Chapter 8 - The Hidden Ace
Daniel didn't flinch. Instead, a slow, grim smile touched the corners of his mouth. "You think you're the smartest criminals in the room, don't you, Marcus? You think because you stole my daughter and bought a warehouse, you control the board."
Marcus frowned, stepping closer. "What are you talking about, Dan? Drop the tough-guy act. You're unarmed, outnumbered, and your daughter is three seconds away from a bullet."
"I'm not unarmed," Daniel said calmly. He reached slowly into his breast pocket with two fingers.
One of the thugs raised his rifle higher. "Hands where I can see them! Drop your hand!"
"Hold your fire!" Lorraine snapped, her eyes narrowing as she stared at Daniel's jacket pocket. "What do you have in there, Mercer?"
Daniel pulled out a small, ruggedized micro-recorder and held it up between his thumb and forefinger. A tiny red light blinked steadily.
"Every word exchanged in this warehouse for the past ten minutes—including Marcus admitting to wire fraud, kidnapping, and conspiracy—has been transmitting in real-time via encrypted cellular relay directly to the FBI's regional cyber-crime division," Daniel said clearly, his voice ringing with absolute triumph. "Federal strike teams surrounded this pier five minutes before I walked through that door."
For a fraction of a second, absolute silence fell over the warehouse. Marcus went completely ash-white. "You're lying. There's no cell service inside these metal structures!"
"Sat-link repeater in my collar clip, Marcus. Technology has advanced a bit since your academy days," Daniel mocked.
May you like
Panic erupted. Lorraine shrieked, "Get the briefcase! Shoot him! Shoot him now!"
Before the thugs could adjust their aim, the roof overhead exploded in a deafening crash of shattered glass and blinding flash-bang grenades. Stun grenades detonated with earth-shattering concussive force, filling the warehouse with thick white smoke and ear-splitting noise. Tactical operators in full black body armor swarmed down fast-ropes from the rafters, shouting orders as chaos consumed the room.
