Chapter 17 - The Brother at the Hangar
Mara surged toward the van door. Naomi caught her elbow.
“If you rush the gate, they'll move him. Please.”
Mara stayed. She nearly broke the handle gripping it.
Through binoculars she watched Daniel walk beside Sloane. He was thinner than the man she'd known, shoulders hunched, but when a guard shoved him he straightened with the same stubborn pride that had gotten them both in trouble as kids.
Reed arrived with the authorized team and the regional commander's liaison. They approached the hangar while airport police held the outer perimeter.
Inside, Sloane was arguing with Shaw. Their voices carried through a side entrance where a maintenance worker had left a door ajar.
“You promised me this would end at Northwatch,” Sloane snapped.
Shaw answered, “It ends when the ledger leaves the country.”
Daniel broke in. “You can ship the machines, but you can't change the records I already sent.”
Sloane struck the table with his palm. “You've had eleven months to learn when to stop talking.”
Mara heard enough. She pushed past Reed's aide and entered the doorway with her hands visible.
“Let him go.”
Daniel turned. For a moment his face crumpled. “Mara?”
“Hi, Danny.” Her voice broke despite everything she'd promised herself. “You look terrible.”
He laughed once, a ragged little sound. “You should see the other guy.”
Rourke stepped from behind a pallet, hand near his holster. “Sergeant, you're under arrest.”
“No,” Reed said, entering behind her. “Captain, step away from your weapon.”
Agents moved into position. Soldiers on the ramp stopped loading. Shaw reached toward the emergency shutdown controls, but Naomi blocked the panel.
Sloane looked at Daniel. “Tell them what you signed.”
May you like
Daniel lowered his head. Then he faced his sister.
“I approved the first transfer,” he said. “I didn't know who was buying it. And when I found out, people had already been hurt.”
