Chapter 9 - The Trap at the Marina
Dr. Sterling’s private mercenaries had staked out the house.
"Move! To the cellar!" Marcus ordered, drawing his sidearm and returning three rapid shots toward the tree line outside the broken window.
Claire did not freeze. Her surgical wounds pulled painfully, but she scrambled across the floor, kicking open the reinforced cellar door that led to the subterranean storm tunnel connecting Linda’s estate to the private lakeside boat dock three hundred yards away.
Marcus fired two more suppressive rounds before slamming the heavy oak door shut and sliding the iron deadbolt into place. Heavy boots pounded against the floorboards above them.
"They anticipated we’d come for the ledger," Claire said, catching her breath in the darkness of the stone tunnel.
"Sterling’s private security," Marcus grunted, reloading his magazine. "They don't want an arrest. They’re under orders to burn the house with us inside to destroy the evidence."
The sound of accelerant being poured above resonated through the ceiling, followed immediately by the dull whoosh of an ignited firebomb. Smoke began to curl through the floorboards.
"The storm tunnel leads out to the marina slips," Claire said, taking the lead through the narrow brick corridor. "Follow me!"
They raced through the damp, subterranean passage as the estate above was engulfed in a roaring inferno. The heat pressed down from the ceiling, but Claire knew every turn of the underground path. Within three minutes, they burst through the rusted iron grate at the water’s edge.
Across the water, the night sky was illuminated by the towering flames consuming Linda’s house.
A black tactical SUV was idling near the marina boat ramp. Standing beside it was Dr. Sterling himself, holding a satellite phone to his ear, his back turned to the dock.
"The house is torching," Sterling was saying into the phone. "If they were inside, they’re ashes. Daniel, proceed with the bank opening at nine sharp. The path is clear."
"The path is closed, Doctor," a cold voice rang out behind him.
Sterling spun around in terror.
Before he could reach for the firearm tucked inside his cashmere overcoat, Marcus closed the distance, striking Sterling across the jaw with the heavy steel frame of his weapon. Sterling collapsed onto the wet gravel, groaning in agony as Marcus pinned him to the ground with a knee to the spine.
Claire stepped forward, looking down at the corrupt physician who had sworn an oath to heal, yet had pumped poison into her veins.
"Claire..." Sterling gasped, blood leaking from his split lip. "Please... Daniel forced me! He had blackmail on my medical license! I was just following orders!"
Claire knelt beside him, pulling the encrypted flash drive and Linda’s ledger from Marcus’s coat.
"You violated every oath you ever took, Sterling," Claire said, her voice devoid of mercy. "You are going to make a phone call to the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Financial Crimes Task Force right now. You are going to confess every wire transfer, every forged medical chart, and every micro-dose of succinylcholine you ordered."
"And if I refuse?" Sterling choked out.
Claire held up the small glass vial containing her synthesized catalytic reagent.
May you like
"If you refuse, we leave you right here on this dock for the Macau loan sharks who are arriving at sunrise to collect Linda’s debt. Let's see how much mercy they have for Daniel’s private doctor."
Sterling’s eyes filled with sheer, unadulterated terror. "I'll talk! I'll tell them everything!"
