Chapter 17 - The Collapse of the Empire
Carlos spun around in fury,
realizing he was too late,
the data was gone,
sent to every major news outlet,
and federal agency in the country,
you fool,
Carlos hissed,
raising his weapon toward Sofia,
you have destroyed us all,
but before he could pull the trigger,
the sky above the cabin,
lit up with artificial daylight,
as three federal police helicopters,
descended from the clouds,
their searchlights pinning the cabin,
in a brilliant cage of light,
this is the federal authority,
a voice boomed from a loudspeaker,
drop your weapons and surrender immediately,
the syndicate men panicked,
looking at the sky in terror,
realizing their political protection,
was officially gone,
the documents Sofia uploaded,
had triggered an immediate response,
from the highest levels of government,
Rossi used the distraction,
to tackle the man nearest to him,
securing another weapon,
while Daniel threw himself,
at Carlos's legs,
knocking the crime boss down,
they wrestled on the dusty floor,
Daniel's rage giving him strength,
he thought of Leo under the floorboards,
he thought of his daughter's whispers,
and he struck Carlos repeatedly,
until the man stopped moving,
the federal agents swarmed the cabin,
subduing the remaining gunmen,
and pulling Daniel away,
from the unconscious boss,
it's over,
sir,
an agent said gently,
guiding Daniel out into the rain,
we have them,
we have all of them,
Daniel fell to his knees,
the cold water washing away,
the blood and the dust,
as Rossi was helped out by medics,
holding his phone to his ear,
we found your daughter,
Rossi,
an agent announced,
she is safe and unharmed,
the two fathers looked at each other,
May you like
sharing a silent moment of victory,
bought through pure hell.
