Chapter 5 - The Tactical Retreat
"You're a long way from your jurisdiction, Vance," I said, my mind racing at a million miles an hour. My fingers gripped the silver drive tightly inside my pocket.
"My jurisdiction is wherever Mr. Pendelton's money goes," Vance sneered, nodding to his two goons. "Take him. Secure the drive."
The first man lunged forward, his hands reaching for my throat. But my military training kicked in before my fear could paralyze me. I ducked beneath his swing, driving the heavy steel crowbar directly into his kneecap. A loud crack shattered the silence, followed by a guttural scream as the man collapsed to the stone floor.
The second man pulled a silenced pistol from his holster, but I didn't give him the chance to aim. I threw the heavy bronze nameplate of Tessa’s mother directly at his face. The metal struck him square between the eyes, sending him stumbling backward out of the mausoleum entrance.
"Vance!" I roared, diving through the door and tackling the detective into the damp grass outside.
We wrestled in the mud, Vance striking me across the jaw with a heavy fist. The taste of copper filled my mouth, but the adrenaline overrode the pain. I drove my forearm against his throat, pinning him to the ground, and pulled his own service weapon from his holster before he could regain his breath.
"Stay down!" I gasped, aiming the pistol at his forehead.
Vance lay in the mud, coughing violently, a malicious laugh escaping his throat. "You think you've won, Aaron? Look at your phone. My team is already at the perimeter of the cemetery. You're completely surrounded."
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Right on cue, my radio earpiece buzzed with Marcus’s frantic voice. "Aaron, we’ve got a problem! Multiple blacked-out vehicles just blocked the northern exit. They’re closing in on the SUV. We need to move now!"
I didn't waste another second. I slammed the butt of the pistol into Vance’s temple, knocking him unconscious, grabbed the encryption drive from my pocket, and sprinted through the fog toward the cemetery’s western wall, my heart screaming in desperation to reach my family.
