Frank's face reddened, and his jaw went tight.
"It seems we both have something to lose," Ethan said. "But there's a way that we can all go home happy. I'm going to give you an address to a crypto wallet. You're going to transfer $1 billion. That's not too much to ask considering what's at stake. Let's call it a gentleman's agreement. You transfer the funds, and I will disable the worm. Of course, you promise not to destroy the Children's Hospital or retaliate in any way." Ethan smiled. "We can all go about our lives as though none of this had ever happened."
Frank glared at him. "You're bluffing."
With a concerned look on his face, Frank's assistant said, "No. He's not. The satellites are de-orbiting."
Frank's eyes rounded. "What!?”
"The orbital patterns have changed. Within an hour or two, they will begin to reenter the atmosphere."
"How many?”
"All of them," his assistant said in a grave tone.
Rage boiled on Frank's face. He scowled at Ethan. "You little shit. I'm going to fucking kill you!" he warned as he marched forward.
Ethan took a step back. "I'm the only one who can stop it. Do we have a deal?"
The veins in Frank's forehead bulged. It looked like he was about to explode. There was nothing he could do. He’d lost control ofthe satellites. His plan to fire a directed energy weapon at the hospital was nullified. The window of opportunity was gone. The shifting orbit of the satellites made anything like that impossible now.
Frank slowly came to the realization he had no other choice. He said to his assistant, "Do it!"
Ethan gave him the address to a crypto wallet. With a few taps on the keys, $1 billion in crypto was transferred to the kid.
Ethan confirmed the transaction on his phone.
"Now, restore control of the satellites, or I swear to God, I'll kill you all right now and everyone you've ever known or loved."
Ethan laughed. "You guys are such dipshits. The logic bomb has already exploded. I’ve got news for you. I never left a worm on your system. It was on the USB drive. The minute you connected to your server, it executed." Ethan shrugged. "Sorry, bro. I don't care what you do to me. This moment is priceless. You and all your crony friends are so entirely fucked right now.”
Frank reached his breaking point. He grabbed the M4 assault rifle from one of the goons and took aim at Ethan. His finger wrapped tight around the trigger.
56
This was the opportunity to strike.
JD and I both drew our weapons at the same time. In a flash, I took out Frank, while Jack blasted at the other armed goon.
Muzzle flash flickered from my barrel, and bullets streaked through the air, pelting Frank in the face before he could squeeze the trigger.
The bullets drilled through his brain and blasted out the back of his skull, painting the helicopter with crimson.
Frank fell to the ground as I took aim at the other thug as he drew his pistol. Two more shots hammered against my palm and drilled into his chest with a wet thud. He staggered back against the fuselage, then fell down to the skids.
The pilot didn't want anything to do with this. He adjusted the controls and lifted off the ground.
Frank's assistant shuffled into the craft and pulled the cargo door shut. The craft ascended into the snowy sky. The pilotbanked the helicopter around, and I opened fire, trying to put as many bullets into the engine as I could. The thump of rotor blades vanished into the night.
The snow came down heavily now.
I called the sheriff and updated him on the situation. I told him to put a BOLO out on the helicopter and informed him that Paris had been kidnapped. I had no idea where she was being held.
JD and I checked vitals on the dirtbags.
They had all transitioned to the afterlife.
I didn't envy where they were going.
