Chapter 54
The aluminum patrol boat sliced through the midnight swells. The twin outboards roared. The wind was icy. The temperature had fallen dramatically.
Clouds blanketed the sky.
We were on our own. It was hard to say just how deep Valterion’s surveillance of the department was, but none of us were taking any chances. Anything unusual could trigger an attack.
Daniels quietly took some guys from the Bomb Disposal Unit over to the Children's Hospital.
In plainclothes with a German Shepherd, they hoped they wouldn't attract attention.
I didn't think they'd stumble across a bomb or an improvised explosive device. Valterion wouldn’t use something so crude.
A directed energy weapon fired from a satellite would be enough to start a fire.
It would look like a lightning strike or a random occurrence.
It took about 45 minutes to reach Spice Key. The small island was only a couple of miles in diameter. Jack manned the helm and circled the island, doing a reconnaissance pass. With IR optics, I scanned the island, looking for activity.
It was deserted.
We’d beaten them to the island, or so it seemed.
Jack ran the boat aground on the soft sand in the bay. With wireless earbuds and an encrypted app, we had secure comms. We did a quick radio check, then I helped Ethan and Casey ashore.
The water was cold, and the wind colder. It was completely surreal. I’d never seen anything like it. The temperature was now 31°.
We marched up the beach, through the underbrush. Jack took off through the dense foliage with a sniper rifle. Decked out in full IR-resistant camouflage, an IR poncho, face paint, and tactical gear, he would provide overwatch for the operation. With any luck, he’d blend in with the scenery.
We also wore IR ponchos to minimize our signature. But over time, the fabric would heat up.
It was just after 11:00 PM.
I took point, moving down the trail, leading Ethan and Casey to the clearing as instructed.
We camped out at the tree line and waited, shivering with gusts of wind that penetrated deep. Nobody was prepared for this kind of weather.
There was an upside—not a solitary mosquito buzzed my ears. At least there was something to be thankful for.
I told Ethan and Casey, "It's not too late to turn back. You can take the boat and go back to Coconut Key. JD and I can handle it.”
Ethan shook his head. "These people have taken everything from me. I want to see it go down in real time. You need me to pull this off.”
I told both of them to hide in the underbrush and wait until I gave the signal to come out. “Don’t move.”
They agreed and scattered in different directions, then made themselves small in the brush.
A few minutes before midnight, the dull thump of rotor blades approached. Moments later, a sleek black helicopter circled the island.
My phone buzzed with a call from an unknown number again. I just barely had a signal out here. I answered the call.
“Deputy Wild,” the familiar voice said. “I’m so glad you could make it.
I see your boat. I know you’re here, hiding.
Unfortunately, you seem to be under the impression that I will tolerate your shenanigans.
I’m not sure what you’re hoping to accomplish.
Do you think I’m bluffing? Should I go ahead and destroy the hospital? ”
“That won’t be necessary,” I replied, removing the thermal poncho. I stood up and stepped into the meadow.
“Tell your friend with the rifle to put the gun down and show himself. Did you think I wouldn’t have the latest thermal imaging?
I think I should be offended. So little respect.
Tell the others to come out as well. I'm not playing games with you.
Once you've complied, I will touchdown in the meadow, and we can transact our business.”
I radioed JD over our encrypted comms and told him to come out. They clearly had advanced FLIR optics and had seen all of us from the air.
I shouted for Ethan and Casey to join me.
Once we had all gathered at the edge of the clearing, the helicopter touched down.
The rotor wash bent the high grass, sending a sharp, icy breeze across the meadow.
The cargo door slid open, and two goons hopped out with automatic rifles shouldered.
They scanned the area, looking for additional threats.
A gentleman in a long, dark trench coat exited a moment later. In his mid-50s, he had a square face, short brown hair that was slicked back, and narrow eyes. He wore a suit and a red tie underneath the trench coat. I recognized him immediately.
Another gentleman in his mid-20s followed him. This guy was bigger. Probably a personal bodyguard. They all had earpieces.
The pilot kept the rotors spinning. The goons kept their weapons aimed at us as Mr. Trenchcoat stepped into the meadow.
We moved toward him and stopped about 20 paces apart.
Mr. Trenchcoat smiled. Frank Macy was the CTO of Valterion and a regular fixture, giving interviews on financial news networks. "I'm so glad you made the right decision. It would break my heart if something happened to those kids.”
"You're a sick man," I said.
My insult bounced off him like it was nothing. "We all have our own unique way of looking at the world. Now, let's get down to business, shall we? Where's the data?"
I nodded to Ethan, and he pulled the thumb drive from his pocket.
The sight of it made Frank smile. He motioned to bring it to him.
Ethan handed me the drive, and I approached Macy. “How do you know there aren’t more copies? How do you know we haven’t disseminated this to every media outlet or put it on the internet?”
“As a general rule, I try to never underestimate the stupidity of the general public. But you’d have to be a fool to think you could do something like that and not suffer repercussions.”
“The more you try to contain this, the farther it will spread.”
Frank laughed again. He had a slight Southern flavor to his voice and the confidence of a man who knew he was untouchable.
“You vastly underestimate our capabilities. You think I don’t know everything that was downloaded from our network?
You think I don’t have AI crawlers searching the web for that data?
You think I haven’t monitored all traffic from your devices?
The kid may have that data backed up on a hard drive somewhere, but he hasn’t sent it to anyone over the web.
The minute that data shows up anywhere, I’ll be on top of it. ”
“You know what a deadman’s switch is,” I said.
He seemed mildly amused. Not the reaction I was going for. “Is this the part where you tell me you’ve made a copy and a colleague will disseminate this information far and wide?”
My eyes narrowed at him, wondering what was up his sleeve. “Something like that.”
“You mean this colleague? The pretty blonde?”
My heart sank as he pulled his phone from a pocket and showed me a video clip of Paris. She was in a dark space, bound at the wrists and ankles, with duct tape over her mouth. Tears streaked her mascara. A thug held a stainless steel 9mm to her head.
“I hate to be the one to tell you, but your deadman switch has been disabled, shall we say. There are a few things that you should be aware of. We will buy off, blackmail, or discredit anyone who stands against us. And if that doesn’t work, we will put them in the ground. Do you understand me?”
I gave a subtle nod.
“I have to hand it to these kids for being dumb enough to think they could make a difference.”
I wanted to smack the smug grin from his face.
“Do you know how easy it is to ruin someone’s reputation these days?
A mere allegation of impropriety is usually enough.
But it’s not hard to plant incriminating photos on cellphones and computers.
Disgusting images of children that could land someone in a federal penitentiary for a long time.
There’s no coming back from something like that.
” His grin widened. “No. I’m not worried in the slightest. You’re a man with too much to lose.
Easy to control. I don’t even have to kill you. ”
I glared at him.
Frank held out his hand. “Now, give me the drive. Once I verify the data, we can go our separate ways.”
I handed him the data.
Frank handed it to his assistant, who plugged it into a laptop and scanned the drive.
After a moment, the assistant gave Frank a nod. Everything was in order. It was everything Ethan and Ivy had downloaded from the company servers.
Frank smiled. “See how easy that was?”
My heart thumped. There was no way he was just going to let us walk away, despite his prior monologue.
Snowflakes fluttered down from the heavens. It was the most surreal thing I’d ever seen.
Trenchcoat held out his hands, palms to the sky in a reverent way, and smiled. “Sometimes I feel like God. Then I realize I’m not. God has the capacity to forgive. I do not.” His grin faded, and he commanded his goons, “Kill them all!”
They shouldered their rifles, and fingers drew tight against triggers.
Ethan’s and Casey’s eyes rounded with fear.
“Might not want to do that just yet,” I said.
“And just why is that?”