Chapter 6 - No Safe Haven
The private hangar at Dulles International Airport was brightly lit, a stark contrast to the stormy night. A sleek, multi-million dollar Gulfstream jet sat on the tarmac, its engines whining as they spooled up for an immediate departure to a non-extradition country.
Eleanor Sterling was frantically pushing a luggage cart loaded with designer bags and lockboxes filled with bearer bonds. Behind her, Jason stumbled, his face still heavily bandaged, his eyes wide with paranoid terror.
"Hurry up, Jason!" Eleanor shrieked over the roar of the jet engines. "Your father’s associates said the docks were compromised! We need to leave right now!"
"Mother, what about Dad?" Jason yelled back, clutching his broken jaw. "We can't just leave him!"
"Your father is a grown man; he can handle his own messes! We need to protect our assets!" Eleanor hissed, reaching the stairs of the private jet.
"I’m afraid those assets are frozen, Eleanor."
The voice didn't come from the runway. It came from the top of the jet stairs.
Arthur stepped out of the cabin of their own private plane. He had intercepted their flight crew an hour ago. He was no longer wearing his tactical gear—he was back in his worn flannel shirt, but the aura of absolute authority and danger around him was heavier than ever.
Eleanor froze, her face draining of all color. "You... how did you get in here? Security! Security!"
"Your security is currently sleeping in the lounge," Arthur said, slowly walking down the metal stairs. Each step felt like a heavy heartbeat.
Jason panicked. Seeing the man who had broken his jaw with a single punch, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a compact pistol his mother had given him. "Stay back! I’ll kill you! I swear to God I’ll kill you!"
Arthur didn't even blink. He didn't draw a weapon. He just kept walking down the stairs, his eyes locked onto his son-in-law.
"You couldn't even swing a bat properly, Jason," Arthur said, his voice completely devoid of fear. "You think you can shoot a man who has looked down the barrel of an RPG and didn't flinch?"
Jason’s finger trembled on the trigger. "I’ll do it! I’ll do it!"
Arthur moved. To Jason, it looked like a blur. Arthur closed the distance, slapped the pistol out of Jason’s hand before he could pull the trigger, and caught the young man by the throat. With a brutal twist, Arthur swept Jason’s legs out from under him, slamming him face-first onto the hard tarmac.
Arthur placed a heavy, steel-toed boot directly onto Jason’s broken jaw, applying just enough pressure to make him howl in agony.
"Please! Don't kill him! He’s my son!" Eleanor screamed, dropping to her knees, all her arrogance completely evaporated. She was begging, crying, her expensive makeup running down her face. "Take everything! Take the money! Take the bonds! Just leave us alone!"
Arthur looked down at her, his face a mask of stone. "You stood over my daughter while she screamed. You cut her hair to humiliate her. You treated her like she was property. Where was your mercy then, Eleanor?"
"We were wrong! We were wrong!" she sobbed, clutching at Arthur’s trousers.
Arthur pulled his foot back from Jason, who lay unconscious and bleeding on the ground. He looked at Eleanor with absolute disgust.
"I won't kill you," Arthur said quietly. "Death is too clean for what you’ve done. You wanted to treat people like commodities. Now, you’re going to see what it’s like to have absolutely nothing."
Behind Arthur, the heavy hangar doors rolled open. A dozen federal agents, led by a female prosecutor with a steel-trap expression, marched onto the tarmac.
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"Eleanor Sterling, Jason Sterling," the prosecutor announced, holding up a stack of federal warrants. "You are under arrest for conspiracy, human trafficking, domestic abuse, and corporate fraud. Your assets have been seized by the federal government under the RICO Act. You are completely bankrupt."
As the agents dragged a screaming Eleanor and a groaning Jason away in handcuffs, Arthur stood on the tarmac, looking up at the morning sun that was finally breaking through the storm clouds. The battle was over. The monsters had been hunted down. It was time to go back to being a father.
