Chapter 7 - Twelve Miles of Lies
Mercer pulled into a truck stop crowded with delivery vans. Avery climbed out, opened the maintenance vehicle's lower panel, and found a transmitter no larger than a coin. She removed it and tucked it beneath a parked garbage truck before returning without a word.
“Somebody will figure that out,” Ruiz said.
“Eventually,” she replied. “We need ten minutes.”
They abandoned the vehicle and walked behind the truck stop to a bus shelter. A local driver agreed to take them two miles for cash. Avery sat in the back, keeping her face turned toward the window.
Mercer looked at her hands. “You didn't shake in the training room.”
“I was shaking. Just not where he could see it.”
“My brother said something like that before he died,” Mercer said. “He told me the Army hadn't failed him. Somebody had made money by letting it fail.”
Avery studied him. “What happened?”
“His helicopter had counterfeit parts. The inspection report disappeared.”
The same supplier had appeared in Emma's last notes. Avery reached across the seat and touched Mercer's arm. For the first time, the huge soldier looked more tired than frightening.
At a corner grocery they changed vehicles again, using a ride ordered by Ruiz. They reached an industrial block near dusk. The warehouse stood behind a rusted fence, its windows dark, its loading dock empty.
Avery saw a piece of blue ribbon tied to a chain-link post. Emma used to tie blue ribbons to their backpacks so their father could spot them at school pickup.
“She's been here,” Avery whispered.
Then a warehouse loudspeaker clicked alive. A man's voice, smooth and amused, filled the deserted street.
May you like
“Lieutenant Shaw, your sister said you'd recognize the ribbon.”
A security gate rolled open by itself.
