The Echoes of Obsidian Ridge
CHAPTER 11:
The shortwave radio unit Julian had packed into his leather bag suddenly cracked with sharp static. He quickly set it on the wooden table, adjusting the antenna knob to clean up the signal coming from Blackwood Peak.
Through the heavy hiss of rain and electronic noise, a frail, raspy voice broke through the speaker.
“Maya… Julian… if you are monitoring this band…” Arthur Sterling’s voice sounded strained, punctuated by dry coughing fits. “We have reached the broadcast tower. Marcus has deployed his regional security detail to secure the summit. Do not attempt a rescue. Take the encrypted flash drive directly to the federal prosecutor’s office in Seattle…”
A second voice, smooth, cold, and utterly devoid of warmth, cut across the frequency line.
“A noble sentiment, Arthur, but entirely impractical,” Senator Marcus Vance spoken clearly over the receiver. “Hello, Julian. I must admit, I was disappointed to learn you were dragged into this unpleasant family affair. But since you are undoubtedly listening with your writer companion… you have twenty minutes to deliver the digital key to Blackwood Peak. If you fail to arrive, Arthur and Evelyn will suffer a tragic accident off the cliffside.”
The line went dead with a sharp, static pop.
Julian looked at Maya, his jaw set in a hard, uncompromising line. “We aren’t going to Seattle.”
“It’s a trap, Julian,” Maya warned, though her eyes blazed with fierce determination. “He has armed men.”
“He has armed men,” Julian agreed, picking up the tactical flashlight and a heavy iron tire iron from the cabin corner, “but he doesn’t know this mountain. And he doesn’t know what I’m willing to do to tear his empire down.”
