Chapter 6 - CORNERED
"The download is at 95%!" Evelyn hissed, staring frantically at the monitor screen as the progress bar crawled forward.
"He's here," I whispered, stepping out of the shattered glass room into the main basement hallway.
I held the steel surveyor's tripod in both hands, my boots crunching on the glass fragments.
Around the corner walked Mark.
He was drenched from the rain, his coat half-unbuttoned, his hair plastered to his forehead. His eyes were wide, bloodshot, and completely unhinged. In his right hand, he held a heavy brass paperweight he had grabbed from his upstairs desk.
When he saw me standing there in the dark, surrounded by the shattered glass of his server room, his face twisted into a mask of pure hatred.
"You ruined my servers," he said, his voice dropping to a low, trembling whisper. "Do you have any idea how many years of work are on those drives? How many millions of dollars in contracts?"
"I don't care about your contracts, Mark," I said, holding the tripod level between us. "It's over. The server is dead. You can't burn my mother's house. You can't edit the video."
Mark took a slow, deliberate step toward me. "You think you're clever, don't you? You think because you broke a piece of glass, you've won?"
"I know I've won," I said, refusing to back down. "Because for the first time in three years, I am not afraid of you."
Mark let out a terrifying, guttural roar and lunged forward, swinging the brass paperweight directly at my head.
I ducked to the left, ducking under his swing. The brass weight smashed into a metal filing cabinet behind me with a deafening CLANG, denting the steel.
I swung the tripod with all my weight, striking Mark across his shoulder. He stumbled back, grunting in pain, but his rage blinded him to the blow. He grabbed the end of the tripod, yanked it out of my hands, and threw it across the room.
He grabbed me by the collar of my jacket, slamming my back violently against the cold brick wall.
His face was inches from mine. His breath smelled of stale coffee and pure malice.
"You belong to me, Sarah," he snarled, his fingers tightening around my throat, choking off my air. "I made you! I paid for your clothes, your car, your pathetic little life! You leave when I say you leave!"
Tears filled my eyes as darkness began to creep into the edges of my vision. My hands clawed uselessly at his wrists.
"Download complete!" Evelyn’s voice shouted from the server room.
Mark’s head turned toward the sound for a split second.
That split second was all I needed.
I raised my right knee with every ounce of remaining strength, striking Mark squarely between the legs.
Mark gasped, his grip loosening instantly as he collapsed to his knees on the concrete floor, clutching himself in agony.
I slumped against the wall, coughing violently, dragging cool air back into my burning lungs.
Evelyn ran out of the server room, holding the black USB drive tightly in her fist. She grabbed my arm, pulling me toward the rear exit stairs.
"Come on!" she screamed. "Move!"
We sprinted up the metal stairs, leaving Mark groaning on the basement floor, surrounded by the ruins of his digital empire.
We burst out into the alleyway, the cold rain washing over my face like a blessing.
Parked at the end of the alley, blocking both exits, were three dark blue Ford Explorers with flashing red and blue LED lights.
A dozen armed officers in tactical gear jumped out, weapons raised.
"STATE POLICE! PUT YOUR HANDS UP! DON'T MOVE!" a voice boomed over a loudspeaker.
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Beside the lead cruiser stood my mother, holding a white towel to her head, flanked by a senior State Trooper captain.
I dropped to my knees in the wet alley, weeping with pure, overwhelming relief.
