Chapter 6 - The Airport ShowdownRain lashed against the tarmac at a small, private airstrip ten miles outside of Fredericksburg. A luxury twin-engine private jet stood parked near a secluded hangar, its engines already whining as they spooled up for takeoff.
Jason stood at the bottom of the airstrip stairs, clutching a heavy leather briefcase full of bearer bonds and cash. He was breathing heavily, his suit stained with rain and mud.
"Get the engines at full power!" Jason screamed at the pilot over the noise of the turbines. "We need to be in international airspace within the hour!"
"Mr. Carter, the weather conditions are extremely hazardous!" the pilot shouted back from the cockpit window. "Air traffic control hasn't cleared us!"
"I don't care about control! Fly the plane!" Jason roared.
Suddenly, glaring high beams pierced through the driving rain.
Three vehicles skidded onto the tarmac at high speed, executing a tactical block to slice off the jet's path down the runway.
Before Jason could react, state police cruisers and federal units poured onto the airfield, sirens wailing, red and blue lights flashing against the wet pavement.
The driver’s side door of the lead SUV opened, and Iris stepped out into the pouring rain.
Jason backed away toward the airplane stairs, drawing a small, illegal handgun from his coat pocket. "Stay back! Stay back or I swear I’ll shoot!"
Federal agents immediately drew their weapons, taking cover behind their car doors. "Put the weapon down, Mr. Carter! Drop it now!"
"Iris!" Jason screamed, his voice breaking with unhinged rage. "You ruined everything! I gave you a life! I gave you wealth! You were nothing before me!"
Iris walked forward slowly, stepping past the line of police cruisers, ignoring the warnings of the federal agents behind her.
"You didn't give me anything, Jason," Iris said, her voice clear and firm against the roaring jet engines. "You built an empire out of my inheritance, my talent, and my blood. You hid behind lawyers, shell companies, and blackmail because deep down, you knew you were weak. You knew that without me, you were nothing."
"I am Jason Carter!" he screamed, tears mixing with the rain on his face. "I own this state! I own the people who run it!"
"Look around you, Jason," Iris said, gesturing to the flashing sirens surrounding him. "Where are your powerful friends now? Where are the judges you blackmailed? Where is Nicole? No one is coming to save you. You are alone."
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Jason raised the gun, his hand shaking uncontrollably as he aimed it directly at Iris’s chest.
"If I'm going to prison..." Jason whispered, his finger tightening on the trigger, "...you're coming to the grave with me."
