Chapter 29 - The Cleansing Fire
Julian Croft stood frozen in the middle of the deluge, the umbrella trembling in his white-knuckled grip as his last line of defense dissolved into the grey storm.
"You... you can't do this to me," Croft whispered, his voice cracking, the hollow bravado completely drained from his chest. "I built this distribution network, Daniel. I gave twenty years to this company!"
"You didn't build this company, Julian," Daniel Carter replied, walking forward until he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with his daughter. "Men like Hank Miller built this company with their sweat and their honor. You simply extracted wealth from their labor while cutting corners on their safety and selling out our name to frauds like Arthur Sterling."
Two federal marshals, who had stepped out of the secondary support vehicle, walked calmly up to Croft.
"Julian Croft?" the lead marshal announced, producing a set of steel handcuffs. "You are under arrest for federal procurement fraud, wire fraud, and criminal conspiracy to endanger civil aviation safety. You have the right to remain silent."
Croft let out a defeated, broken sigh as the umbrella slipped from his fingers, tumbling across the wet tarmac in the wind. The marshals secured his wrists behind his back and guided him into the rear of their unmarked vehicle.
With the obstruction eliminated, Hank Miller let out a roaring cheer that was taken up by the entire maintenance crew.
"Bring up the cutters!" Hank roared.
Within five minutes, the heavy industrial hydraulic equipment sliced through the auxiliary hinges of the hangar access panels. The massive steel doors slid open with a metallic groan, revealing the climate-controlled storage vaults inside.
Working together with clockwork speed and flawless discipline, the Carter ground crew transferred eighty pallets of pediatric dialysis fluid and refrigerated vaccines into a waiting Carter Air Cargo Boeing 737 and a fleet of waiting emergency medical transport vans.
Ava stood under the edge of the hangar overhang, watching the life-saving medicine being loaded into the vehicles. Hank Miller walked up to her, wiping the rain and hydraulic grease from his brow with a clean rag.
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"Miss Carter," Hank said, his eyes bright with deep emotion. "I’ve worked on this tarmac for thirty-two years. I’ve seen CEOs come and go, promising the moon and looking down their noses at us from their private jets. But today, you didn't just save those kids in the hospital—you gave us our pride back."
Ava looked at the honest, hardworking man and smiled warmly, extending her small hand to take his rough, calloused palm. "We fly together, Hank. That’s what Carter Aviation means."
