing toward the clear blue horizon directly ahead of us.
In the distance, the faint, black shape of a military-grade surveillance drone was cutting through the clouds, heading straight for our position.
Brooks wasn't waiting for us to arrive at his doorstep; he was using his remaining private assets to hunt us down on the open road.
I looked down at Ethan, who had just woken up and was looking at me with large, innocent eyes that broke my heart.
I had promised him a life of peace, a home where the family war could never find him, but right now, the fire was closing in fast.
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Claire reached over, her fingers locking with mine as she leaned in close, her voice a fierce whisper against my ear.
"We don't stop," she said, her eyes flashing with a terrifying, beautiful resolve. "We drive straight through them, clear to the end."
