Chapter 8 - Gabriel's File
Hale searched the bag in front of two uniformed officers.
He found passports, cash, Stella's documents, and nothing else.
"Disappointing?" Jonah asked.
Hale zipped the bag with unnecessary force.
"Careful."
"You keep saying that."
Hale returned the bag because he had no legal reason to keep it.
Stella almost laughed when they walked away.
It came out as a shaky breath instead.
"Where's the drive?"
Wyatt tapped the inside pocket of his jacket.
"I moved it when Hale called."
Jonah glanced at him. "Remind me to raise your salary."
"You said that last year."
"Did I?"
"Twice."
For the first time, Stella saw Wyatt grin.
They drove to a small brownstone in Brooklyn registered to one of Jonah's restaurant companies. No guards outside. No black cars at the curb.
"Safehouse?" Stella asked.
"Guest apartment," Jonah said.
Wyatt snorted.
Jonah ignored him.
Inside, Wyatt connected the flash drive to an offline laptop.
There was one video file.
Dated four years earlier.
Jonah stood behind the chair.
Stella sat beside Wyatt.
The video opened inside a parking garage.
Gabriel Pierce appeared first.
Stella knew immediately who he was. Same dark eyes as Jonah, but warmer. Younger. Smiling at someone beyond the camera.
Then Dean entered the frame.
Four years younger. Cleaner. Nervous.
A second man joined him.
Victor Hale.
The recording had no sound for the first thirty seconds. Then audio crackled in.
Gabriel's voice was sharp.
"You used my company's routes to move counterfeit medication into three hospitals. People got sick. A child almost died."
Stella covered her mouth.
Hale stepped close to Gabriel.
"You saw paperwork. That's all."
"I copied it."
Dean swore.
Gabriel held up a small blue ledger.
"Names. Accounts. Dates. Every payoff. Every shipment."
Jonah's hand closed around the back of the chair.
Onscreen, Gabriel said, "I'm giving this to my brother. Then I'm going to the federal prosecutor."
The picture jerked.
Someone rushed the camera.
The screen went black.
A second file appeared automatically.
Audio only.
A crash.
Gabriel shouting.
Dean yelling, "You weren't supposed to touch him!"
Then Hale's voice, calm as ice.
"He was going to talk."
Another man's voice entered.
Nico Brandt.
Jonah recognized it immediately.
"Car's ready. Make it look like an accident."
The recording ended.
No one spoke.
Jonah walked to the window.
Stella watched his reflection in the dark glass.
Four years of grief had just changed shape in front of him.
"Jonah," she said.
He did not answer.
Then Wyatt noticed a hidden folder on the drive.
"There's another file."
He opened it.
A list of names appeared.
Doctors. Business owners. Union representatives. City inspectors. Two judges. Six police officers.
At the bottom was a final name.
JONAH PIERCE.
May you like
Beside it were three words.
FRIDAY - FINAL TARGET.
