CHAPTER 9 — "The Woman They Called a Fugitive Walked Into FBI Headquarters… And Nobody Dared Pull the Trigger"
The prison transport truck raced down an abandoned highway.
Rain hammered against the windshield.
Victoria Kane calmly sipped her coffee while Emily sat across from her, her wrists secured with heavy steel restraints bolted to the floor.
Victoria smiled.
"You've always been predictable."
"You'd rather chase me than save yourself."
Emily remained silent.
She wasn't listening to Victoria.
She was counting.
One...
Two...
Three...
Every sharp turn.
Every bridge.
Every stoplight.
Military survival training had taught her one lesson:
Every prison has a weak point. Every convoy has a pattern.
Suddenly, the truck entered a long mountain tunnel.
The GPS signal disappeared.
Victoria looked down for only a second to answer an encrypted message.
That was enough.
Emily jerked both chained wrists downward.
Earlier, during the prison riot, she had secretly slipped a tiny metal spring from a broken handcuff lock into her sleeve.
Now it became her only chance.
Click.
The left cuff opened.
Victoria looked up.
Too late.
Emily lunged.
The truck swerved violently as the two women crashed into the cargo compartment wall.
Victoria drew a hidden pistol.
Emily knocked it aside.
The gun fired.
The bullet shattered the rear doors.
Cold night air rushed inside.
The truck fishtailed across the highway.
Outside, a convoy of state police spotted the out-of-control vehicle.
Sirens exploded behind them.
Victoria smiled despite the chaos.
"Perfect."
Emily frowned.
"You planned this."
"Of course."
Victoria pressed another hidden switch.
The truck's side panels suddenly burst open.
Bundles of cash...
Military rifles...
Forged passports...
Thousands of classified government documents...
All spilled across the highway.
Police cruisers slammed on their brakes.
Officers scattered to avoid the debris.
Traffic descended into complete chaos.
Victoria jumped from the moving truck.
Emily followed seconds later.
Both women rolled across the wet asphalt.
Gunfire erupted.
No one knew who was shooting anymore.
When the smoke cleared...
Victoria had disappeared into the forest.
Emily stood alone.
Covered in mud.
Still wearing prison clothes.
Surrounded by armed FBI agents.
Dozens of laser sights settled on her chest.
"Emily Carter!"
"Hands where we can see them!"
She slowly raised her hands.
No resistance.
The lead agent approached cautiously.
Then something unexpected happened.
Emily calmly reached into her prison jacket.
Every rifle clicked off safety.
"Don't move!"
Instead of a weapon...
She pulled out a waterproof envelope.
Inside was a flash drive marked:
IRON WEB – FINAL EVIDENCE
The agent hesitated.
Emily looked him directly in the eyes.
"If you arrest me now..."
"Victoria wins."
"If you watch what's on that drive..."
"You'll discover half the people giving you orders work for her."
The agent stared at the drive.
Then at Emily.
He had been hunting her for hours.
May you like
Now...
He wasn't sure who the real criminal was.
