Chapter 7 - The Cavalry
A heavy tactical flashbang grenade bounced across the hardwood floor, detonating with a blinding white flash and a concussive shockwave that sent Ryan stumbling backward, dropping his pistol as he clapped his hands over his ears, screaming in disorientation.
Through the shattered glass poured three armed federal marshals in full tactical gear, led by my father, Arthur Delgado, who stepped through the smoke with a service Glock raised and locked on Ryan.
“Federal agents! Don't move a muscle or I will put you down right where you stand!” Dad bellowed, his voice echoing off the vaulted ceilings.
Ryan collapsed to his knees, clutching his head, coughing from the smoke and gasping for air as heavy steel handcuffs were slammed onto his wrists with brutal efficiency.
Dad rushed past the arresting agents, dropping his weapon into its holster as he grabbed me by the shoulders, pulling me into a crushing, fierce embrace.
“Are you okay? Did he touch you?” Dad demanded, scanning me frantically for injuries.
“I’m fine, Dad,” I sobbed into his shoulder, the tension of the past forty-eight hours finally breaking. “I got the data. Everything is on the drive.”
As two marshals hauled Ryan to his feet, dragging him toward the shattered doorway past framed patents and million-dollar decor, Ryan glared back at me over his shoulder, his eyes filled with pure venom.
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“You’ve ruined everything!” he screamed against the cold metal of the cuffs. “Aegis is finished! We’re bankrupt!”
“You’re going to federal prison for child trafficking and corporate racketeering,” I replied coldly, stepping back from my father’s arms. “And your company is going with you.”
