Chapter 6 - The Tarmac Ambush
The rain beat violently against the windshield of Adrien’s armored SUV as it tore across the tarmac of O'Hare International Airport at eighty miles per hour.
Two airport police cruisers led the convoy, their red and blue lights reflecting off the wet asphalt.
A sleek Gulfstream private jet sat near the edge of Hangar 4, its jet engines whining loudly as they spooled up for takeoff. The passenger stairs were still lowered.
At the top of the stairs stood Arthur Cole—a tall, grey-haired man in an expensive tailored suit, holding a dark leather briefcase tightly under his arm.
"Hold your fire!" Detective Miller shouted over the loudspeaker as the police cruisers skidded to a halt, blocking the jet's nose wheel. "Arthur Cole! Step away from the aircraft with your hands up!"
Arthur Cole turned, his face twisting in sudden terror as four armed airport officers surrounded the base of the stairs, guns drawn.
Adrien stepped out of his SUV, stepping through the pouring rain, his dark coat billowing behind him.
"It's over, Arthur!" Adrien called out over the roar of the jet engines.
Arthur stared down at Adrien from the top of the stairs, his knuckles white on his leather briefcase. "Adrien! What is the meaning of this federal harassment?! I am flying to Europe for an urgent business conference!"
"You're flying to Zurich with thirty million dollars of stolen Whitfield bearer bonds and the four-hundred-thousand-dollar diamond bracelet," Adrien shouted back coldly.
Arthur’s face went completely pale. "You have no proof—"
"We have the digital audit trail from your corporate server, Arthur!" Adrien countered, taking three slow steps up the mobile stairs. "You used the backdoor software key you installed in my estate vault. And your daughter, Vanessa, is currently sitting in a holding cell at the 1st District Precinct singing like a bird to save herself from a twenty-year sentence!"
Arthur gasped, his strength instantly leaving his body. The mention of his daughter's arrest completely shattered his arrogant facade.
"Vanessa... arrested?" Arthur stammered, dropping his heavy leather briefcase onto the aluminum stairs.
The briefcase popped open upon impact.
Dozens of crisp, high-denomination bearer bond certificates and the sparkling diamond bracelet spilled out across the wet metal steps, scattering in the wind!
Detective Miller rushed up the stairs, grabbing Arthur Cole by his lapels and slamming him against the jet's fuselage, pulling his arms behind his back.
"Arthur Cole, you are under arrest for federal wire fraud, grand larceny, and conspiracy to commit attempted murder!" Miller declared loudly, slapping the steel cuffs onto Arthur's wrists.
Arthur offered no resistance as he was led down the stairs in tears, his multi-million-dollar empire collapsing around his ankles in the rain.
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Adrien knelt on the stairs, picking up the diamond bracelet from the wet metal step. He looked at the sparkling stones, feeling a profound sense of disgust, before tossing it casually to Mark Vance.
"Take this into evidence," Adrien said flatly. "And let's go back to the hospital. There's someone who actually deserves our protection."
