flash
The audio file on Marina’s phone was timestamped three minutes ago. Ignacio’s thumb hovered over the screen, trembling so violently he nearly dropped the device into the crib. / Chapter 18 / 20

Chapter 18 - Marina’s Final Play

Before Cole could press the button, a sharp, metallic click echoed from directly behind the armored SUV.

Sarah stepped out from the shadows of the bridge pylon, her submachine gun locked directly onto Cole’s spine. "Drop the detonator, Cole. You're out of moves."

Cole didn't flinch. He smirked, his thumb pressing down halfway on the rubberized button. "You think you're the only ones with leverage? The data upload started the second Ignacio stepped onto this bridge."

"Yeah, I know," Ignacio said quietly. He pulled Marina’s old cell phone from his pocket, the screen glowing brightly in the dark rain. "Because Marina set a dead-man's switch on the network. The moment you engaged your local relay to track us, it broadcast the entire archive to every international news outlet and Interpol terminal simultaneously."

The phone chimed loudly. Broadcast complete. 100% transmitted.

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"No," Ignacio said, stepping forward as police sirens—real, federal sirens this time—began to wail from both ends of the bridge, trapping the SUV in a wall of flashing red and blue lights. "Marina did."

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