Chapter 6 - THE CHILDHOOD DRAWING
The yellow gas burned Anna’s eyes, making the subterranean vault spin violently.
"Marcus! The hinges!" Gabriel roared, his voice muffled by his own forearm pressed against his mouth.
Marcus didn't hesitate. He raised his assault rifle and unleashed a deafening burst of automatic fire directly into the electronic locking mechanism of the heavy steel doors at the top of the stairs. Sparks rained down like horrific fireworks.
Gabriel grabbed Anna by the waist, practically lifting her off the ground, and charged up the stairs. He hit the damaged steel door with his entire shoulder. The ruined locking pins gave way with a horrific screech of tearing metal, and the door burst open.
They spilled out into the bank lobby, hacking and coughing the chemical taste from their lungs.
"Move!" Gabriel barked, hauling Anna to her feet.
They burst out the back doors into the freezing alley. The fresh air felt like shards of glass in Anna’s raw throat, but it cleared her head. They piled into the SUV, Marcus slamming the gas pedal before the doors were even fully shut.
"Dragos is heading to my old house," Anna gasped, clutching the ledger to her chest. "If he gets the hard drive, my mother’s medicine is gone forever."
"He doesn't know the exact location in the house," Gabriel said, his dark eyes fixed on the road ahead. He was driving now, pushing the armored vehicle to terrifying speeds. "He couldn't read the invisible ink. He just knows the house is the target. We can beat him."
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at a quiet, idyllic suburban street. It was 3:00 AM. The neighborhood was dead silent.
Anna stared out the window at the two-story house with the wraparound porch. It looked exactly as she remembered it, though a stranger’s car was parked in the driveway.
"The current owners are out of town," Marcus reported, checking a glowing tablet. "House is empty."
"We go in quiet," Gabriel commanded. He handed Anna a heavy flashlight. "You know the layout. Lead the way to the foundation."
They slipped through the back gate, picking the lock on the cellar door. The basement smelled of damp earth and old wood. It was exactly as her father had left it.
"The note said 'where the roots meet the foundation'," Anna whispered, shining the beam along the unfinished concrete walls.
She moved toward the far corner, where the massive oak tree from the front yard pressed against the house. She ran her hands along the wall.
"Here," she said, her breath hitching. "There’s a seam in the concrete."
Gabriel stepped up. He pulled a heavy combat knife from his boot, wedged it into the seam, and pried with terrifying strength. A block of faux-concrete popped out, revealing a dark cavity.
Anna reached inside. Her fingers brushed against cold, hard plastic.
She pulled it out. It was a rugged, waterproof pelican case. Inside rested a single, solid-state hard drive. The cure for her mother. The cartel’s ledger. The key to destroying Dragos.
"We have it," Anna breathed, tears of relief pricking her eyes.
"Good," a voice said from the top of the basement stairs.
Anna and Gabriel spun around.
Standing on the wooden landing, silhouetted by the moonlight, was Marcus.
But his assault rifle wasn't aimed at the door. It was aimed directly at Gabriel’s chest.
"I’m sorry, Boss," Marcus said, his voice flat and devoid of emotion. "But Dragos pays in offshore accounts, not loyalty."
The betrayal hit Gabriel like a physical blow. The apex predator didn't flinch, but Anna saw the microscopic tightening of his jaw. Marcus was his right hand. The mole who tipped Dragos off.
"Marcus," Gabriel said, his voice dangerously soft. "Put the gun down. You know you won't survive this."
"Dragos’s men have the house surrounded, Gabriel. It’s over. Hand over the drive, Anna."
"No!" Anna yelled, clutching the case to her chest.
Marcus sighed. His finger tightened on the trigger.
Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, deafeningly loud in the confined basement.
But it didn't come from Marcus’s rifle.
Marcus’s eyes widened in shock. He looked down at his own chest, where a dark crimson stain was rapidly blooming. He staggered backward, his rifle dropping from his hands, and collapsed down the wooden stairs, landing in a heap at the bottom.
Standing at the top of the stairs, holding a smoking revolver with trembling hands, was Helen.
"Mom?!" Anna screamed in absolute shock.
Helen leaned heavily against the doorframe, her face deathly pale. The exertion was too much for her fragile body. She swayed, the gun slipping from her fingers, and collapsed to her knees.
Gabriel was up the stairs in a flash, catching her before she hit the wood. He carried the frail woman down into the basement.
"I... I made one of your guards bring me," Helen gasped, coughing violently. "I knew Marcus was the mole... he was the only one who knew Dragos’s frequency back in the old days..."
"Mom, stay still," Anna sobbed, kneeling beside her.
Helen reached out, her trembling, blood-stained fingers grabbing Anna’s hand. She pressed something small and stiff into Anna’s palm.
Anna opened her hand.
May you like
It was a blood-soaked train ticket.
"Marcus... had it in his pocket," Helen wheezed. "Dragos isn't waiting... he’s leaving the city tonight. On the 4:00 AM freight to the border. He has the medicine, Anna. He’s taking the vials with him."
