Chapter 12 - The Hacker's Identity|
Time seemed to slow down.
Vance screamed, diving behind the sofa. The man in the gray coat raised his weapon, sweeping the muzzle directly toward Ricardo’s chest.
Without thinking, Ricardo hurled the heavy steel wrench from his pocket directly at the gunman’s face. It struck the man square in the bridge of the nose with a sickening crunch.
The gun fired wildly, a burst of silenced rounds tearing into the ceiling and showering the room with drywall dust.
Ricardo didn't wait to see if the man fell. He grabbed the manila envelope, grabbed Vance by the collar of his shirt, and hauled him toward the apartment's rear fire escape window.
“Move!” Ricardo roared.
They crashed through the glass, tumbling out onto the rusted metal grating of the fire escape just as the gunman recovered and fired another burst. Bullets pinged against the iron railing inches from Ricardo’s head.
They scrambled down the wet, slippery metal stairs, the rain masking the sound of their descent. They hit the alleyway floor and sprinted toward Ricardo’s car parked a block away.
Ricardo shoved Vance into the passenger seat, jumped behind the wheel, and floored the accelerator. The tires squealed against the wet asphalt as they tore out of the lot, leaving the gunman behind in the darkness.
For ten minutes, the only sound in the car was their ragged, panicked breathing.
“He found me,” Vance gasped, clutching his chest. “He tracked me.”
“No,” Ricardo said, checking his rearview mirror constantly. “He tracked me. Lucas’s men have been following me since the apartment. I led them right to you.”
“We’re dead. We’re both dead.”
“Shut up and let me think,” Ricardo snapped.
He pulled the car into an abandoned parking garage beneath a derelict shopping mall, cutting the headlights and the engine. They were sitting in total darkness.
Ricardo pulled out his burner phone. There was only one person he could trust who had the federal connections to handle this level of corruption.
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He dialed a number he hadn't called in years.
“Julian,” Ricardo said when the line clicked open. “I need a federal extraction. Tonight. I have the proof to take down Lucas Sterling.”
