Chapter 16 - The Trap at Pier 19
"He's watching us," Stella said.
Jonah scanned the buildings across the street.
Windows. Rooftops. Parked cars. Too many places.
Marin's hands shook around the burner phone.
"He wants the recorder."
"Then give him a copy," Rachel said.
Marin looked at her. "You think he'll check?"
"Eventually. We only need him to believe it long enough to talk."
Stella read Dean's message again.
"No."
Jonah turned. "No what?"
"No more traps where everybody decides what happens to me."
"Stella—"
"He sent me into Aurelia to die. Then he tried to drag me off a street in front of fifty people. Now he's using my picture to order Marin around."
She looked at each of them.
"I'm going to Pier 19."
Jonah's answer came immediately. "No."
"You don't own that word."
"Neither does Dean."
"Exactly."
For several seconds, they stared at each other.
Rachel broke the silence. "Legally, this is a terrible idea."
Wyatt nodded. "Tactically, also terrible."
Mara folded her arms. "Medically? Terrible."
Stella looked at Jonah. "Anything else?"
"Yes. Personally, I hate it."
"Good. Then we're all informed."
To Stella's surprise, Jonah almost laughed.
It disappeared quickly.
"If we do this," he said, "we do it with federal agents watching."
Rachel had already made contact with Assistant U.S. Attorney Elena Park, a prosecutor outside Hale's local network. Park listened to the Gabriel recording, Marin's sample files, and Wyatt's statement.
By nine that night, Pier 19 was under quiet surveillance.
No marked vehicles.
No uniforms.
Just cameras, listening devices, and agents hidden where Dean would not see them.
Stella wore a small microphone under her coat.
Jonah stood in the dark behind an abandoned loading office.
"You stay beside Marin," he told her. "If Dean moves toward you, you back away."
"I know."
"If Hale appears—"
"I know."
"If anything feels wrong—"
Stella touched his sleeve.
Jonah stopped.
"Everything feels wrong," she said. "I'm still going."
His eyes dropped to her hand.
"Why aren't you afraid of me?"
The question surprised her.
"I am. A little."
"Comforting."
"But you stop when I say stop."
Jonah went very still.
For Stella, that was the entire difference between fear and safety.
At 11:27, Marin and Stella entered Warehouse 4.
Dean stood beneath a hanging work light.
Victor Hale stood beside him.
Nico Brandt guarded the side door.
On a metal table sat the blue ledger.
Stella's heart slammed against her ribs.
Dean smiled at her.
"There she is."
Stella kept walking.
"You look disappointed."
His smile thinned.
Marin held up the recorder.
"You wanted this."
Hale extended his hand.
Then a red light blinked on the far wall.
Once.
Twice.
Dean looked at Stella's coat.
May you like
His face changed.
"She's wired."
