Chapter 7 - NIGHT AT ALDRIDGE PARK
The rain fell in heavy, relentless sheets over Aldridge Park, turning the neglected lawns into deep mud. The park was pitch black, lit only by the distant, sweeping glare of city streetlights.
Nathaniel, dressed in dark tactical gear without his rank insignias, moved like a shadow through the tree line. Captain Ross monitored the surrounding streets from an unmarked communications van parked two blocks away. My mother insisted on coming along—she was the only one who knew the exact spot where the box was buried.
I watched through the video monitor inside the van beside Captain Ross, my heart pounding in my chest.
"They're at the fountain, kiddo," Captain Ross said gently, placing a large, comforting hand on my shoulder. "Your mom's a brave woman."
On the monitor, through thermal vision, I saw my mother drop to her knees beside the crumbling concrete base of the bronze fountain. Using a small folding trench shovel, she dug frantically into the wet earth.
"Four inches down..." Elena’s voice came through the comms earbud, sharp and breathless over the sound of pouring rain. "Metal! I hit metal!"
Nathaniel knelt beside her, pulling a small, rust-covered steel ammunition box wrapped in thick layers of decayed wax paper out of the mud.
Suddenly, the night sky shattered with a blinding flash of blinding white light.
High-powered floodlights mounted on heavy tactical vehicles roared to life from all four corners of the park, illuminating Nathaniel and my mother like actors on a stage.
"STAY WHERE YOU ARE, GENERAL!" a voice boomed through a military-grade bullhorn, echoing violently against the surrounding buildings.
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From behind the glare of the lights stepped Colonel Marcus Sterling, dressed in his immaculate dress uniform, flanked by two dozen heavily armed mercenaries from Vanguard Apex.
"I must admit, Nathaniel," Sterling said, his voice dripping with condescending satisfaction, "following the paper trail of a little girl's eviction notice was remarkably easy. But finding you here... digging up buried treasure like a thief in the night? That is a poetic end to your illustrious career."
