Chapter 9: The Decoy
Chapter 9: The Decoy
Silas laughed, a harsh, grating sound. "Cold. Just like her father. Drop the weapons, Frank, or I put a bullet in your wife."
My father’s grip on his rifle tightened, but seeing Silas shift his aim toward my mother, he slowly lowered his weapon to the ground. My mother did the same.
"Now the girl," Silas commanded.
I held my Glock, my hands sweating. I looked at my father. He gave me a barely perceptible nod. I tossed the gun onto the dirt.
"Good," Silas smiled. He raised his radio. "Target secured. Move in for extraction."
"You shouldn't have brought Robert," my father said, his voice eerily calm.
Silas frowned. "Why? He's garbage. He served his purpose."
"Because Robert is a coward," I interjected, stepping slightly to the left, drawing Silas's attention. "And cowards always look for a way out."
Before Silas could react, my father tapped a button on his watch. The heavy, vintage silver watch he had taken off at the dinner table—the one he was wearing right now. It wasn't just a watch. It was a localized EMP detonator.
A high-pitched whine filled the cavern, followed by a sharp pop. Silas's radio, his tactical laser sight, and the electronic lock on Robert's handcuffs all sparked and died instantly.
In the fraction of a second that Silas looked down at his dead radio, Robert, driven by sheer terror and the sudden release of his cuffs, tackled Silas's legs in a desperate bid to escape.
Silas stumbled, his shot going wide, ricocheting off the cavern wall.
My father moved like lightning. He closed the distance, disarming Silas with a brutal strike to the wrist and sweeping his legs out from under him. Silas hit the ground hard, and my father pinned him, the barrel of his own weapon pressed against his forehead.
Robert scrambled to his feet, trying to run toward the tunnel exit.
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"Mia!" my mother shouted, tossing me a backup pistol from her ankle holster.
I caught it, aimed, and fired a single shot into the dirt, an inch from Robert's foot. He froze, screaming, dropping face-first to the ground with his hands over his head.
