Maya's Mission

Maya Chen's POV

Maya Chen threw the last bundle of newspapers into her car just as gunshots sounded from downtown Millbrook.

Her hands were shaking as she drove through the dark streets, but she had a job to do. While Jake and Emma were stuck somewhere in City Hall, and while Sheriff Morrison was fighting for his life at the police station, Maya was going to make sure every person in town knew the truth.

"Come on, Maya," she whispered to herself. "You wanted to be a real writer. This is your chance."

She'd spent the last hour racing around her newspaper office, printing hundreds of copies of the emergency issue. The front page title read: "WEBB'S CONSPIRACY EXPOSED - TWENTY YEARS OF MURDER AND CORRUPTION REVEALED."

Below that were photos of Judge Brennan getting bribes, bank records showing stolen money, and copies of Webb's hit list with dozens of names on it.

Maya's first stop was Oak Street, where families were huddled in their homes, afraid to come outside because of all the shooting. She ran from house to house, shoving newspapers under doors and banging on windows.

"Read this!" she shouted at every house. "Webb killed your friends! He's not really FBI! The whole system is crooked!"

At the Johnson house, Mrs. Johnson opened her door just a crack.

"Maya, what are you doing? It's dangerous out here!"

"Mrs. Johnson, remember when your daughter Katie died in that car accident three years ago?" Maya said excitedly. "It wasn't an accident. Webb had her killed because she found out about the toxic waste dumping."

Mrs. Johnson stared at the newspaper story, her face going white. "What are you talking about?"

"Katie was going to report the chemical company to state officials. Look at page three - there's a photo of Webb speaking with the company owners the day before she died."

Mrs. Johnson grabbed the newspaper and read quickly. When she looked up, her eyes were filled with tears and rage.

"That monster killed my baby," she whispered.

"And he's killed dozens of other people too," Maya said. "But tonight, we can finally stop him. We just need everyone in town to work together."

Within minutes, Mrs. Johnson was calling her friends, telling them to read Maya's newspaper and meet at the community center. The truth was spreading through Millbrook like flames.

Maya's next stop was the Rodriguez family, whose son had apparently drowned in the river last summer.

"Mr. Rodriguez, your boy Miguel didn't drown by accident," Maya said, showing him the proof. "Webb had him murdered because Miguel saw him burying bodies behind the old textile plant."

Mr. Rodriguez read the newspaper with rising anger. "I knew something was wrong. Miguel was the best diver in his class. He would never just drown like that."

"Webb has been using the river to hide evidence for years," Maya stated. "Miguel must have seen something he shouldn't have."

Soon the Rodriguez family was spreading the word to their cousins and friends. Maya could see lights coming on in houses all over the neighborhood as people read her newspaper and realized the truth about their loved ones' deaths.

By the time Maya got downtown, nearly a hundred people had gathered in the streets. They were angry, scared, and ready to fight back against the men who had been attacking their town for twenty years.

"What do we do, Maya?" asked Tom Bradley, the fire chief. "Webb's men have guns, and they're shooting at anyone who gets too close to City Hall."

Maya climbed onto the hood of her car so everyone could see her. "We can't fight them with guns, but we can outsmart them. Webb thinks he rules this town, but tonight we're going to show him that the people are stronger than one criminal."

She pointed to different groups of people. "I need volunteers to go to every street heading out of Millbrook. Block the roads so Webb's men can't flee. Use your cars, your trucks, whatever you have."

Hands went up all over the room.

"I need another group to surround the police office and protect Sheriff Morrison. He's trying to help us now, even though he made mistakes before."

More helpers stepped forward.

"And I need a third group to come with me to the small airport outside town. If Webb tries to run away, that's probably how he'll do it."

Maya felt a chill of fear as she said those words. Going to the airport meant facing Webb directly, and she knew he wouldn't hesitate to kill her.

But then she thought about Sarah Martinez, the young woman whose murder had started this whole case. Sarah had died trying to expose the truth. Maya couldn't let her death be useless.

Twenty minutes later, Maya was driving toward Millbrook Regional Airport with fifteen brave locals following in their own cars. In her rearview mirror, she could see the rest of the town gathering into groups and spreading out across Millbrook.

"For the first time in twenty years," Maya thought, "the people are fighting back."

The airport was small, with just one runway and a tiny control tower. Maya had called ahead, but no one answered the phone. Either the airport was closed, or Webb had already taken control of it.

As they got closer, Maya could see lights on in the control tower and several cars parked near the main building.

"That's not good," she mumbled.

Maya pulled into the airport parking lot and motioned for the other cars to spread out. She wanted to surround the building so Webb couldn't leave if he was already here.

Tom Bradley ran over to Maya's car. "I called the control tower on my radio. No answer. But I can see moving in the windows up there."

Maya felt her heart beating. "Webb's here. I know it."

"Maybe we should wait for the state police," suggested Mrs. Patterson, an old woman who'd lost her husband in a suspicious house fire two years ago.

"There's no time," Maya responded. "If Webb gets away tonight, he'll disappear forever. And then he'll just set up his criminal group in some other town."

Maya thought about all the innocent families Webb had ruined over the years. All the killings disguised as accidents. All the evil that had rotted Millbrook from the inside.

"I became a journalist to expose the truth," Maya said firmly. "Tonight, I'm going to finish the job."

Maya and her helpers crept toward the airport buildings, using parked cars and equipment sheds for cover. As they got closer, Maya could hear something that confirmed her worst fears.

The sound of chopper rotors starting up.

"He's trying to escape," Tom whispered urgently.

They reached the corner of the main house and peered around it. Maya's blood ran cold at what she saw.

A big black helicopter was sitting on the runway with its engines warming up. Several guys in dark clothes were loading bags and boxes into the aircraft.

And standing beside the chopper, giving orders to his men, was Marcus Webb.

"We're too late," Mrs. Patterson said sadly.

But Maya discovered something that gave her hope. The chopper wasn't ready to take off yet. The rotors were still spinning slowly, and Webb's men were still loading goods.

"No, we're not," Maya said with resolution. "We can still stop him."

That's when Maya saw something that made her gasp with shock.

Two figures were being dragged across the runway toward the chopper. Even in the darkness, Maya could recognize Jake Morrison's tall body and Emma's small silhouette.

Webb had caught them.

"He's taking Jake and Emma with him," Maya whispered in fear.

Maya watched as Webb's men forced Jake and Emma into the helicopter at gunpoint. Webb climbed in after them, and the rotors started spinning faster.

"We have to do something," Tom said. "If that helicopter takes off, we'll never see them again."

Maya's mind was racing. She was a journalist, not an action star. How could she possibly stop a plane full of armed criminals?

That's when she remembered something from her college days. She'd written a story about airport security systems, and she'd learned that all small airports had emergency shutdown processes.

"The fuel tanks," Maya said suddenly. "Every airport has emergency fuel shutoff switches in the control tower. If we can get up there and shut off the fuel pumps, the chopper won't have enough gas to fly very far."

"But Webb's men are probably guarding the tower," Tom pointed out.

Maya looked at the control tower, then at the plane where Jake and Emma were being held prisoner.

She had to choose between her own safety and saving the Morrison family.

"You all create a distraction," Maya said, making her decision. "Make noise, throw rocks, do whatever you can to get their attention. I'm going to sneak into that tower and stop Webb from leaving."

"Maya, that's too dangerous," Mrs. Patterson argued.

"So was Emma's radio broadcast," Maya answered. "But she did it anyway because it was the right thing to do."

Maya took a deep breath and started running toward the control tower, staying low behind airport equipment. Behind her, Tom and the other volunteers began shouting and making noise to confuse Webb's guards.

Maya reached the tower entrance just as the helicopter's rotors hit full speed. Through the windows, she could see Webb pointing at his watch, clearly telling his pilot to hurry up.

She tried the door handle.

Locked.

Maya looked up at the helicopter, where Jake and Emma were trapped with a killer who was about to escape punishment forever.

She kicked the door as hard as she could. It split but didn't break.

The chopper was starting to lift off the ground.

Maya kicked again, and this time the door burst open.

She ran up the stairs toward the control room, her heart pounding with fear and purpose.

But when Maya reached the top of the stairs, she found herself face to face with one of Webb's men pointing a gun straight at her chest.

"Going somewhere, Miss Chen?" the man asked with a cold smile.

Through the control room windows, Maya could see the helicopter rising higher into the night sky, taking Jake and Emma away from Millbrook forever.