Chapter 13 - Ground Zero
The shudder that racked the helicopter was catastrophic. The tail rotor disintegrated in a cloud of shrapnel, sending the aircraft into an uncontrollable, violent flat spin.
""Mayday! We lost the tail!"" the pilot screamed, fighting the pedals in vain.
Vincent grabbed the safety harness anchored to the bulkheads, bracing himself as the centrifugal force slammed Julian brutally against the metal walls. Through the spinning horizon of trees, estate roofs, and flashing police cruisers, Vincent saw the ground rushing up at terrifying speed.
""Hold on!"" Vincent roared.
The aircraft slammed into the eastern fountain of the estate with a deafening roar of crumpling aluminum and shattering fiberglass. Water, fuel, and steam erupted into the night air. The main rotor blades struck the stone balustrade, shearing off and cartwheeling across the lawn like giant scythes before coming to a rest in the dirt.
For ten seconds, there was only the hiss of leaking coolant and the rhythmic drip of water.
A bloody hand pushed through the shattered side window.
Vincent dragged himself out of the twisted wreckage, coughing violently as the smell of aviation fuel burned his throat. His forehead was split open, blood running down the side of his face, and his suit jacket was shredded. But he was alive.
Behind him, Julian Vance crawled out through the fractured cargo door, soaked in water and gasping for breath, dragging a dislocated leg behind him.
Julian looked up to see a dozen red laser dots converge on his chest.
Dominic and a squad of Morelli security personnel surrounded the fountain, their weapons locked on the ruined financier. Flanking them were Agent Miller and six federal marshals, their service pistols drawn and aimed squarely at Vance.
""Julian Vance,"" Agent Miller shouted, stepping forward with handcuffs unholstered. ""You're under arrest for federal conspiracy, domestic terrorism, and attempted kidnapping.""
Julian looked at the circle of guns, then back at Vincent, who stood towering over him like an immovable wall of dark stone.
""You think you won, Morelli?"" Julian wheezed, a pathetic, bloody grin stretching across his lips. ""You think this ends with me? The trust fund... the board in Zurich... they already know she’s Vance’s heir. You can't protect her from the entire world.""
Vincent looked down at him, his face utterly devoid of mercy.
""I don't need to protect her from the world, Julian,"" Vincent said softly. ""I just need to make sure the world knows what happens when someone touches her.""
May you like
Miller clamped the cuffs onto Julian’s wrists, dragging him away toward the federal cruisers.
Vincent turned his back on them all and walked slowly toward the house. But as he reached the shattered doors of the communications bunker, he found the vault door hanging wide open—and the room inside was completely empty.
