Chapter 18 - The Courthouse Ambush
By noon, the emergency situation at the county courthouse in downtown Oakhaven had reached a boiling point.
Sheriff Reeves’s deputies had cordoned off the entire square after an anonymous bomb threat was phoned into the municipal clerk’s office—coinciding precisely with the scheduled public filing of the final land title transfers for the Kincaid Community Trust.
Elena Vance stood outside the police barricade, her phone pressed tightly to her ear, speaking rapidly with the federal magistrate in Nashville.
"The bomb threat is a diversion," Elena said as Ryker jogged up to her side, his breath misting in the cold air. "The county clerk’s digital terminal was accessed remotely five minutes ago. Someone tried to corrupt the master title registry database for Parcel 409—the foundational Kincaid homestead deed."
"Who had administrative clearance to access the master database?" Ryker demanded, his eyes scanning the surrounding rooftops.
"Only two people," Elena said grimly. "The county registrar... and Julian Sterling’s former corporate defense attorney, who was just spotted checking into a motel three miles outside town using a fake passport."
Suddenly, the screech of tires echoed across the town square.
A black pickup truck came barreling around the corner, ignoring the police barricade entirely, plowing straight through the yellow caution tape and slamming to a halt near the courthouse steps.
The driver's door flew open, and a man leaped out—not Julian, but Victor Cruz, Julian’s former chief legal counsel who had previously fled to Zurich before being intercepted by federal authorities. He carried a heavy canvas satchel in one hand and a volatile digital override device in the other.
"Don't move!" Sheriff Reeves roared, drawing his service weapon and sprinting across the cobblestones.
Victor didn't run. He held up the digital override box, his face twisted in a manic, desperate grin. "One keystroke and the entire Kincaid family trust registry gets wiped from the state server! The land reverts to unclaimed public domain, and the federal bankruptcy court auctions it off by sundown!"
Ryker didn't hesitate. He didn't wait for negotiations or legal warnings.
With explosive acceleration, Ryker lunged forward, tackling Victor squarely in the chest just as the lawyer’s thumb pressed down on the transmission button.
The two men crashed hard onto the cold stone steps of the courthouse. The override box slipped from Victor’s grasp, clattering across the steps and smashing into pieces against the iron handrail.
Sheriff Reeves arrived a second later, kicking the broken device away and slamming heavy steel handcuffs onto Victor’s wrists.
"You're a little late, Kincaid," Victor wheezed, spitting blood onto the concrete as Reeves hauled him to his feet. "The data packet... it already uploaded to the offshore server."
Elena whipped out her tablet, her fingers flying across the screen with frantic precision. She stared at the terminal readouts for three long, agonizing seconds.
May you like
Then, she looked up at Ryker, a triumphant smile breaking across her face.
"It didn't upload," Elena said clearly. "Arthur Sterling’s security team intercepted the proxy relay route ten minutes ago. The master database is fully secured."
