Chapter 8 - The Valley Trap
The valley was silent.
Snow covered the ground.
White.
Blinding.
Clara parked the truck.
She watched the station.
Empty.
Abandoned.
She checked her watch.
Midnight.
She stepped out.
The cold bit into her skin.
She held the bag tight.
Evidence.
Power.
She walked toward the platform.
A figure emerged.
Small.
Hunched.
The coder.
He looked terrified.
“Do you have it?” he whispered.
“Do you have the access?” Clara countered.
He nodded.
He reached into his jacket.
Clara tensed.
He pulled out a drive.
“Take it,” he said.
“They’re coming.”
“Who?”
“The team.”
“They found the trace.”
Clara didn't hesitate.
She took the drive.
She handed him an envelope.
“Go.”
He ran into the woods.
Clara turned to leave.
A light flooded the platform.
A car.
Then two more.
They blocked the exit.
Men stepped out.
Uniformed.
Armed.
The Obsidian Group.
They didn't rush.
They walked with purpose.
Clara looked for a path.
The woods were steep.
The platform was guarded.
She was trapped.
She reached into her coat.
Not a gun.
A flare.
She struck it.
Red light bathed the snow.
Disorienting.
Bright.
She threw it at the lead car.
Smoke filled the air.
She dove under the platform.
The space was tight.
Cold.
She heard their boots.
Above her.
Heavy.
Aggressive.
“Find her,” a voice commanded.
“She’s not getting away.”
Clara gripped the drive.
She crawled through the mud.
Beneath the tracks.
Toward the tree line.
She heard a shout.
They saw her.
Gunfire ripped the air.
Bullets kicked up snow.
She ran.
Her lungs burned.
She didn't look back.
She was the prey.
May you like
But tonight.
She was the hunter.
