Ethan Cole refused to speak.<\/p>\n
That was the first report from Texas.<\/p>\n
The second was more useful.<\/p>\n
He had been carrying a suppressed handgun, two false identification cards, lock-picking tools, an encrypted phone and photographs of Camila\u2019s house.<\/p>\n
The third report changed the investigation.<\/p>\n
Inside the SUV, agents found an empty padded case shaped almost exactly like Gabriel\u2019s model F-16.<\/p>\n
Maya listened to the briefing without interrupting.<\/p>\n
When it ended, she asked only one question.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Cole enter the house?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas Camila harmed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he take anything?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re checking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya closed her eyes briefly.<\/p>\n
Camila remained safe upstairs while agents cleared the property.<\/p>\n
Leo had fallen asleep again, curled sideways across two airport chairs with Davis\u2019s jacket covering him.<\/p>\n
It was nearly morning in Spain.<\/p>\n
Maya felt as though several days had passed since she woke in seat 8A.<\/p>\n
The American official introduced himself properly at last.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou waited long enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil now I was operating as liaison.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow this is a federal criminal investigation intersecting with classified procurement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMeaning more people will tell me things are classified.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost certainly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt least you\u2019re honest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer sat opposite her.<\/p>\n
\u201cCole\u2019s capture matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he talks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t have to talk immediately. His devices can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya looked toward Gabriel\u2019s archive.<\/p>\n
\u201cKessler will assume Cole failed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen he\u2019ll move.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo stop treating this like a normal investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer\u2019s expression tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you suggest?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFind what he needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know what he needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. We know what he wanted destroyed eighteen months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya pointed toward Gabriel\u2019s device.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe could have killed me without staging a commercial-aircraft failure. He could have taken the model from Leo\u2019s school. Cole could have taken it from our house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Davis joined them.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Flight 412 served another purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya looked at Sterling.<\/p>\n
He sat across the room under guard.<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sterling shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve told you everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one ever has.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what Kessler wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was in the cargo package?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaintenance audit records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPhysical or digital?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEncrypted drives and documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are they now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cImpounded with the aircraft.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya looked at Mercer.<\/p>\n
\u201cHave they been examined?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot fully.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sterling frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey only show counterfeit parts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya remembered Gabriel\u2019s duplicate rule.<\/p>\n
One copy where people expect.<\/p>\n
One where nobody would.<\/p>\n
\u201cKessler has survived because everyone looks at the obvious crime.\u201d<\/p>\n
Davis understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cCounterfeit parts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s underneath?\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya turned toward Nightglass.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething worth killing Gabriel for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sterling scoffed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cMillions of dollars is enough motive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor you.\u201d<\/p>\n
His expression hardened.<\/p>\n
Maya continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cKessler built an international network around compromised aviation components. He bought suppliers, recovery companies, leasing interests and security firms.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat gives him access.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo aircraft.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo accident sites.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Davis\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf his company handles accident recovery\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can influence what investigators recover.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what they don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sterling looked uneasy.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think Nightglass became something else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Gabriel did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer received another call.<\/p>\n
This one came from Texas.<\/p>\n
Agents had cleared Camila\u2019s home.<\/p>\n
Nothing obvious was missing.<\/p>\n
But Cole had opened Gabriel\u2019s old box.<\/p>\n
Maya asked to speak directly with Camila.<\/p>\n
Her face appeared over secure video minutes later.<\/p>\n
She looked exhausted.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou owe me a boring vacation after this,\u201d Camila said.<\/p>\n
Maya almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll buy you the boringest vacation ever invented.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDeal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShow me the box.\u201d<\/p>\n
Camila turned the camera.<\/p>\n
A weathered cardboard storage box sat on her dining table.<\/p>\n
Agents wearing gloves surrounded it.<\/p>\n
Inside were photographs, envelopes, old squadron patches and receipts.<\/p>\n
\u201cCole went through all of this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLooks like it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he focus on?\u201d<\/p>\n
An agent answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral envelopes were opened. One photograph was removed from a frame.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich?\u201d<\/p>\n
Camila held it up.<\/p>\n
Gabriel at seventeen.<\/p>\n
Thin.<\/p>\n
Grinning.<\/p>\n
Standing beside a white-and-red Cessna.<\/p>\n
Behind him was a weathered hangar marked ALAMO RIDGE AVIATION.<\/p>\n
Maya stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack.\u201d<\/p>\n
Camila moved the photograph away from the camera.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Turn it over.\u201d<\/p>\n
She did.<\/p>\n
Gabriel\u2019s handwriting covered the back.<\/p>\n
Most was ordinary.<\/p>\n
FIRST SOLO.<\/p>\n
JUNE 12.<\/p>\n
DAD PRETENDED NOT TO CRY.<\/p>\n
Then a second line appeared in different ink.<\/p>\n
Maya leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cRead the bottom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Camila squinted.<\/p>\n
\u201cLocker seventeen. Still hate combination locks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cLocker seventeen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the flight school.\u201d<\/p>\n
Camila looked confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat note wasn\u2019t there before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya\u2019s head snapped toward the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen this picture a thousand times.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re sure?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe locker line is new?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n
An agent examined the ink.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould have been added later than the original caption.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cGabriel added it before giving you the box.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo tell us where the duplicate was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer immediately contacted agents in Texas.<\/p>\n
The old Alamo Ridge property was less than an hour from Camila\u2019s home.<\/p>\n
Maya said, \u201cDon\u2019t go in openly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKessler owns it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe may monitor it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll use surveillance first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya looked toward Sterling.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou ever hear of Locker Seventeen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlamo Ridge?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGabriel\u2019s second archive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sterling\u2019s ignorance appeared genuine.<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
Maybe Gabriel had successfully hidden something Kessler never found.<\/p>\n
Davis sat beside Maya.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re thinking of going there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not my captain anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still allowed to recognize a terrible idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the archive contains something only I can identify\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFederal agents can photograph it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya glanced at Leo.<\/p>\n
Davis followed her gaze.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have a seven-year-old son.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI noticed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen act like it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya\u2019s eyes sharpened.<\/p>\n
Davis did not retreat.<\/p>\n
\u201cGabriel told you to go home afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat recording was eighteen months old.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo do I.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you know what he\u2019d say now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya looked away.<\/p>\n
She hated Davis for being right enough to hurt.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not chasing ghosts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He lowered his voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re chasing the men who made them.\u201d<\/p>\n
That silenced her.<\/p>\n
Mercer returned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have another problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSpanish police found Vale.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Relief and anger collided inside her.<\/p>\n
\u201cCondition?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGunshot wound to the shoulder. Significant blood loss. Conscious.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHospital under guard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho shot him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says Kessler.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya\u2019s eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe saw him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to Vale, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sterling looked stunned.<\/p>\n
\u201cKessler is in Spain?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya thought about the phone call.<\/p>\n
The second voice.<\/p>\n
You should have stayed retired, Major Lin.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does Vale say happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKessler intercepted him while he was driving to meet someone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cUs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cVale was coming here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says he has information not contained in Gabriel\u2019s archive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sterling muttered, \u201cOf course he does.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya ignored him.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I speak with Vale?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoctors say not yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTell them he doesn\u2019t need to give a speech.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaya.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe helped conceal Gabriel\u2019s murder. I\u2019m not sending flowers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer\u2019s phone vibrated again.<\/p>\n
This time his expression changed before he spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTexas surveillance team reached Alamo Ridge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hangar complex is burning.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a moment nobody reacted.<\/p>\n
Then Maya said, \u201cKessler.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer nodded grimly.<\/p>\n
\u201cFire department says blaze started minutes before agents arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLocker seventeen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnknown.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGet someone inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot while the structure is burning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya slammed her palm against the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cDamn it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leo stirred across the room.<\/p>\n
She immediately lowered her voice.<\/p>\n
Davis stepped beside her.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Kessler burned it now, he knew we found the photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya turned toward Camila\u2019s video feed.<\/p>\n
Cole.<\/p>\n
Captured less than an hour earlier.<\/p>\n
He could not have reported what agents found.<\/p>\n
Unless someone else was watching Camila\u2019s house.<\/p>\n
Or listening to their communications.<\/p>\n
Maya looked at Mercer.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow secure is this room?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVery.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur communications are encrypted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKessler knew agents were going to Alamo Ridge before they arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer went still.<\/p>\n
Maya continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cEither he anticipated the clue\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Davis finished.<\/p>\n
\u201cOr someone inside the investigation told him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sterling laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re finally learning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sterling looked around the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cKessler survived Nightglass because he never relied on one corrupt official.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya felt cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou keep saying that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause none of us knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sterling leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the system. Cells. Separate relationships. If one person fell, Kessler still had someone inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cInside where?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sterling met his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverywhere that mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n
The forensic technician interrupted from Gabriel\u2019s device.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya crossed the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAn encrypted manifest Gabriel copied from Nightglass.\u201d<\/p>\n
The technician opened it.<\/p>\n
Rows of aircraft tail numbers appeared.<\/p>\n
Military.<\/p>\n
Civilian.<\/p>\n
Dates.<\/p>\n
Component serial numbers.<\/p>\n
Beside some were status codes.<\/p>\n
Maya recognized several aircraft associated with accidents.<\/p>\n
Then she saw a different category.<\/p>\n
ACTIVE PLACEMENT.<\/p>\n
Davis leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya scrolled.<\/p>\n
Dozens of aircraft.<\/p>\n
Current dates.<\/p>\n
Current registrations.<\/p>\n
One row was highlighted.<\/p>\n
Flight 412\u2019s aircraft.<\/p>\n
Another appeared beneath it.<\/p>\n
A passenger jet scheduled to depart Madrid later that morning.<\/p>\n
Destination: Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
Mercer immediately reached for his phone.<\/p>\n
Maya stopped him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are two hundred people booked on that aircraft.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why wait?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause look at the passenger manifest.\u201d<\/p>\n
He did.<\/p>\n
Maya had already recognized the name.<\/p>\n
A United States senator who chaired the committee scheduled to receive the confidential aviation-supply audit.<\/p>\n
The aircraft was due to depart in ninety-three minutes.<\/p>\n
Ethan Cole refused to speak. That was the first report from Texas. The second was more useful. He had been carrying a suppressed handgun, two false identification cards, lock-picking tools, … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28912,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28922","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\/28922","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=28922"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28922\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28968,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28922\/revisions\/28968"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}