Chapter 13 - Ranger’s Hidden Identification
Mara repeated the order.
“Bring Ranger to the scanner.”
Cal lowered the device.
“No.”
It was the first time he had openly defied her.
The scanner emitted a warning tone.
“Dwyer, comply.”
He unclipped it from his belt and handed it to me.
“You do it.”
I held the device near Ranger.
Nothing happened.
Then Ranger’s harness gave a faint electronic chirp.
Claire stared.
“There’s something inside it.”
The harness had been issued with Ranger when he came into my care. I had replaced straps, buckles, padding, and the brass leash clip over the years, but one narrow section along the chest plate had remained sealed beneath ballistic stitching.
I had assumed it contained an identification chip.
The scanner displayed a numeric code.
NH-K9-02.
Night Harbor.
Ranger was not merely connected to the mission.
He had been cataloged as evidence.
The scanner voice said, “Identity confirmed.”
A second tone followed.
Then someone at the hospital transmitted, “Locker seal released.”
Claire grabbed my arm.
“They used Ranger remotely.”
The bus was six blocks from St. Vincent.
The hospital’s upper windows glowed against the night sky. Ambulances waited along the emergency bay. Everything looked normal from a distance.
Too normal.
Cal listened to the channel.
“Team is opening the locker.”
A burst of static.
Then: “We have biological container, paper ledger, and canine drive.”
I looked down at Ranger.
“What’s a canine drive?” Mason asked.
“I don’t know.”
Mara answered through the scanner as though she had heard him.
“Destroy the blood sample. Retrieve the ledger. Leave the canine drive intact.”
Claire pulled out the silver flash drive.
“This isn’t the only drive.”
“No,” I said. “It’s probably the copy meant to lead us there.”
She looked wounded by the possibility.
“Elias wouldn’t use me.”
“Maybe he didn’t have a choice.”
The bus approached the hospital district.
Two police cruisers crossed the intersection ahead, lights off. They parked sideways and blocked the street.
Harris slowed.
“Not marked tactical this time.”
Uniformed officers stepped out.
Their badges and patches looked legitimate.
That no longer meant anything.
One raised a hand.
“CTA bus, stop immediately.”
Harris looked at me.
“Keep moving slowly.”
The officer drew his pistol.
Passengers ducked.
I lifted the scanner to my mouth.
“Mara, call them off.”
Her laugh came softly.
“You’re finally using the channel.”
“You want me alive.”
“For now.”
“Then tell your officers not to fire.”
“They aren’t mine.”
One of the cruisers activated its loudspeaker.
“Noah Mercer, step away from the driver.”
They knew exactly where I stood inside a darkened bus.
The hidden camera in my pocket was still transmitting.
I crushed the lens beneath my boot.
The loudspeaker immediately changed.
“All passengers, Mercer is armed and dangerous.”
I had no weapon.
But outside, the officers raised theirs.
Mara was building the story in real time.
A traumatized veteran hijacks a bus. Takes a nurse hostage. Uses a military dog to threaten passengers. Flees police.
Claire understood.
“They’re making you the suspect.”
“They started before we met.”
The cruiser officer shouted again.
“Release Claire Dalton.”
Claire stepped into view beside me.
“I’m not his hostage!”
The officer fired.
The bullet struck the windshield above her head.
Glass fractured in a white web.
Harris slammed the brakes.
Passengers screamed and dropped between seats.
Ranger moved in front of Claire.
The scanner erupted with overlapping voices.
One came from the hospital team.
“Ledger secured.”
Another said, “Canine drive activated.”
A third voice cut in, strained and unfamiliar.
“This is Dr. Elias Grant. Noah, don’t come inside.”
Claire seized the scanner.
“Elias!”
His breathing was ragged.
“They opened the wrong locker.”
A heavy impact sounded behind him.
Then Elias shouted four words before the transmission died.
May you like
“Your sister is here.”
📖 Read why Dr. Grant claims Nora is inside St. Vincent—and what begins moving beneath the hospital before Noah can reach her in CHAPTER 14. 👇
