Chapter 67 - The Rendezvous at Griggs Dam
Midnight arrived under a torrential deluge that turned the Scioto River into a roaring, frothing beast.
The access road to Griggs Dam was deserted, flanked by towering dark sycamore trees that swayed violently in the October gale. The sound of millions of gallons of water crashing over the concrete spillway filled the night with a continuous, thundering roar that swallowed every whisper.
Headlights sliced through the sheets of rain.
Our battered family station wagon came to a halt fifty yards before the pedestrian bridge overlooking the dam. Inside sat Dad, Sarah, and me. Miller and his tactical team were nowhere to be seen—at least not to the naked eye. They had deployed via zodiac rafts an hour earlier, scaling the rocky embankments below the dam line beneath thermal cloaks to bypass Arthur’s perimeter sensors.
A hundred feet ahead, two massive black Suburbans flanked the Maybach, their blinding high beams locking onto our windshield.
"Stay behind me, girls," Dad muttered, his hand resting on the door handle.
"We walk together, Dad," I replied, squeezing his arm. "That was the rule."
Sarah drew a deep, shuddering breath, her fingers clutching the polished brass duplicate key hidden deep within her coat pocket. "Let's finish this."
We opened the doors and stepped out into the storm.
The wind hit us instantly, freezing rain stinging our faces as our boots sank into the muddy gravel. We walked in sync, three silhouettes against the glare of Arthur’s headlights, stopping fifteen paces from the hood of the Maybach.
The rear door opened. Arthur Bennett Jr. stepped out into the tempest.
He wore no hat, no coat protection against the storm, yet he moved with the terrifying calm of an emperor inspecting a ruined province. Behind him, four heavily armed private contractors in sterile black tactical gear stood with rifles lowered at the low-ready position.
"Richard," Arthur called out, his deep voice carrying over the thunder of the dam. "You brought the girls. Touching. A final Bennett family reunion before the ledger is settled."
"Cut the crap, Arthur!" Dad shouted into the gale, his voice booming with undeniable power. "The children in Grove City are locked behind a federal perimeter! Your bluff is dead! Call off your dogs and take what you came for!"
Arthur smiled—a cold, humorless curl of his lips. "A perimeter can be breached, brother. But I applaud your defiance. Show me the cylinder."
Sarah took two steps forward, slipping her hand slowly into her coat. The armed contractors tensed, their fingers tightening on their triggers, but Arthur raised a single gloved finger, stopping them.
"Sarah," Arthur murmured smoothly, his eyes gleaming with calculating warmth. "The smart daughter. The mother who understands that survival costs money. Step away from your father. Bring me the key, and I will ensure five million dollars is deposited into an offshore trust for your two boys before dawn."
Sarah paused in the middle of the road, the rain soaking her hair, her eyes wide as if wavering between terror and greed.
May you like
Arthur smiled broader, confident that his psychological trap had worked once more. "Come, my dear. Give me the key. Let your father carry the sins of the past alone."
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