Chapter 11 - Midnight Exchange
At 11:58 p.m., Mara stood beneath a flickering light outside a deserted grocery warehouse. She carried a canvas bag filled with blank drives and a tracking tag. Under her jacket, a body camera recorded each breath.
Reed had insisted on distance and observation. Naomi waited in a parked delivery van. Liang stood beside the loading dock's emergency exit, concealed by a stack of pallets.
A black SUV rolled in. Warren Vale stepped out wearing an expensive coat, a man who had never learned to be afraid of his own voice.
“Sergeant Bennett,” he said. “You clean up nicely for a fugitive.”
“Where's my mother?”
“Business first.”
“She's the business.”
He opened the rear door. Ellen sat inside beside a guard. Her face was pale but her eyes were clear.
“Mom!” Mara moved forward.
“Stay where you are,” Vale ordered.
Ellen leaned toward the window. “Don't give him anything, Mara.”
The guard pulled her back. Mara felt her body preparing to move and forced it to stay still. She knew Vale wanted an excuse to call her dangerous.
“I want Daniel too,” she said.
Vale laughed. “You want a ghost?”
“You made him one.”
For the first time, irritation broke his polished expression. “Your brother could have gone home rich. Instead he decided to be a hero.”
Mara raised the bag. “Let my mother out.”
Vale gestured. Ellen stumbled free. Mara caught her before she fell and held her so tightly Ellen gasped. Then Vale reached for the bag.
Police sirens sounded beyond the warehouse. Reed's team moved forward, identifying themselves and ordering the guards down. One guard dropped his weapon. Another fled into the dark.
Vale didn't run. He smiled at Mara as officers secured his wrists.
“You think I matter?” he whispered. “I'm the accountant.”
“Then who's in charge?”
May you like
Vale leaned close enough that only she could hear.
“Ask the man who handed your mother Daniel's flag.”
