Chapter 34
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Elena was violently thrown against the jagged, rocky shoreline of the river, gasping for air as her bruised, freezing body finally escaped the churning rapids. She dragged herself out of the freezing water, collapsing onto the muddy riverbank. Every muscle in her body screamed in agony, and the biting cold of the mountain air pierced right through her soaked tactical gear.
She forced herself to her feet, shivering violently. She checked her gear. Her submachine gun was lost to the river, but her sidearm remained securely strapped to her thigh, and the physical decryption key was still perfectly safe inside her waterproof tactical pouch.
"Extraction point," Elena muttered through chattering teeth, forcing her exhausted legs to move forward. "I have to reach the extraction point."
She stumbled through the dense, dark woods, guided only by her internal compass and sheer, unbreakable willpower. After what felt like an eternity of pain and freezing rain, she heard the distinct, heavy thrum of helicopter rotors in the distance. Not the aggressive, high-pitched whine of Thorne's attack gunship, but the deep, steady rhythm of a heavy transport chopper.
She broke through the tree line, emerging into a wide, flat clearing near the river basin.
Jax’s unmarked extraction chopper sat idling in the center of the muddy field. Jax was standing near the open side door, scanning the dark forest with his rifle raised. Chloe stood right beside him, holding her encrypted laptop tightly against her chest, her eyes wide with desperate hope.
When Chloe saw the battered, soaked figure of her mother emerge from the woods, she dropped the laptop onto a supply crate and sprinted across the muddy clearing.
"Mom!" Chloe cried out, throwing her arms around Elena’s freezing body, completely indifferent to the mud and the cold. "You made it. You actually made it."
"I promised you I would," Elena whispered, hugging her daughter fiercely, the warmth of the embrace chasing away the terrible chill of the river.
Jax walked over, offering a massive, calloused hand, pulling Elena firmly toward the helicopter. "You are an absolute nightmare to kill, Vance. I’ll give you that. Get in. We need to broadcast this data before Thorne regroups his forces."
Elena climbed into the back of the transport chopper, collapsing onto a metal bench. Chloe immediately plugged the physical decryption key into her laptop.
"Initiating the global broadcast protocol now," Chloe announced, her fingers flying across the keys with flawless precision.
The screen flashed bright green. The thousands of classified files—the illegal arms receipts, the corrupt political donations, and the irrefutable evidence of General Thorne’s treason—were instantly transmitted to every major news network, international tribunal, and federal oversight committee on the planet.
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"It's done," Chloe smiled, slamming the laptop shut. "Project Obsidian is completely exposed."
Elena leaned back against the cold metal wall of the helicopter as it lifted heavily into the night sky, flying away from the burning mountains. The war was officially over. Arthur’s murder had finally been avenged, and the impenetrable armor of the corrupt military syndicate had been shattered beyond repair.
