The lights vanished, and for half a second nobody moved.<\/p>\n
Then Brenda said, "Floor."<\/p>\n
I dropped beside Richard's bed.<\/p>\n
Something heavy struck the outer door.<\/p>\n
Not a knock.<\/p>\n
A controlled impact.<\/p>\n
Richard swung his legs over the side of the bed and immediately folded forward, one hand pressing his bandaged ribs.<\/p>\n
"Stay down," I whispered.<\/p>\n
"Not planning a sprint."<\/p>\n
Another impact came from the corridor.<\/p>\n
Brenda crossed the room in darkness with the confidence of someone who had memorized every piece of furniture.<\/p>\n
She opened a cabinet.<\/p>\n
A dim red emergency lamp flickered on.<\/p>\n
I could see her face again.<\/p>\n
"What did you mean, two minutes?"<\/p>\n
"The building has perimeter sensors."<\/p>\n
"Police?"<\/p>\n
"I triggered a silent alarm."<\/p>\n
"To Alvarez?"<\/p>\n
"To three places."<\/p>\n
"Which three?"<\/p>\n
"Police, a private security company, and a federal contact."<\/p>\n
Richard looked up.<\/p>\n
"Federal?"<\/p>\n
Brenda ignored him.<\/p>\n
The outer door crashed again.<\/p>\n
Metal bent.<\/p>\n
"How many exits?" I asked.<\/p>\n
"Three."<\/p>\n
"Which one isn't obvious?"<\/p>\n
Brenda pointed toward a storage rack.<\/p>\n
"Behind that."<\/p>\n
Richard laughed weakly.<\/p>\n
"You've been busy."<\/p>\n
"I've been alive."<\/p>\n
She pulled a steel handle behind the rack.<\/p>\n
A narrow panel opened into darkness.<\/p>\n
"Service corridor. Leads to the neighboring warehouse."<\/p>\n
"Then move Richard."<\/p>\n
He shook his head.<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
"Don't start."<\/p>\n
"If we all leave through the same exit, they follow."<\/p>\n
"You're injured, not expendable."<\/p>\n
"Chloe."<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
His expression changed.<\/p>\n
For the first time since seeing him again, he looked like my older brother rather than a wounded stranger.<\/p>\n
"Still impossible."<\/p>\n
"Still here."<\/p>\n
Another crash.<\/p>\n
The exterior lock gave.<\/p>\n
Brenda moved toward the hidden passage.<\/p>\n
"Argument later."<\/p>\n
Richard tried to stand.<\/p>\n
His knees buckled.<\/p>\n
I caught him beneath one arm.<\/p>\n
Pain crossed his face.<\/p>\n
"You're heavier than I remember."<\/p>\n
"You're meaner."<\/p>\n
"Eleven years."<\/p>\n
"Apparently good for both of us."<\/p>\n
Brenda helped from the other side.<\/p>\n
We entered the passage.<\/p>\n
The panel closed behind us.<\/p>\n
Darkness swallowed the red light.<\/p>\n
Brenda used a small flashlight pointed toward the floor.<\/p>\n
The corridor smelled of concrete and machine oil.<\/p>\n
"Who owns this building?" I whispered.<\/p>\n
"A company that doesn't officially exist anymore."<\/p>\n
"Helpful."<\/p>\n
"It belonged to one of Michael's vendors."<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
"Dad used this place?"<\/p>\n
"Once."<\/p>\n
Richard leaned against me.<\/p>\n
"Can we do family history after nobody's trying to kill us?"<\/p>\n
Fair.<\/p>\n
We moved.<\/p>\n
Behind us came a muffled bang.<\/p>\n
They had entered the medical room.<\/p>\n
A voice shouted.<\/p>\n
Another answered.<\/p>\n
I recognized neither.<\/p>\n
Brenda hurried.<\/p>\n
The corridor ended at a steel door.<\/p>\n
She entered a code.<\/p>\n
Red light.<\/p>\n
Denied.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
Denied.<\/p>\n
Her face tightened.<\/p>\n
"They changed it."<\/p>\n
"Who?"<\/p>\n
"Someone with system access."<\/p>\n
Richard swore.<\/p>\n
Behind us, metal scraped.<\/p>\n
The hidden panel had been found.<\/p>\n
"Other exit?" I asked.<\/p>\n
"Back thirty feet."<\/p>\n
We turned.<\/p>\n
Too late.<\/p>\n
A flashlight beam appeared at the far end.<\/p>\n
Brenda raised the gun.<\/p>\n
"Stop."<\/p>\n
The light froze.<\/p>\n
Then a man's voice.<\/p>\n
"Brenda."<\/p>\n
She went rigid.<\/p>\n
I knew before she said the name.<\/p>\n
"Sloane."<\/p>\n
The supposedly dead security contractor stepped into the dim spill of her flashlight.<\/p>\n
He was older than the apartment footage suggested.<\/p>\n
Broad shoulders.<\/p>\n
Gray at the temples.<\/p>\n
No mask.<\/p>\n
No reason to hide his face from people he apparently did not expect to remain witnesses.<\/p>\n
"Put it down," he said.<\/p>\n
Brenda didn't.<\/p>\n
"Eric."<\/p>\n
"You're making this harder."<\/p>\n
"You broke into Chloe's apartment."<\/p>\n
"Wasn't supposed to be occupied."<\/p>\n
"Comforting," I said.<\/p>\n
His eyes moved toward me.<\/p>\n
"Chloe Bennett."<\/p>\n
"Apparently everyone knows me."<\/p>\n
"Your father made sure of that."<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
Richard straightened despite the pain.<\/p>\n
"You don't talk about him."<\/p>\n
Sloane looked almost amused.<\/p>\n
"Still protecting her?"<\/p>\n
"Still breathing, aren't I?"<\/p>\n
"For now."<\/p>\n
Brenda's gun remained steady.<\/p>\n
"Who sent you?"<\/p>\n
"You know."<\/p>\n
"Coleman?"<\/p>\n
Sloane smiled.<\/p>\n
"Which one?"<\/p>\n
Richard and I exchanged a glance.<\/p>\n
Richard Coleman.<\/p>\n
Or perhaps someone else using the same surname as a shield.<\/p>\n
"Victor?" Brenda asked.<\/p>\n
Sloane said nothing.<\/p>\n
"Peter?"<\/p>\n
That changed him.<\/p>\n
Tiny.<\/p>\n
But visible.<\/p>\n
His jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
Richard saw it too.<\/p>\n
"Peter Vale," he said.<\/p>\n
Sloane's expression flattened.<\/p>\n
"You're finished, Richard."<\/p>\n
"People keep saying that."<\/p>\n
A second flashlight appeared behind him.<\/p>\n
Then another.<\/p>\n
Three men at least.<\/p>\n
Brenda could not hold all of them.<\/p>\n
My phone remained useless.<\/p>\n
No signal.<\/p>\n
I looked at the service door beside us.<\/p>\n
Steel.<\/p>\n
Electronic lock.<\/p>\n
Maybe power failure had put it into restricted mode.<\/p>\n
Or someone had remotely changed the code.<\/p>\n
I examined the frame.<\/p>\n
Emergency release box.<\/p>\n
Red cover.<\/p>\n
I moved slowly.<\/p>\n
Sloane noticed.<\/p>\n
"Don't."<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
"Chloe," he said, "give me the bag."<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
"What bag?"<\/p>\n
"The one on your shoulder."<\/p>\n
I touched the strap.<\/p>\n
Dad's notebook.<\/p>\n
Mom's letters.<\/p>\n
Copies of Richard's drive.<\/p>\n
Halcyon records.<\/p>\n
Enough history to explain why people had been lying for eleven years.<\/p>\n
"Come get it."<\/p>\n
Richard whispered, "Bad idea."<\/p>\n
"I know."<\/p>\n
Sloane took one step.<\/p>\n
Brenda raised the gun higher.<\/p>\n
"Don't."<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
"You won't shoot."<\/p>\n
"You sure?"<\/p>\n
"You had chances before."<\/p>\n
Something passed across Brenda's face.<\/p>\n
History.<\/p>\n
Sloane knew it.<\/p>\n
"You always hesitate," he said.<\/p>\n
Brenda's voice became quiet.<\/p>\n
"Not anymore."<\/p>\n
He moved.<\/p>\n
The shot exploded inside the concrete corridor.<\/p>\n
Sloane twisted.<\/p>\n
The bullet struck the wall beside him.<\/p>\n
Brenda had missed deliberately.<\/p>\n
But the sound bought us two seconds.<\/p>\n
I slammed my palm against the emergency-release cover.<\/p>\n
Plastic shattered.<\/p>\n
Inside was a mechanical lever.<\/p>\n
I pulled.<\/p>\n
The steel door unlocked.<\/p>\n
"Move!"<\/p>\n
Richard stumbled through.<\/p>\n
I followed.<\/p>\n
Brenda backed toward us, gun trained down the corridor.<\/p>\n
Another shot cracked.<\/p>\n
Not hers.<\/p>\n
Concrete chipped beside my head.<\/p>\n
I dragged Richard around the corner.<\/p>\n
Brenda fired twice.<\/p>\n
Then followed.<\/p>\n
We slammed the steel door.<\/p>\n
No lock on our side.<\/p>\n
"Run," she said.<\/p>\n
The neighboring warehouse was enormous and nearly empty.<\/p>\n
Pallet racks.<\/p>\n
Old machinery.<\/p>\n
Rows of covered equipment.<\/p>\n
Moonlight filtered through high windows.<\/p>\n
Richard could barely move.<\/p>\n
I got his arm around my shoulders.<\/p>\n
"Exit?"<\/p>\n
Brenda pointed.<\/p>\n
"North loading dock."<\/p>\n
We crossed fifty feet.<\/p>\n
Behind us, the service door opened.<\/p>\n
Flashlights swept through the darkness.<\/p>\n
"Separate," Richard said.<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Chloe."<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
Brenda looked toward a forklift.<\/p>\n
"Can you drive that?"<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
"Probably."<\/p>\n
"That's not reassuring."<\/p>\n
"My father taught me."<\/p>\n
Richard actually laughed.<\/p>\n
"Dad taught you forklift driving?"<\/p>\n
"He thought everyone should know one impractical skill."<\/p>\n
"Mine was welding."<\/p>\n
"Congratulations."<\/p>\n
I climbed into the forklift.<\/p>\n
Keys hung from the ignition.<\/p>\n
Suspiciously convenient.<\/p>\n
I turned them.<\/p>\n
The engine coughed.<\/p>\n
Then started.<\/p>\n
Brenda helped Richard onto the rear step.<\/p>\n
I drove toward the loading dock.<\/p>\n
Not fast.<\/p>\n
Forklifts are terrible escape vehicles.<\/p>\n
But faster than Richard could walk.<\/p>\n
Flashlight beams moved behind us.<\/p>\n
A shot struck metal.<\/p>\n
Richard ducked.<\/p>\n
"Definitely not OSHA approved."<\/p>\n
"Shut up."<\/p>\n
We reached the dock.<\/p>\n
The roll-up door was closed.<\/p>\n
Brenda jumped off.<\/p>\n
Manual chain.<\/p>\n
She pulled.<\/p>\n
The door rose painfully slowly.<\/p>\n
Behind us, Sloane shouted.<\/p>\n
"Stop!"<\/p>\n
I looked back.<\/p>\n
He was twenty yards away.<\/p>\n
Gun raised.<\/p>\n
Then blue lights flashed through the cracks beneath the loading door.<\/p>\n
Sirens.<\/p>\n
Sloane stopped.<\/p>\n
Brenda smiled.<\/p>\n
"My alarm."<\/p>\n
The loading door rose high enough.<\/p>\n
I drove underneath.<\/p>\n
Police vehicles flooded the rear lot.<\/p>\n
Alvarez stepped from the first unmarked car with her weapon drawn.<\/p>\n
"Hands!"<\/p>\n
For one absurd second, I thought she meant me.<\/p>\n
Then officers moved past.<\/p>\n
Sloane disappeared back into the warehouse.<\/p>\n
Two men surrendered.<\/p>\n
One ran.<\/p>\n
Police pursued.<\/p>\n
Alvarez reached us.<\/p>\n
"You couldn't wait outside one building?"<\/p>\n
"I was invited."<\/p>\n
She looked at Richard.<\/p>\n
"That's him?"<\/p>\n
"My brother."<\/p>\n
Richard raised one hand weakly.<\/p>\n
"Hi."<\/p>\n
Alvarez stared at his injuries.<\/p>\n
"Ambulance."<\/p>\n
"No hospital," he said.<\/p>\n
"That wasn't a suggestion."<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
I shrugged.<\/p>\n
"She's bossier."<\/p>\n
Richard sighed.<\/p>\n
"Great."<\/p>\n
Paramedics arrived.<\/p>\n
Brenda stood apart.<\/p>\n
Her hands were shaking now that she no longer needed them steady.<\/p>\n
Alvarez approached her.<\/p>\n
"Brenda Lawson?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"You're coming with us."<\/p>\n
"I expected that."<\/p>\n
"Weapon down."<\/p>\n
Brenda placed it on the pavement.<\/p>\n
Then she looked at me.<\/p>\n
"Your bag."<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
"Check it."<\/p>\n
I did.<\/p>\n
Notebook.<\/p>\n
Letters.<\/p>\n
USB.<\/p>\n
Everything seemed present.<\/p>\n
Then I noticed the zipper on the inner compartment.<\/p>\n
Open.<\/p>\n
My heart jumped.<\/p>\n
I searched.<\/p>\n
Dad's cassette.<\/p>\n
Gone.<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
Richard looked up from the stretcher.<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
"The first tape."<\/p>\n
Brenda's face drained.<\/p>\n
"You had it with you?"<\/p>\n
"I wasn't leaving it at the hotel."<\/p>\n
"When did you last check?"<\/p>\n
"Before coming here."<\/p>\n
Alvarez swore softly.<\/p>\n
Someone had taken it.<\/p>\n
During the darkness.<\/p>\n
During the escape.<\/p>\n
Or earlier.<\/p>\n
"Who touched your bag?" she asked.<\/p>\n
"Nobody."<\/p>\n
Then I remembered.<\/p>\n
At Thomas's hotel.<\/p>\n
Evidence room.<\/p>\n
Sterling residence.<\/p>\n
Marcus's house.<\/p>\n
Too many places.<\/p>\n
Too many people.<\/p>\n
My phone regained signal.<\/p>\n
Messages arrived at once.<\/p>\n
Daniel.<\/p>\n
Alvarez.<\/p>\n
Unknown numbers.<\/p>\n
Then one from Marcus.<\/p>\n
CALL ME BEFORE YOU TRUST BRENDA.<\/p>\n
I looked toward her.<\/p>\n
She was being handcuffed.<\/p>\n
Another message arrived.<\/p>\n
This one from Daniel.<\/p>\n
PETER VALE JUST CONTACTED ME.<\/p>\n
My pulse increased.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
HE SAYS HE HAS MICHAEL'S RECORDING.<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
Peter had Dad's tape.<\/p>\n
Another message.<\/p>\n
HE WANTS TO TRADE.<\/p>\n
For what?<\/p>\n
Daniel's next text answered.<\/p>\n
YOU.<\/p>\n
The lights vanished, and for half a second nobody moved. Then Brenda said, "Floor." I dropped beside Richard's bed. Something heavy struck the outer door. Not a knock. A controlled … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28440"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28539,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28440\/revisions\/28539"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}