Chapter 13 - THE FROZEN LAKE
Lucas swung the fire extinguisher into Derek’s arm.
The gun fell.
Vanessa pulled Emma away from the computer.
Mercer fired.
The bullet struck the wall.
Lucas sprayed white chemical foam across the room.
Mercer shouted and covered his eyes.
Emma bit Vanessa’s hand.
Vanessa screamed.
The child ran toward Lucas.
He lifted her with one arm.
Derek recovered the gun.
Lucas threw the empty extinguisher at him.
It struck Derek’s chest.
He fell against the stair railing.
The wood broke.
Derek crashed onto the floor below.
Lucas carried Emma toward the window.
The stairs were blocked.
Mercer fired through the foam.
Glass shattered beside Lucas’s head.
He climbed onto the roof outside the window.
Snow covered the steep surface.
Emma wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Do not let go.”
“I will not.”
Vanessa climbed through the window behind them.
“Lucas, wait.”
He moved toward the lower edge of the roof.
Federal agents approached through the trees.
Mercer appeared at the window.
He aimed at Lucas.
Vanessa grabbed his arm.
“You said you would not kill him.”
Mercer struck her.
She slipped on the roof.
Her hands caught the gutter.
She hung above the frozen lake.
“Lucas.”
He looked back.
Vanessa’s fingers were sliding.
Mercer disappeared into the station.
Lucas could continue toward safety.
Or he could help the woman who locked Emma in a bathroom and helped abduct her.
Emma looked at Vanessa.
“Daddy.”
Lucas lowered Emma behind a chimney.
“Stay here.”
He crawled toward the gutter.
Vanessa stared at him in disbelief.
“Why are you helping me?”
“Because Emma is watching.”
He grabbed her wrist.
The gutter began tearing away from the roof.
Vanessa reached for his arm.
Lucas pulled her upward.
Then Mercer fired through the window.
The bullet struck the roof between them.
Lucas lost his grip.
Vanessa fell.
She crashed through a thin layer of ice near the shoreline.
Agents rushed toward the lake.
Lucas returned to Emma.
He climbed down from the opposite side of the roof.
Detective Reyes reached them.
Emma ran into her arms.
Lucas turned toward the station.
Mercer had escaped through the rear.
His tracks led onto the frozen lake.
He carried the laptop containing the open archive.
Derek staggered from the building behind him.
Police arrested him.
Vanessa broke through the water fifty yards away.
Agents threw a rescue rope.
She could not reach it.
Lucas moved toward the ice.
Reyes grabbed him.
“You have Emma.”
Lucas stopped.
Emma was shaking inside an agent’s coat.
She needed him.
The rescue team reached Vanessa with an inflatable sled.
They pulled her from the water unconscious.
Mercer continued across the lake.
The ice cracked beneath his feet.
He ran faster.
The laptop fell.
He turned to retrieve it.
The surface broke.
Mercer disappeared into the black water.
For several seconds, no one moved.
Then his hand appeared through the opening.
He held the laptop above the water.
Even as he drowned, he refused to release the evidence.
Rescue officers pulled him out.
He was alive.
So was Vanessa.
Both were transported under guard.
Lucas carried Emma toward the vehicles.
She pressed her face against his shoulder.
“Why did you save Vanessa?”
“Because letting someone fall would not make us better.”
“She hurt us.”
“Yes.”
“Do you forgive her?”
“No.”
Emma lifted her head.
“You can save someone without forgiving them?”
Lucas kissed her forehead.
“Yes.”
“You can do the right thing without pretending the wrong thing never happened.”
Emma held him more tightly.
Behind them, the ranger station burned.
Mercer had started a fire before attempting to escape.
The computer containing Rachel’s archive remained inside.
Flames reached the second floor.
Lucas watched the windows collapse.
Rachel’s evidence appeared lost.
Then Nathan emerged from the trees holding the gold chip.
Emma had pulled it from the computer before running to her father.
The archive was not inside the burning station.
It had only been accessed remotely.
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The original evidence remained secure.
Rachel’s truth had survived again.
