Chapter 16 - THE AMBUSH ON HIGHWAY 95
The thunderstorm hit Massachusetts like a tidal wave. Rain fell in thick, blinding curtains, turning the asphalt of Interstate 95 into a churning river of black water.
Daniel’s Land Rover tore through the night, windshield wipers slapping frantically against the downpour. Ten miles from the harbor, his headlights illuminated something lying across the two-lane coastal bypass: a downed electrical pole, sparking wildly against the wet road.
Daniel slammed on the brakes. The SUV hydroplaned, spinning ninety degrees before coming to a halt against the guardrail.
Before he could throw the transmission into reverse, twin blinding spotlights illuminated from the tree line. Two heavy pickup trucks, fitted with reinforced steel push-bumpers, boxed him in from the front and rear.
Men in rain slickers, armed with assault rifles, emerged from the darkness.
The driver’s side door was wrenched open. A familiar face leaned into the storm-drenched interior.
Julian Sterling. Daniel’s lawyer was wearing a tailored Italian raincoat, his silver hair neatly combed despite the gale-force wind. In his hand was a silenced automatic pistol pointed directly at Daniel’s chest.
"Step out of the car, Daniel," Julian said calmly, his voice smooth and professional. "Don't make this messy. Arthur Vance has great respect for your family. He really does."
Daniel stepped out into the pouring rain, his hands raised, water plastering his shirt to his chest. "How much did he pay you, Julian? Five million? Ten? You watched Lily cry in that courtroom! You held her hand when she testified!"
Julian offered a sad, patronizing smile. "Ten million? Daniel, Vance doesn't pay in money. He pays in life. My twelve-year-old son has leukemia. Vance’s laboratory in Zurich is the only facility on earth with the stem-cell therapy that keeps him breathing. You would burn the world for Lily. Why are you surprised that I would burn you for my boy?"
"She’s a child, Julian!"
"And so is my son!" Julian shouted, his calm facade cracking into raw desperation. "Now give me the decryption drive from Box 00! Vance knows Evelyn left it to you. Give it to me, and Vance will let you live. He only takes the girl for six months. A few blood draws, a few marrow extractions. She won't even remember it!"
Daniel looked at Julian through the rain, his eyes turning cold as slate.
"You really don't know who you're dealing with, do you?" Daniel murmured.
Julian frowned, cocking the pistol. "What?"
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"I didn't bring the drive," Daniel said. "I uploaded it to forty-two international news networks five minutes before I reached this exit. The timer runs out in eight minutes, Julian. The world is about to see who Arthur Vance really is."
***
