Chapter 14 - Confrontation on the Helipad
Leo pushed open the hatch onto the aft deck into blinding daylight. The ship had already cast off its lines and was slipping past the harbor breakwater into open ocean. On the raised helipad, Mercer stood beside a running twin-engine executive helicopter, pilot waiting with blades spinning overhead. Mercer turned, saw Leo carrying Toby, and his face twisted into disbelief. He pulled a compact revolver from his tailored suit coat. ""You refuse to die, don't you, Vance?"" Mercer yelled over the turbine roar. ""Give me the boy and the drive. I’ll let your sister-in-law live."" Leo stepped forward, shielding Toby with his broad shoulder, completely calm. ""It’s too late, Mercer."" Leo pointed past the ship's stern. Slicing through the morning swell, four Coast Guard interceptors and three police cutters closed the distance at forty knots, sirens wailing over the salt spray. Beside them, Officer Frank Miller leaned over the bow of the lead vessel, megaphone in hand, state police badges gleaming in the sun. Leo held up his cell phone—the diagnostic upload to federal servers had completed three minutes ago. Mercer’s knuckles went white on the revolver grip.
