Chapter 9 - The House Falls
Annie crawled silently through the metallic darkness of the ventilation shafts.
Below her, she could hear the terrifying shouts of violent men and the deafening explosions of gunfire.
Dust clung to her wet clothes, and the cold metal scraped against her small knees, but she did not stop moving.
She counted the grates exactly as Daniel had instructed.
One. Two. Three.
She peeked through the slats of the third grate, looking down into a massive, blinking server room.
Two heavily armed Rossi assassins were standing in the room, smoking cigarettes and laughing.
“The old man is trapped upstairs,” one assassin chuckled. “Marcus promised us ten grand a piece for finishing the job.”
Annie held her breath, closing her eyes tightly.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out the heavy silver coin Daniel had given her at the station.
She carefully slipped the coin through the grate, aiming for the far corner of the room.
The silver coin hit the concrete floor with a loud, ringing clatter, bouncing behind a stack of servers.
“What was that?” the second assassin asked, raising his weapon.
Both men slowly walked toward the far corner of the room to investigate the noise.
Annie silently pushed the grate open and dropped softly onto the carpeted floor near the main desk.
She ducked under the heavy wooden desk, her heart hammering frantically in her chest.
She reached up, pulled the bright red telephone off the desk, and pulled the cord under the table.
She dialed the number on the paper with trembling, tiny fingers.
A man answered on the first ring.
“Federal Bureau of Investigation, Agent Miller.”
Annie read the complex authorization code from the paper in a quiet, rushed whisper.
There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line.
“Authorization recognized. Who is this?” the agent demanded.
“My name is Annie,” she whispered. “My grandpa Daniel needs help. The Rossi family is breaking into his house, and the bad police are helping them.”
“Please hurry. They are going to hurt my family.”
Agent Miller did not hesitate.
“Hold on, sweetheart. The cavalry is coming.”
Ten minutes later, the night sky above the estate was entirely illuminated by the flashing red and blue lights of fifty federal tactical vehicles.
Helicopters roared overhead, shining blinding spotlights down on the terrified Rossi assassins.
The corrupt police officers manning the roadblocks were immediately thrown to the ground and handcuffed by federal agents.
The front doors of the mansion were breached by heavily armored SWAT teams.
“FBI! Drop your weapons!” the tactical commanders screamed through megaphones.
The Rossi men, realizing they had been completely outplayed and surrounded, threw their guns down and surrendered instantly.
In the basement, the two assassins threw their hands in the air as federal agents stormed the room.
Annie crawled out from under the desk, clutching the red phone, perfectly safe and entirely unharmed.
Daniel and Silas walked slowly down the stairs, surrounded by federal protection.
When Daniel saw Annie standing there, he dropped his shotgun and ran to her, sweeping her up into a massive, crushing hug.
“You did it, my brave little bird,” Daniel wept, kissing her dusty forehead repeatedly.
May you like
“You saved us all.”
The empire of lies had fallen, and the true king had finally reclaimed his throne.
