“Freeze, Westfield,” Daniel said, his voice cold and clear. His weapon was unwavering as he pointed it at Westfield’s head. The man was sitting in a chair in a small private airfield’s lobby, waiting for the small jet he’d hired to whisk him away into obscurity. Thankfully, Daniel and Bethany had been able to track Westfield down through internet purchases a mere twenty minutes before the plane was set to take off, despite the man’s attempts to stay hidden and escape.
“I wouldn’t do that,” Bethany said, as Max turned slightly as if he were going to either close his laptop or push some of the buttons on the computer. She also had her weapon drawn and was coming at him from the opposite doorway.
“Ah, Bethany. I’m so glad you came to see me off.” He smiled, but it was a sad smile, as if they shared some secret together.
“I’m sure you’ve heard by now that the stadium was saved,” she said quietly. “None of the C-4 charges detonated and no one was hurt.” She took a step closer. “The governor’s Christmas party also got canceled. The food is being tested as we speak. Anything tainted will be destroyed before it can harm anyone, and whoever poisoned it will be prosecuted. Operation Battlefield has failed, Westfield. Both phase one and phase two were a complete wash.”
Westfield shrugged. “You’ll undoubtedly arrest a few, but the Heritage Guard operates in cells for a reason. You won’t be able to get at the true leaders. They’re too deeply hidden—too entrenched for you to find them. The Guard will live on and will rise again.”
“That’s what we thought too, until we found the hidden hard drives in the dry cleaners when we did a very thorough search of the place about an hour ago. Our search warrant pretty much let us tear the place apart, and you’d be surprised at the membership lists we found, not to mention the financial records, offshore accounts and other valuable information we discovered. The attorney general and local state attorney are going to be delivering a joint statement within a few hours, and will be issuing subpoenas and indictments on a national scale. This case is huge. The Heritage Guard is finished.”
Bethany took another step closer. “What did you say to us when we were in the stadium all tied up? Oh, yeah, you’re gonna be famous!” She pulled out her handcuffs. “Now set down that computer, stand up and put your hands behind your back.”
He slowly set the computer aside and stood, but then he quickly put something in his mouth and then held his hands up and closed his eyes.
“No!” Both Daniel and Bethany yelled it in unison, holstered their weapons and tried to get the substance out of his mouth, but he clamped his jaws together and wouldn’t open them. Within a few short moments, white foam started to ooze out between his lips and his body started to convulse. He fell to the ground, and Daniel kept trying to save him while Bethany pulled out her radio and called an ambulance for help. The faint smell of almonds hung in the air.
“I need an emergency bus for a suspected cyanide poisoning,” she said hurriedly, and rattled off the address.
“He’s seizing,” Daniel said. “He’s already unconscious and his pulse is weak. They’re not going to make it here in time.”
Bethany felt in Westfield’s pocket and found a small empty packet. “He must have had this on him just in case he was captured.” She looked at his face that was already pale. “He chose the coward’s way out.” She stood, disgust and anger warring on her face. She kicked a chair, sending it flying across the room. “I didn’t want him dead! I wanted him in prison, but not dead!”
“He made the choice,” Daniel said, feeling for a pulse. “You didn’t kill him. He did this to himself.” He stood, pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his hands. “He’s gone.”