Chapter 5 - The Rotor Wash Secret
The wind from the helicopter’s twin rotors whipped my hair across my face, blinding me for a split second as Viktor’s rifle barrel locked onto my center mass.
I didn't hesitate. I dropped flat onto the gravel roof just as a high-velocity round hissed through the air right above my head, embedding itself into the brick chimney behind me. Rolling hard to the left, I brought my service pistol up, tracking his movement through the swirling dust storm kicked up by the chopper blades.
Before Viktor could adjust his aim for a second shot, Admiral Reed burst through the rooftop door, raising his weapon with absolute military precision. Two sharp cracks rang out, perfectly synchronized with the roar of the turbine.
The first bullet struck the metal housing of the helicopter’s engine cowling. The second clipped Viktor’s rifle stock, shattering the polymer grip and spinning him off balance against the open cabin door of the aircraft.
"Go! Go! Lift off!" the pilot screamed from inside the cockpit, panicking as federal tactical spotlights suddenly swept across the rooftop from the ground below, blinding the crew.
Viktor cursed violently, grabbing the door handle as the helicopter lurched violently upward into the foggy night sky, its landing gear missing the edge of the roof by mere inches. He glared down at me through the swirling debris, holding up a small, encrypted thumb drive in his hand.
"You missed the real file, Captain!" he shouted over the deafening roar as the chopper banked hard toward the coastline and vanished into the heavy mist.
I stood up slowly, brushing the gravel and dust from my knees, my breath coming in ragged, controlled gasps. Admiral Reed walked up beside me, lowering his weapon as the deafening roar of the helicopter faded into the distance.
"Did you see what he was holding?" the Admiral asked quietly, his eyes fixed on the empty patch of sky where the aircraft had disappeared.
"A cold-storage drive," I said, my jaw tight as I stared out into the dark horizon. "That wasn't just my father’s ledger. That was the master key containing the names of every domestic and international shell corporation funneling illegal defense funds to the syndicate."
Down below, the heavy front doors of the mansion finally crashed open, and federal agents flooded into the foyer, securing the perimeter and placing Richard and Celeste under formal arrest. We could hear my mother’s hysterical crying echoing up through the stairwell, followed by the camera shutters of early press corps members who had somehow managed to breach the outer barricades.
The raid was a success. My father’s empire was crumbling into ash right before his eyes. But the game had just escalated to a terrifying new level. Viktor didn't just escape—he had taken the one piece of evidence that could completely expose the entire military-industrial conspiracy. And he was heading straight for a destination far beyond federal jurisdiction.
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My phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and looked at the screen. It was a secure text message from an unknown encrypted sender, containing a single set of GPS coordinates and a short message:
If you want the master key before it crosses international waters, meet me alone at Pier 14 by midnight. Bring your father's personal ledger—or the next body they pull from the harbor will be your mother's.
