Chapter 38 - The Two Clicks
Ten seconds.
The whine from the device escalated into an ear-splitting frequency that made Jonathan’s teeth ache.
Around them, tactical officers swarmed the runway, dragging Arthur’s groaning form away and securing the perimeter. Cole was running toward them, shouting orders to call an emergency medical trauma unit, but Jonathan heard none of it.
The entire universe had contracted down to an opening no larger than the tip of a sewing needle.
Jonathan’s hands stopped shaking. The raw terror that had fueled him for the last thirty minutes suddenly crystallized into absolute, icy focus.
He inserted the stylus.
*Click.*
The first latch disengaged. A drop of sweat ran down Jonathan’s forehead, stinging his eye, but he didn't blink. He applied steady, continuous pressure inward.
*Click.*
The second latch caught.
"Twist! Twist it now!" Dr. Lin screamed from behind him.
Jonathan twisted the stylus forty-five degrees counter-clockwise.
A hiss of cold, pressurized gas vented from the side of the disc, leaving a thin white frost across the back of Lily’s neck. The shrill whine died instantly. The blinding red LED turned completely dark.
The ribbon fell slack, dropping away from her collar into Jonathan’s waiting hand.
Jonathan collapsed forward, burying his face in his daughter’s damp hair, his chest heaving with deep, ragged sobs of sheer, overwhelming relief.
"You're okay," he wept openly, kissing her forehead over and over again. "You're safe, Lily. It’s over. Daddy got you. It’s over."
Cole slid onto his knees beside them, breathing heavily, resting a heavy, reassuring hand on Jonathan’s drenched shoulder. "The paramedics are pulling up right behind us, Vance. She’s going to be fine. We got Arthur, and Julianna’s already in the trauma ward under heavy armed guard."
Jonathan looked up, his face hollowed by exhaustion, but his eyes blazing with fierce gratitude. "Thank you, Marcus."
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"Don't thank me yet," Cole said grimly, looking toward the idling turboprop on the runway. "Arthur’s phone was sitting unlocked on the passenger seat of his car when we rammed it. You need to see this."
***
