Chapter 5 - The Flight North
The jet black Gulfstream G550 cut through the stormy skies above the US-Canadian border at thirty thousand feet.
Inside the luxurious leather-lined cabin, the atmosphere was thick with tension.
Alessandro sat near the forward communications console, wearing a dark wool coat over his medical bandages, a laptop open in front of him displaying live satellite radar feeds. Beside him sat Catherine, holding a secure satellite phone against her ear, her face pale as snow.
"David! David, please pick up!" Catherine pleaded into the phone for the twentieth time.
Static crackled through the line, followed by the automated voice of the Canadian telecommunications network: "The party you are trying to reach is currently out of coverage area or has their phone switched off..."
"The cell tower in that mountain valley is likely down due to the blizzard," Alessandro said, his voice calm, focused, and icy cold. "Or Pendelton’s team is already using signal jammers."
Catherine set the phone down, her hands shaking violently. She turned to look at the rear of the cabin, where Logan was sitting in a plush leather seat, happily watching a cartoon on a tablet screen while Marco—who had rejoined them at the private airfield—carefully fed him animal crackers.
"If anything happens to him..." Catherine choked out, her tears spilling over. "If I lose him again after finding out he’s alive..."
Alessandro reached across the table, his broad, calloused hand firmly grasping hers. The heat of his grip was grounding, an unshakeable anchor in the middle of her storm.
"Look at me, Catherine," Alessandro commanded softly.
She looked up, meeting his fierce, dark eyes.
"We are forty minutes away from the airstrip in Banff," Alessandro said, every word dripping with absolute certainty. "My tactical team in Calgary is already moving by snowmobile toward the cabin. We are not going to lose him. Do you hear me? I didn't survive three bullets in Baltimore to let Arthur Pendelton win in Canada."
Catherine nodded, wiping her eyes, drawing strength from his terrifying confidence. "How are we going to expose Pendelton? Even if we save David, Pendelton has the entire federal apparatus protecting him."
Alessandro tapped the laptop screen. "That’s why we aren't going to the police. Once we secure David and the master drive from the bank in Montreal, I am uploading every single file to the international press network and the Internal Affairs Division of the Department of Justice simultaneously."
He looked at her with a dark, ruthless grin.
"Arthur Pendelton built his empire in the dark," Alessandro said. "We are going to flood his world with light."
Thirty minutes later, the Gulfstream touched down on the snow-covered runway of a private airfield outside Banff, Alberta. The temperature outside was ten degrees below zero, the wind howling through the pine trees, carrying a blinding white blizzard.
Waiting on the tarmac were three heavy-duty snow-tracked SUVs, their engines idling, exhaust clouding the freezing air.
"Marco, stay with Logan at the airfield hanger with four guards," Alessandro ordered as they descended the jet’s stairs. "No one enters or leaves this perimeter."
"Boss, you need me at the cabin!" Marco protested.
"I need you protecting the boy," Alessandro countered, looking Marco dead in the eye. "He is David’s son. He is the future. Protect him with your life."
Marco swallowed hard, then nodded respectfully. "Understood, boss."
Catherine pulled a heavy down jacket over her clothes, kissing Logan goodbye on his forehead. "Mommy will be right back, baby. I promise. I'm going to bring Daddy home."
"Bring Captain Bear too!" Logan smiled, holding up his stuffed toy.
May you like
"I will, sweetie," she whispered, her voice choking with emotion.
Catherine slid into the passenger seat of the lead snow-tracked SUV beside Alessandro. The driver slammed the vehicle into gear, and the heavy convoy roared out of the airfield, plunging into the blinding white wilderness of the Canadian Rockies.
