Chapter 40 - The Fifth Key
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Two hours later.
The sun was sinking below the horizon, painting the San Diego sky in deep shades of crimson and violet.
In the basement garage beneath the cliffside house, Madison stood before a heavy steel weapons locker. She pulled off her casual sweater, pulling on a black tactical turtleneck, a reinforced body armor vest, and her combat holster.
Arthur walked into the garage, setting a heavy green duffel bag onto the hood of the Subaru. Inside were three sniper rifles, tactical comms gear, and satellite tracking hardware.
Ethan walked down the stairs, carrying his backpack and three spare batteries for his drone. He looked at his sister, no longer showing the fear he had held in Chicago or Switzerland. His eyes were steady, his face set with quiet determination.
"Where are we flying first, Maddie?" Ethan asked calmly.
Madison loaded a full magazine into her SIG Sauer P320, racked the slide with a sharp mechanical CLACK, and holstered the weapon against her chest.
"Rome," Madison replied.
Her phone on the workbench suddenly vibrated. A new satellite notification flashed across the screen—an automated signal coming from a high-altitude drone flying over the Mediterranean Sea.
A map popped up on the display, showing a red blinking dot moving rapidly across the coast of Italy toward an undisclosed private island in the Aegean Sea.
Beside the blinking dot, a automated system message read:
TARGET DESIGNATION: DIRECTOR VANCE.
STATUS: ACTIVE.
NEW ENCRYPTED FILE RECEIVED: "THE FIFTH KEY.DAT"
Ethan stepped up beside her, looking at the terminal screen.
"Maddie..." Ethan whispered, pointing at the code scrolling across the bottom of the display. "That's not Vance's file. That's a live signal broadcast from a ship in the Atlantic."
Madison looked at the screen as the satellite image zoomed in on a massive container ship moving through international waters without a flag.
On the deck of the ship, a massive satellite dish was rotating toward the sky, its indicator light flashing green.
The game hadn't ended in Geneva.
It was only shifting to a global scale.
May you like
Madison zipped her tactical jacket closed, grabbed the heavy duffel bag, and looked at her grandfather and brother.
"Lock and load," Madison said softly into the quiet darkness of the garage. "We have a flight to catch."
