Chapter 5 - THE AMBUSH
The preliminary trial date was officially set, and the nationwide media frenzy surrounding the case was completely out of control.
Every major news station in the entire country was broadcasting non-stop coverage of the girl the press dubbed the "Cabin Fire Miracle."
Maya was scheduled to be transported from the safe house directly to the downtown courthouse for a crucial preliminary hearing.
Detective Reed absolutely refused to trust anyone else with her safety, insisting on driving her himself in a heavily armored, unmarked police cruiser.
"Just keep your head down below the window line when we arrive at the courthouse steps," Reed warned her, his eyes scanning the busy streets.
They pulled up to a crowded red light just three blocks away from the massive courthouse building.
Suddenly, a massive, heavily reinforced black SUV ran the red light and slammed violently into the passenger side of their police cruiser.
The sheer, explosive impact sent the heavy police car spinning violently across the wet, rain-slicked intersection.
Glass shattered completely everywhere, raining down on Maya's terrified face as the airbags deployed with a deafening pop.
The battered cruiser finally crashed head-on into a thick concrete barrier and came to a violent, screeching halt.
Maya was incredibly disoriented, her ears ringing loudly as the smell of burning rubber and deployed airbag chemicals filled the cabin.
She looked over toward the driver's seat and saw Detective Reed bleeding heavily from a deep gash on his forehead.
"Get down on the floorboards right now!" Reed yelled, pulling his heavy service weapon with a painfully trembling hand.
Two massive men wearing black ski masks stepped out of the damaged black SUV, holding illegal, fully automatic assault rifles.
They were the ruthless cartel loan sharks David owed money to, and they desperately wanted the inheritance money released immediately.
They started firing without hesitation, shattering the remaining windows and turning the armored police cruiser into Swiss cheese.
Maya curled into a tight, terrified ball on the floorboards, covering her ears as bullets tore through the metal doors.
Detective Reed blindly returned fire through the shattered windshield, managing to strike one of the masked gunmen in the shoulder.
Police sirens began to wail loudly in the distance, growing exponentially closer by the second.
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The masked men realized they were out of time, panicking completely before jumping back into their smoking SUV and speeding away down a narrow alley.
Maya realized in that terrifying, blood-soaked moment that simply surviving the cabin fire was only the very beginning of her absolute nightmare.
