Chapter 5 - The Web of DeceitMarcus Vance stepped out of the shadows, flanked by two heavily armed mercenaries clad in tactical gear. Vance was fifty, impeccably dressed in a tailored charcoal suit, his silver hair slicked back without a single strand out of place. He held a sleek black pistol pointed directly between Mateo’s eyes.
"Marcus," Mateo growled, turning slowly. "You twisted bastard."
"Please, save the melodramatics," Vance sighed, adjusting his silk tie. "I must admit, breaking out of Coldwater six hours before your execution? Impressive. Colonel Vargas clearly underestimated you. But then again, Vargas was always a blunt instrument."
"Where is Vargas?" Mateo demanded, stepping slightly to cover the doorway behind him.
"The Colonel met with a unfortunate... 'accident' on the road," Vance smirked, his eyes cold as ice. "When his guards reported your escape, he panicked. He tried to flee the state with my money. I couldn't allow that. My men intercepted his vehicle. Let's just say Colonel Vargas won't be enforcing any more prison rules."
Inside the room, Clara began to pound on the door. "Marcus, leave him alone! Take the drive and let him go!"
Vance raised an eyebrow, looking at Mateo with mild curiosity. "Ah. So you found it, didn't you? The flash drive. The clever little key Clara hid five years ago."
"I have it," Mateo said, reaching slowly into his pocket. "And it's going straight to the FBI."
Vance laughed—a dry, condescending sound that echoed through the empty hallway. "The FBI? My dear Mateo, who do you think controls the regional FBI field office? Who do you think appointed the judge who sentenced you to death? You still don't understand the scale of the world you stumbled into."
Vance snapped his fingers. One of the mercenaries stepped forward, pulling a heavy canvas bag off his shoulder and dropping it to the floor. The bag squirmed and whimpered.
Mateo’s blood ran cold. "No..."
Vance unzipped the top of the bag. Inside, bound with zip-ties and gagged with tape, was little Elena.
"Daddy!" Elena cried out, her eyes terrified as the tape was yanked from her mouth.
"You touch her and I'll tear your heart out!" Mateo roared, stepping forward, but the second mercenary smashed the butt of an assault rifle into Mateo’s ribs. Mateo fell to his knees, gasping for air as blood welled in his mouth.
"Here is the deal, Mateo," Vance said, leaning down until his face was inches from Mateo’s. "You give me the flash drive right now, and I let your daughter live. You refuse, and I shoot her first, then Clara, and finally you. The story in tomorrow's newspaper will be simple: 'Escaped Death Row Inmate Massacres Family in Fit of Rage Before Being Shot by Local Security.' It's clean. It's tragic. And everyone will believe it."
Mateo looked at his daughter. Elena was crying now, her small body trembling with terror. Then he looked at the wooden door hiding his wife.
He pulled the silver flash drive from his pocket and held it up between two fingers.
"Take it," Mateo choked out. "Just let her go."
Vance reached out with a triumphant smile to snatch the drive. "Wise choice, dockworker."
May you like
But as Vance’s fingers brushed the metal, Mateo’s eyes flashed with a lethal determination.
"I lied," Mateo whispered.
