The Chase

Various POVs

Jake's POV

Jake crashed through the forest, his phone's GPS leading him toward the old mine caves. Emma's word kept repeating in his mind: "He's dying."

But who was dying? Webb? Emma? Someone else?

Jake's injured leg finally gave out, and he slumped against a tree. He couldn't go any farther. Not alone.

He pulled out his phone and called Captain Rodriguez. "I found Emma's position. The abandoned Sterling Mine on the mountain. Webb took her there."

"We're ten minutes away," Captain Rodriguez said. "Stay where you are. Don't go in alone."

But Jake couldn't wait. Every second counted.

He forced himself to stand and kept moving toward the mountain.

Maya's POV

Maya limped along the forest road, her whole body hurting from the helicopter crash and near-drowning. She'd told Jake she would find help, but the road was empty.

Then headlights appeared through the smoke.

A truck screeched to a stop beside her. Tommy Whitfield jumped out, with Danny Santos right behind him.

"Maya!" Tommy shouted. "We saw the chopper go down. Where's Emma?"

"Webb took her to the Sterling Mine," Maya said quickly. "Jake's going after them, but he's hurt. He needs help."

"Get in," Danny said. "We know a shortcut to the mine."

Maya climbed into the truck, and Tommy drove like a fool up the mountain road. Behind them, she could see dozens of car headlights following—townspeople who'd heard about Emma's capture and were coming to help.

Millbrook was broken and burning, but its people weren't letting up.

Captain Rodriguez's POV

Captain Rodriguez managed her state police units from the command center they'd set up at the town square. FBI agents had just arrived, along with emergency reaction teams.

"We have confirmation that Marcus Webb is heading to the Sterling Mine," she told the FBI agent in charge. "It's an abandoned mine complex with over fifty tunnels. If he gets inside, we could look for days and never find him."

"Then we seal the entrances," the FBI agent said. "Trap him inside."

"There's a hostage," Captain Rodriguez reminded him. "Emma Morrison. Fifteen years old."

The FBI agent's face hardened. "One hostage versus letting Webb escape? I don't like it, but we may have to make that call."

Captain Rodriguez thought about Jake Morrison, who'd lost his father tonight. She couldn't let him lose his sister too.

"Give me thirty minutes," she said. "Let me try to get the girl out first."

The FBI agent checked his watch. "Twenty minutes. Then we're sealing those caves with or without her inside."

Tommy's POV

Tommy's truck skidded to a stop at the base of the mountain trail heading to the Sterling Mine. Jake was there, leaning against a tree, barely able to stand.

"Jake!" Tommy and Danny helped him to his feet.

"Emma's in there," Jake said, pointing up the dark mountain road. "But the message she sent... something's wrong."

Maya showed them Webb's broken phone and the memory card. "Before we go charging in, we need to know what we're walking into. Maybe this card has information about the mine."

Danny pulled out his laptop from his bag. "I can read the card. Give me two minutes."

While Danny worked, more cars arrived. Mrs. Martinez, Sarah's mother, came with a group from the church. Mr. Chen brought his newspaper staff. Even some of Sheriff Morrison's officers who hadn't been corrupted showed up, ready to help.

"We're all here for Emma," Mrs. Martinez said to Jake. "Tell us what to do."

Jake looked at the crowd of townspeople—people who'd lost so much tonight but were still willing to fight.

"Spread out and watch all the mine exits," Jake directed. "Webb might try to exit through the back tunnels. Don't let him get away."

"Got it!" Danny shouted, looking at his laptop screen. "The memory card has files about the mine. Webb's been using it as a storage place for years."

"Storage for what?" Maya asked.

"Everything. Money, weapons, fake names." Danny's face went pale. "And bombs. Lots of bombs."

Jake's gut dropped. "What?"

"According to these files, Webb rigged the entire mine with bombs two years ago. It was his safety plan—if anyone ever came after him, he'd blow the whole mountain and escape in the chaos."

Tommy grabbed the laptop. "Where are the bombs?"

Danny pointed to a map on the screen. "Main entrance, all the side tunnels, and the center chamber where Webb kept his vault. If those bombs go off, the whole mountain will fall."

"How do we disarm them?" Jake asked desperately.

"We don't," Danny said quietly. "According to this, only Webb knows the deactivate code. And the bombs are on a timer that starts when someone trips the door sensor."

Maya looked up the mountain trail. "Jake went past the door. That means the timer is already counting down."

Everyone turned to look at Jake.

"How long was I in there?" Jake asked, his voice shaking.

Danny checked the files. "Timer is set for sixty minutes after start. You were inside for maybe five minutes before you came back out for help."

"That means we have fifty-five minutes before the mine explodes," Captain Rodriguez said, coming with her state police team. "And Emma's somewhere inside."

Jake started up the trail, but Captain Rodriguez grabbed his arm. "You can't go in there. It's a death trap."

"That's my sister," Jake said simply.

"It's what Webb wants," the FBI man said, walking up behind them. "He's pulling you into his trap. Once you're inside, he'll set the bombs early and kill everyone."

"Or he's already dead," Maya said. "Emma's message said 'he's dying.' Maybe Webb is hurt from the crash. Maybe he can't start the bombs."

"That's a big maybe to bet your life on," Captain Rodriguez said.

Tommy stepped forward. "Then I'll go with Jake. My father died tonight saving people. I want to do the same."

"Me too," Danny added. "Webb ruined my family. I'm ending this."

More townspeople offered, but Captain Rodriguez held up her hand. "No. If we send too many people in, we'll just get more people killed. Maximum three people for the rescue team."

Jake looked at Tommy and Danny—two young boys who'd been through so much tonight. They were just kids, but they had the hearts of heroes.

"Let's go get my sister," Jake said.

They started up the trail toward the mine opening. Maya called after them.

"Jake! The disable code. According to the files, it's linked to something personal to Webb. A date, a name, something that matters to him."

"Like what?" Jake asked.

Maya's face went pale as she read further into the files. "Oh no."

"What is it?" Captain Rodriguez asked.

"The code resets every hour to a new random sequence," Maya said slowly. "But there's a master override code that Webb put in. It's the only thing that can stop the bombs forever."

"What's the override code?" Jake shouted.

Maya looked up at him with scared eyes. "It's not a code. It's a fingerprint reader. Webb's fingerprint. He's the only person who can stop the bombs."

Tommy's voice shook. "But if Webb is dying like Emma's message said..."

"Then we can't stop the bombs," Danny ended. "Even if we find Emma, we'll all be trapped inside when the mine explodes."

Jake looked up at the dark mine opening, then at his watch.

Fifty-three minutes until the mountain fell.

His sister was inside with a dying man who was the only person who could save them all.

And Jake had to make an impossible choice: leave Emma to die alone, or go in after her and probably die too.

He started walking toward the door.

"Jake, wait!" Captain Rodriguez called. "We just got word from our tech team. They're studying the bomb system remotely. They might be able to—"

An explosion rocked the mountain.

Not the big blasts. Something smaller.

Jake's phone buzzed with a new message from Emma.

This time it was a movie.

Jake hit play with shaking hands.

The video showed Emma's scared face in the darkness of the mine. Behind her, Jake could see Webb lying on the ground, blood pooling around him.

"Jake," Emma whispered into the camera. "Webb is dying. But he's not alone. There's someone else here."

The camera swung around, and Jake saw something that made his blood run cold.

Judge Harold Brennan stood in the shadows, carrying the detonator for the bombs.

Brennan smiled at the camera. "Hello, Jake. By the time you see this, I've caused a partial collapse that sealed all the exits. Emma and I are having a nice chat about how her father killed my chance to leave. Now you have a choice: save your sister by giving me safe passage out of town, or watch this whole mountain come down with her inside."

The video finished.

Jake looked at the screen in horror.

Brennan wasn't dead. He'd survived the building basement and followed Webb to the mine.

And now he had Emma and the detonator.

Forty-nine minutes until the mountain burst.

And Jake had just lost his only way in.