Marcus's Last Stand

Marcus's Last Stand

Marcus Daniels' POV

The cold water of Moonfall Bay had saved my life, but it couldn't save my kingdom. I dragged myself onto the rocky shore, coughing up seawater and blood, watching my twenty-year kingdom burn to the ground.
My speedboat was gone. My paid killers were either dead or running. And somewhere in the darkness, federal agents were hunting me like a wild animal.
But I wasn't finished yet.
I pulled out my waterproof radio and called the one person who might still help me. "Chen, it's Marcus. I need an extraction."
"Marcus, you're supposed to be dead. I saw your boat explode."
"I jumped before the blast. Chen, the FBI has everything. Recordings, witness testimony, financial information. They know about you, about the Seattle plot, about all of it."
The line went quiet for thirty seconds. Then Chen said the words that chilled my soul: "Marcus, you've become a liability."
"Chen, I can still fix this. Give me twenty-four hours."
"How?"
"By eliminating every witness who can speak against us. Elena Santos, Agent Kim, Dr. Archer, the Rodriguez girl, and that criminal Morrison."
"The FBI will protect them."
"Not if I have something they want more than justice."
I started climbing the rocks toward the lighthouse, where I could see federal agents searching the wreckage. My gun was wet, but it still worked. And I still had one card left to play.
"Chen, I'm about to take a government agent hostage. When I do, you're going to provide plane transport to international waters. From there, I disappear forever."
"And if you fail?"
"Then you start the cleanup protocol. Every witness, every survivor, every law enforcement person involved in this investigation dies within forty-eight hours."
"Marcus, that's over thirty people."
"Chen, it's either thirty dead witnesses or both of us spending the rest of our lives in federal jail. You choose."
I clicked off the radio and crept through the shadows toward Agent Kim's position. She was coordinating the search for my body, totally unaware that I was alive and twenty feet behind her.
Perfect.
I waited until she stepped away from the other agents, then grabbed her from behind and put my gun to her head. " Agent Sarah Kim. We meet again."
She didn't fight, which impressed me. "Sheriff Daniels. I thought you were dead."
"Sorry to upset you. Now we're going to walk very slowly toward that FBI helicopter, and you're going to tell your men to back off."
"Marcus, you can't run. There are government agents surrounding this entire area."
"Agent Kim, I'm not trying to run. I'm trying to make a deal."
I forced her toward the helicopter landing zone, keeping the gun pressed against her head. "Agent Kim, call Elena Santos. Tell her she has five minutes to meet me at the lighthouse, or I splatter your brains all over this beach."
"Elena won't negotiate with terrorists."
"She will if the terrorist has something she wants."
Agent Kim hesitantly called Elena on her radio. "Elena, it's Sarah. Marcus is living, and he's got a gun to my head. He wants to talk to you."
"Sarah, are you okay?"
"For now. Elena, don't come alone. This is obviously a trap."
I grabbed the radio from Agent Kim. "Elena Santos! The great cop who thinks she can save the world. Meet me at the tower in five minutes, or Agent Kim dies."
"Marcus, let Sarah go. Your fight is with me, not her."
"My fight is with everyone who wrecked my life's work. But I'm a decent man. Let's make a deal."
"What kind of deal?"
"Simple. I walk away tonight, and in return, I give you information that will save hundreds of girls from being trafficked over the next five years."
I could hear Elena breathing deeply through the radio. "Marcus, you're in no position to make demands."
"Actually, I'm in the perfect place. Because killing me won't stop the crime network. It will just make Tommy Chen more careful about eliminating witnesses."
"What are you talking about?"
"Elena, do you really think I was the brain behind this operation? I'm just middle management. Chen has businesses in twelve states and six countries. If you arrest me, he replaces me within a week. If you kill me, he eliminates every person who helped you investigate my business."
Agent Kim was listening to every word, and I could feel her body tighten up. She was starting to understand the terrible truth.
"Elena," I continued, "Chen is already planning to kill you, Agent Kim, Dr. Archer, Amy Rodriguez, Deputy Morrison, and every townsperson who fought against my men tonight. The only reason you're still living is because he's waiting to see if I can clean up this mess quietly."
"You're lying."
"Am I? Then why are there six black helicopters moving toward Moonfall Bay right now? Chen doesn't send planes for rescues, Elena. He sends them for killings."
Through Agent Kim's earphones, I could hear Elena talking to other agents. The fear in their voices told me everything I needed to know. Chen's cleaning crew was already on the way.
"Elena," I said into the radio, "you have two choices. Let me go, and I'll give you Chen's full operation manual. Every place, every contact, every method he uses to move girls. Or arrest me, and watch everyone you care about die within the next hour."
"Marcus, even if I wanted to make that deal, the FBI won't allow it."
"The FBI doesn't have to know. Tell them I fled during the chaos. I disappear forever, and you use Chen's operation guidebook to save hundreds of lives."
Agent Kim whispered, "Elena, don't trust him. Whatever he's offering, it's not worth letting him leave."
"Agent Kim is right to be suspicious," I said. "But she's also wrong about the math. Is my arrest worth the lives of thirty innocent people?"
I could hear helicopters coming from the north. Chen's cleanup crew, arriving right on schedule.
"Elena, you have sixty seconds to decide. Let me walk away, or watch everyone die."
"Marcus, how do I know you'll really give us information about Chen's operation?"
"Because Chen just told me I'm a risk. He's going to kill me along with all the witnesses. The only way I survive is if I help you destroy his network before he kills me."
This was partly true. Chen did consider me a risk. But I had no plan of helping Elena destroy anything. Once I fled, I'd disappear with my offshore bank accounts and let Chen handle the witness elimination himself.
"Elena," Agent Kim said softly, "whatever you decide, decide fast. Those planes are getting closer."
Elena's voice came through the radio, tight with passion. "Marcus, if I let you go, how many people will you traffic in the future?"
"None. I'm leaving from the business. Too much heat, too much attention."
"And if I arrest you?"
" Then Chen's men kill everyone within the next hour, and the trade continues with a new sheriff next week."
I could hear Elena breathing hard, fighting with herself over an impossible choice. Save one monster to stop a bigger monster, or let everyone die for the sake of justice.
"Marcus," she said finally, "I need proof that you have Chen's operation manual."
"I can tell you there are currently forty-three girls being held at Chen's main site in Seattle. They're planned to be shipped to buyers in Thailand, Mexico, and Eastern Europe within the next week."
Agent Kim's body went hard. "Elena, that information is too specific to be fake."
"Marcus, where exactly is Chen's main facility?"
"Let me walk away, and I'll give you the address, the security codes, and the shipping schedules."
The airplane sounds were getting louder. Chen's cleanup crew would be here in less than two minutes.
"Elena," I said, "choose now. Justice for one man, or justice for hundreds of girls."
"Marcus, if you're lying to me—"
"Elena, I'm many things, but I'm not stupid enough to lie when Chen's assassins are about to kill everyone in this town."
That's when the first black chopper appeared over the lighthouse, searchlights sweeping the ground like death from above.
"Elena!" Agent Kim screamed into her radio. "Chen's people are here! Whatever you decide, decide right now!"
I could see Elena running toward the lighthouse, gun in hand, torn between saving her friend and saving her beliefs.
"Elena Santos," I called out as the chopper touched down and armed men jumped out. "Welcome to the hardest decision of your life!"