Chapter 9 - THE HUNTED
The drive stretched long and tense.
Daniel took back roads. Avoided highways. Kept to narrow, winding lanes where no one could easily follow. Every few miles he checked behind us. Changed direction. Doubled back once to make certain no vehicle stayed on our trail.
"Robert knows we have the backup," Daniel said quietly. "He will tear the city apart looking for us. Every roadblock. Every camera. Every license plate reader. He will know exactly which way we went."
"Then Elias better be ready to help," I said.
"He owes his life to my father," Daniel replied. "He will help. Even if it costs him everything."
By mid-morning, we reached the edge of the coastal district. Salt air drifted through the cracked-open windows. Gulls wheeled low above gray, choppy waters. The town was small. Quiet. Fishing boats bobbed in the harbor. warehouses lined the wharf.
Daniel parked three streets away from Elias's office. We walked the rest of the way. Daniel kept his arm firmly around me, scanning every face we passed. Every window. Every shadowed doorway.
Elias's office sat above a narrow warehouse, reached by a set of weathered wooden stairs. Daniel knocked once. Then twice. A specific rhythm.
The door opened.
Elias stood there. Older now. White-bearded. His face lined by sun and salt. He stared at Daniel. Then at me. His eyes widened. He pulled us inside quickly and shut the door, bolting it tight.
"Margaret?" Elias breathed. "Daniel? Dear God... what has happened?"
Daniel wasted no time. He laid the encrypted drive on Elias's desk. He spoke fast, sharp sentences. The letter. The evidence. Robert buying the prosecutor. The arrest warrant dropped. The enforcers. The fire. Everything.
Elias listened in growing horror. When Daniel finished, he sank heavily into his chair.
"Robert," Elias whispered. "I knew he was poison. I knew your father died trying to expose him. But I never imagined... he had truly taken everything."
"He has," Daniel said. "Which is why we are here. We need your secure server. Your offshore relay. We send this evidence to the international task force and three major news outlets simultaneously. Once it is out... he cannot recall it. Cannot bury it. Cannot buy it back."
Elias looked at the drive. Then at us. His jaw set hard.
"Your father was the best man I ever knew," he said. "And Robert... has been a cancer for too long. Give it to me. I will send it myself. Through seven different relays. It will bounce across three continents before it ever touches a public server. Even Robert's best technicians will never trace it back here."
He plugged the drive into his machine. Fingers flew across the keyboard. Lines of code scrolled fast across four monitors. The room hummed with quiet tension.
Then Elias paused.
He leaned forward. Frowned.
"Someone is already trying to access this drive," he said. "From inside the network."
Daniel went rigid. "What?"
"They are not just watching for us," Elias said. "They are already here. In this town. On this system. Monitoring everything."
"How long?" Daniel demanded.
"Since this morning," Elias said. He typed furiously. "They are tracking every encrypted file transfer. Every unusual signal. If I send this now... they pinpoint this office in under five minutes."
"Then we cannot send it from here," Daniel said. He reached for the drive.
But Elias pulled his hand away. He stood up. Grabbed a heavy waterproof case from beside the desk. Dropped the drive inside. Sealed it tight.
"I keep a boat moored at the end of the south pier," Elias said. "Old. Slow. Unregistered. It has a directional satellite link built into the mast. No trail. No record. If I take it out beyond territorial waters... I can upload safely. Without them ever knowing where the signal came from."
"I am coming with you," Daniel said.
Elias shook his head. "No. If they are watching the harbor... two men and an old woman draw attention far faster than one fisherman checking his gear. You stay here. Keep watch. Buy me time. If I do not return in two hours... take Margaret to the safe house at the lighthouse. And keep running."
He looked Daniel straight in the eye.
"Do not come looking for me. Not if Robert catches me. Promise me."
Daniel hesitated. Then nodded slowly.
"I promise."
Elias slipped a heavy coat over his shoulders. Tucked the case beneath his arm. He paused at the door and looked back.
"Your father would be proud," he said quietly. "Both of you."
Then he was gone.
We waited.
Minutes dragged like hours. I sat by the window, watching the harbor. Daniel paced the small room, checking the street every few seconds.
Forty minutes passed.
Then we heard the engines.
Two large, black boats cutting fast across the water toward the open sea. Then shouting. Far away, but clear in the quiet air.
Daniel rushed to the window. His face went pale.
Elias's small boat was turning back. Too fast. Too late. The black boats cut across his path. Blocked him. Boarded him.
We watched them drag Elias onto the lead boat. Saw them search him. Saw them rip the waterproof case from his hands.
Daniel made a sound deep in his throat. He started for the door.
"Daniel!" I cried, catching his arm. "You promised! You promised Elias!"
He froze. His chest heaving. Tears stinging his eyes. He looked at the boats. At Elias being held captive. At the drive now in Robert's hands.
And then... Elias stood up. Defiant. Even surrounded by armed men. He shouted something. And before they could stop him... he hurled the waterproof case far out into the dark, choppy waves.
It hit the water. Sank instantly.
One of the men struck Elias hard across the face. He collapsed. They dragged him below. The boats turned. Headed back toward shore.
Daniel sank to his knees beside me. His hands trembled violently.
"He destroyed it," Daniel whispered. "To keep it from Robert. He sacrificed everything."
"He saved the evidence," I said, tears spilling hot down my cheeks. "It is still out there. Safe. Until we can go back for it."
Daniel looked up. His eyes were red-rimmed. Burning with a terrible, quiet fury.
May you like
"Yes," he said. "And Elias risked his life to protect it. We will not let him have died in vain. Whatever happens... we finish what he started."
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