Chapter 25 - The Safe House
|
The rain was falling in heavy, driving sheets as Elena steered the armored SUV down the slick highway. Mara sat in the passenger seat, constantly checking the GPS coordinates. Naomi sat in the back, clutching a secure laptop.
"We are three miles out from the gas station," Elena announced, her eyes scanning the dark road ahead. "I don't see any tail vehicles, but Vance’s men use ghost tracking. We have to be fast."
"Naomi, the moment we have Dr. Aris in the vehicle, I need you to rip the data from his flash drive and upload it to the secure offshore server," Mara ordered. "If Vance’s men intercept us, they cannot get that original file back."
"Understood," Naomi said, her fingers hovering over the keyboard.
Elena pulled the SUV aggressively into the flickering light of the rural gas station. A single attendant was asleep behind the bulletproof glass counter. Dr. Aris’s sedan was parked near the air pump.
Mara and Elena jumped out of the vehicle. Elena kept her hand resting near the concealed weapon at her hip as they entered the convenience store. Mara walked straight to the back hallway and knocked firmly on the men's room door.
"Dr. Aris. It's Mara Mercer."
The lock clicked, and the door cracked open. Dr. Aris looked terrified, clutching a small briefcase against his chest. He was pale and shivering.
"You came," he gasped.
"We always come," Mara said gently, placing a hand on his arm. "We need to move right now."
They ushered the doctor out to the SUV, pushing him into the backseat next to Naomi. Elena threw the vehicle into reverse and peeled out of the parking lot just as a dark, unmarked van crested the hill in the distance.
"They were right behind him," Elena muttered, accelerating hard down a secondary country road to lose the tail.
May you like
Inside the cabin, Dr. Aris unzipped his briefcase with shaking hands and produced a small metal flash drive. He handed it to Naomi. "This is everything. The forged diagnostics, the internal emails ordering the removal, and the exact location of the facility where they are holding Sarah's son."
Naomi plugged the drive into her laptop. "Hold on, Sarah. We’re bringing him home."
