The Chase on Water
Tony's POV
The FBI helicopter was shooting at us with machine guns.
Bullets hit the water all around our speedboat as Marcus drove as fast as possible toward shore. Isabella was holding baby Maria close to her chest, trying to protect her from the noise and danger.
"They're getting closer!" I yelled over the sound of the helicopter blades.
"I know!" Marcus shouted back. "Hold on!"
But this helicopter wasn't crashing into rocks like Vincent Senior's had. Sarah Chen was a better pilot, and she was determined to capture us.
"Tony, look!" Isabella pointed behind us.
Three more boats were coming from the direction of the burning medical ship. They were black speedboats with armed men standing in them.
"Vincent Senior's men," I realized. "They survived the explosion."
"How is that possible?" Isabella asked. "We saw the helicopter crash."
"Vincent Senior always has backup plans," Marcus said grimly.
The black speedboats were catching up to us. Our boat was fast, but we were carrying extra weight with Maria's medical equipment.
"We need to fight back," I said. "Do we have any weapons?"
Marcus pointed to a box under his seat. "Emergency flares and a flare gun. That's all."
"That's better than nothing," I said, grabbing the flare gun.
I loaded a flare and aimed it at the closest speedboat behind us.
The flare hit their engine and exploded in bright red fire. The boat spun out of control and crashed into one of the other speedboats.
"Two down!" I yelled.
But the third boat was still coming, and the FBI helicopter was right above us.
Sarah Chen's voice came through a loudspeaker on the helicopter.
"Tony Moretti! Isabella Russo! Surrender now or we will sink your boat!"
"Never!" Isabella yelled back, even though Sarah couldn't hear her.
I loaded another flare and shot it at the helicopter. It missed, but it made Sarah pull back for a moment.
"There!" Marcus pointed ahead of us. "The harbor!"
I could see the dock getting closer, but there were more black boats waiting for us at the harbor entrance.
"It's a trap," I said. "They're surrounding us."
"Then we'll have to break through," Marcus said.
He pushed the boat's engine to maximum speed. We were flying across the water now, jumping over waves and crashing back down.
Behind us, the last speedboat was catching up. I could see men with rifles getting ready to shoot.
"Get down!" I told Isabella.
She curled up in the bottom of the boat, protecting Maria with her body.
Gunshots rang out. Bullets hit our boat's back end, but missed the engine.
I shot my last flare at the speedboat. This time, it hit one of the men and he fell into the water.
The boat swerved away from us, giving us a few seconds to breathe.
"The dock is right there!" Marcus yelled.
But as we got closer to the harbor, I could see at least six black boats blocking our way. They had formed a wall across the water.
"We can't get through," I said.
"Yes, we can," Marcus said with determination. "Trust me."
Instead of slowing down, Marcus made our boat go even faster. We were heading straight for the wall of boats.
"Marcus, we're going to crash!" Isabella screamed.
At the last second, Marcus turned the boat sharply to the right. We went up a boat ramp that was sticking into the water.
Our boat flew through the air and landed on the dock with a loud crash.
We had made it to land, but Vincent Senior's men were already running toward us from all directions.
"Everyone out!" Marcus yelled.
I grabbed Maria's portable oxygen tank while Isabella held the baby. We jumped out of the boat just as bullets started hitting it.
"This way!" Marcus pointed to a warehouse at the end of the dock.
We ran toward the building as fast as we could. Behind us, I could hear the helicopter landing and more boats arriving at the dock.
"They've got us surrounded," I said as we reached the warehouse door.
"Not yet," Marcus said, pulling out keys. "This is a resistance safe house."
He unlocked the door and we ran inside. The warehouse was full of boxes and equipment.
"There's a tunnel in the back," Marcus said. "It leads to the subway system."
But before we could reach the tunnel, the warehouse door exploded.
Vincent Senior's men poured through the opening, firing guns and throwing smoke grenades.
"Surrender!" one of them yelled. "You have nowhere to run!"
Through the smoke, I could see at least twenty armed men surrounding us.
"Isabella," I whispered, "no matter what happens, protect Maria."
"We'll protect her together," Isabella said firmly.
That's when I heard a familiar voice calling out.
"Hold your fire!"
Someone was walking through the smoke toward us. As the air cleared, I could see who it was.
Marcus.
But that was impossible. Marcus was standing right next to me.
"What..." Isabella started to say.
The Marcus next to us pulled off a mask. Underneath was a face I didn't recognize.
"I'm Alex's brother, David," he said quickly. "The real Marcus sent me to help you escape."
"Where's the real Marcus?" I asked, confused and angry.
The other Marcus walked out of the smoke. He looked exactly like the Marcus we knew, but something was wrong with his eyes. They were blank and empty.
"Hello, Isabella," the real Marcus said in a robotic voice. "Vincent Senior wants to see you."
My heart sank. Sarah Chen had brainwashed Marcus with her mind control drugs.
"Marcus, it's me," Isabella said desperately. "It's Isabella. You've been protecting me for years."
Marcus stared at her with those empty eyes. "I don't know you," he said.
"Yes, you do," Isabella said, stepping closer to him. "You taught me how to shoot a gun. You helped me gather evidence against Morrison. You saved my life dozens of times."
For a moment, Marcus looked confused. Like he was trying to remember something.
"I... I don't remember any of that," he said.
"They erased your memories," I said angrily. "Just like they tried to erase mine."
Isabella pulled out her phone and showed Marcus a picture. "Look at this. This is us at my eighteenth birthday party. You gave me a necklace with a compass on it."
Marcus stared at the picture. His blank expression started to change.
"The compass," he said slowly. "You said it would always help you find your way home."
"That's right," Isabella said hopefully. "Do you remember now?"
Marcus put his hand to his head. "My head hurts. There are things in my mind that don't make sense."
"That's the drugs fighting your real memories," David said. "You have to fight back against the mind control."
But before Marcus could respond, Sarah Chen walked into the warehouse.
"That's enough," she said coldly. "Marcus, take the baby."
Marcus immediately stopped looking confused. His eyes went blank again.
"Yes, Agent Chen," he said, reaching for Maria.
"No!" Isabella pulled Maria away from him.
"Marcus is under my control now," Sarah said with that evil smile. "He'll do whatever I tell him to do."
"Fight it, Marcus!" I yelled. "You're stronger than their drugs!"
But Marcus wasn't listening to me. He was walking toward Isabella like a robot.
"The baby, Isabella," he said in that empty voice. "Give me the baby."
Isabella backed away from him, tears in her eyes. "Marcus, please. You love this baby. You helped deliver her."
"I don't love anyone," Marcus said. "I only follow orders."
That's when David did something brave. He stepped between Marcus and Isabella.
"You'll have to go through me first," David said.
"Move," Marcus said simply.
"No."
Marcus pulled out his gun and pointed it at David's chest.
"I will shoot you," Marcus warned.
"Then shoot me," David said. "But you're not taking that baby."
For a long moment, nobody moved. Marcus had his finger on the trigger, but he wasn't shooting.
"What are you waiting for?" Sarah demanded. "Shoot him!"
Marcus stared at David, then at Isabella holding baby Maria, then at the gun in his hand.
"I..." he started to say.
"Shoot him now!" Sarah yelled.
That's when something amazing happened. Baby Maria started crying.
Marcus looked at the baby and his expression completely changed. The blankness left his eyes and they filled with tears.
"Bella?" he said, using his old nickname for Isabella. "What did they do to me?"
"Marcus!" Isabella said with relief. "You remember!"
"I remember everything," Marcus said, lowering his gun. "And I remember whose side I'm on."
He turned around and pointed his gun at Sarah Chen.
"You're under arrest," he said. "For kidnapping, mind control, and attempted murder."
Sarah laughed. "You can't arrest me. I'm FBI."
"Not anymore," a new voice said.
More people walked into the warehouse, but these weren't Vincent Senior's men. They were wearing FBI jackets with different letters: IA.
"Internal Affairs," the leader said. "Agent Sarah Chen, you're under arrest for corruption and treason."
Sarah's face went white. "This is impossible. My contacts in Washington..."
"Your contacts have been arrested too," the IA agent said. "The entire conspiracy is being shut down."
As they put handcuffs on Sarah, she looked at Isabella with pure hatred.
"You think you've won?" Sarah asked. "This isn't over. Vincent Senior has people everywhere. They'll never stop hunting you."
"Vincent Senior is dead," I said. "We saw his helicopter crash."
Sarah smiled, even with handcuffs on. "Vincent Senior doesn't die that easily."
"What do you mean?" Isabella asked.
But before Sarah could answer, one of the IA agents grabbed her and pulled her away.
"We'll get answers from her later," the agent said. "Right now, you need to get that baby to a hospital."
Marcus walked over to Isabella and gently touched Maria's face.
"Hello, little one," he said softly. "Uncle Marcus is here to protect you."
Maria stopped crying and looked up at him with those big dark eyes.
"She remembers you," Isabella said with a smile.
"Of course she does," Marcus said. "We're family."
But as we walked toward the warehouse exit, I noticed something that worried me.
One of the Internal Affairs agents was talking quietly on his phone. He was standing apart from the others and speaking in a language I didn't recognize.
When he saw me looking at him, he quickly ended the call and put his phone away.
"Tony, what's wrong?" Isabella asked.
"I'm not sure," I said. "But I think we should get out of here. Fast."
"Why?" Marcus asked.
I pointed to the agent who had been on the phone. "Because I don't think all of these Internal Affairs agents are really Internal Affairs agents."
Marcus looked where I was pointing. The agent was now signaling to someone outside the warehouse.
"Vincent Senior's people," Marcus realized. "They're pretending to be federal agents."
That's when the shooting started.
The fake IA agents turned their guns on the real ones. In seconds, the warehouse became a war zone.
"Everyone down!" Marcus yelled.
We hit the floor as bullets flew over our heads. Isabella curled around baby Maria, protecting her from the chaos.
Through the gunfire, I could hear someone shouting orders in that same foreign language.
"We need to get to the tunnel," Marcus said. "Now!"
We crawled across the warehouse floor toward the back exit. Behind us, men were dying in the battle between real and fake federal agents.
When we reached the tunnel entrance, I looked back one more time.
The fake IA agent who had been on the phone was standing over Sarah Chen's body.
She was dead.
Shot by her own allies to keep her from talking.
But as we climbed down into the tunnel, I heard something that made my blood freeze.
The fake agent was speaking into his phone again, and this time I understood some of the words.
He wasn't speaking a foreign language.
He was speaking in code.
And the person he was talking to had just given him new orders.
"Find the baby," he was saying. "Vincent Senior wants her alive."
Vincent Senior wasn't dead.
He was very much alive, and he had people everywhere.
Even inside the FBI itself.