Chapter 5 - THE RIVER OF TRAITORS
Rain lashed against the heavy iron doors of the lower boat house as Richard unlocked the heavy deadbolt from the inside. The dark, roaring water of the Hudson River churned beneath the wooden docks, reflecting the distant gray skyline of Manhattan.
Tied to the main slip was Richard’s high-speed custom motorboat—a carbon-fiber vessel capable of ninety miles per hour.
"Get in, quickly!" Richard instructed, helping Maria aboard before lifting Leo into the covered leather cabin.
"Richard!" a voice yelled from the shore.
Richard turned around. Standing at the edge of the dock, flanked by four heavily armed mercenaries, was Julian Vance. Eleanor stood behind him, wrapped in a trench coat, holding a heavy leather briefcase containing forged passports and stolen bearer bonds.
"Did you really think you could slip away, brother?" Julian shouted over the sound of the howling wind and pounding rain. "The entire estate is surrounded. The coast guard has been notified that an unidentifiable boat has been stolen from my property."
"You bought off the coast guard too?" Richard shouted back, his jacket soaked through with freezing rain.
"Money buys everything, Richard!" Eleanor shrieked from behind Julian, her voice laced with madness. "It bought your doctors! It bought your security! And it will buy our new life while you rot at the bottom of this river!"
Julian raised a heavy black pistol, aiming it straight at Richard’s chest. "It’s over, Richard. Hand over the boy and the recorder, and I’ll make your death quick."
Richard didn't flinch. He looked Julian dead in the eye, his expression stone cold. "You made one mistake, Julian."
"Oh? And what was that?"
"You forgot who designed this boat," Richard said calmly.
Richard reached into his pocket and slammed a small remote key fob.
Instantly, two high-intensity floodlights mounted on the top of the boat house snapped on, blasting 50,000 lumens of blinding white light directly into the eyes of Julian and his mercenaries. The men screamed, dropping their hands to cover their eyes.
May you like
Before they could adjust, Richard lunged into the boat, hit the dual-engine ignition switch, and slammed the throttle forward. The twin V8 engines roared to life with a deafening scream, throwing a massive wall of water over the dock as the boat shot out into the stormy river like a bullet.
Bullets whistled through the air, punching harmlessly into the reinforced bulletproof hull of the boat as Richard hit the open water, racing toward the lights of New York City.
