Chapter 10 - The Fire Report
Emily caught Daniel’s arm before he could run toward the garage.
“That could be false.”
Daniel’s face had gone rigid.
“It came over police radio.”
“Northstar controls municipal systems,” Jack said.
The logic was sound.
It did not make the announcement easier to hear.
Vale took the scanner and adjusted the frequency.
The report repeated.
Vehicle fire near East Monroe.
Two occupants.
No confirmed identification.
The names Noah Blake and Karen Blake had been entered before responders reached the scene.
“That’s planted,” Vale said.
“How do you know?” Daniel asked.
“Emergency dispatch doesn’t identify burn victims before officers confirm registration and next of kin.”
Jack looked at him.
“Your brother followed instructions?”
“He knows the tunnels.”
“Then trust him.”
Daniel’s jaw worked.
He wanted to believe.
Fear would not let him.
Jack understood too well.
They left the garage through the eastern service corridor.
Vale led them toward River Depot using alleys outside the city’s main camera grid. Duke moved at Jack’s side, periodically lifting his head to test the rain-heavy air.
Emily walked silently.
The revelation about her father had changed her.
“My father died when I was twelve,” she said at last.
Vale did not turn.
“Official cause?”
“Heart attack.”
“He was thirty-nine.”
Emily stopped.
“You knew him.”
“Dr. Samuel Harper worked in financial intelligence. He built an encrypted system that tracked covert payments without exposing field identities.”
“The Ledger.”
“Yes.”
“My mother said he handled hospital budgets.”
“Your mother was told to say that.”
Emily’s eyes filled with anger.
“Was his death real?”
Vale hesitated.
Jack noticed.
Emily did too.
“Answer me.”
“Samuel died.”
“How?”
“He tried to destroy the Ledger after he learned Elias planned to sell access.”
Emily looked away.
Rain moved over her face like tears she refused to acknowledge.
Jack stepped beside her.
“We can turn back.”
“No.”
“You didn’t choose this.”
“Neither did Noah.”
Her voice steadied.
“My father died trying to stop these people. I’m not walking away because they finally admitted his name.”
At 4:02, they reached the abandoned river transit depot.
Rust covered the outer gates.
Floodwater pooled around loading platforms.
The building had closed six years earlier, but fresh tire tracks cut through the mud.
Duke stopped at the gate.
His nose lifted.
Then he pulled left.
Not toward the main entrance.
Toward a narrow maintenance tunnel beneath the platform.
Vale drew a compact pistol.
Jack looked at it.
“No shooting unless there’s no other choice.”
“You’re giving me rules now?”
“I’m bringing civilians into a trap. Yes.”
Daniel found an old steel bar and held it awkwardly.
Emily carried nothing.
Jack removed the small knife police had returned to him after the bus interview.
Duke descended first.
The tunnel smelled of rust, oil, and river water.
Twenty yards inside, they found the first metal ring hanging from a pipe.
Duke sniffed it.
Then turned right.
The next ring waited beside a locked maintenance door.
The dog sat.
Jack examined the lock.
Recent scratches.
Vale moved closer.
“Elias is guiding us.”
“No,” Jack said.
He looked toward the wet floor.
A line had been drawn through the grime with the toe of a boot.
Three short marks.
One long.
Three short.
Sarah’s private emergency pattern.
“She’s guiding us.”
Jack forced the door.
Beyond it stood a medical room like the one in the photograph.
Portable monitors.
Restraints.
Blood-stained gauze.
An empty bed.
Emily approached the equipment.
“It was used less than an hour ago.”
A speaker mounted in the ceiling clicked on.
Elias’s voice filled the room.
“Rebecca, I expected better.”
Vale raised her weapon toward the speaker.
“You should have stayed dead.”
“You first.”
A steel shutter slammed down behind them.
The lights shifted red.
Duke began pawing at the empty bed.
Jack pulled the mattress aside.
Beneath it was a narrow compartment.
May you like
Inside lay Sarah’s wedding ring.
Still warm.
