“But he built them as traps.”
Shaw’s face hardened.
“He mirrored Shaw’s accounts. Created duplicate routes. Every time Shaw moved weapons, Lucas recorded it.”
Clara stared.
Aaron looked at Shaw.
“He made himself look guilty because that was the only way to get close.”
Shaw’s calm vanished.
“Enough.”
Aaron smiled through blood.
“You never knew which accounts were yours and which were his.”
Shaw raised a pistol.
Clara moved.
Fast.
She knocked his wrist aside.
The shot hit the ceiling.
Aaron struck one guard.
Clara drove Shaw into the table.
The drive flew.
The second guard lunged.
Aaron tackled him.
Clara twisted Shaw’s arm.
He hit the floor.
The pistol slid away.
Then the door burst open.
Kaelen stood there.
Toby behind him.
Mercer behind Toby, pale from blood loss but upright.
For one second, everyone froze.
Toby pointed toward Shaw.
“That him?”
Clara almost laughed.
“Yes.”
Toby looked at Shaw.
“You’re shorter than I expected.”
Even Aaron laughed.
Shaw stared at all of them.
His empire of fear had somehow ended in a dusty training building surrounded by the exact people he considered disposable.
Kaelen stepped closer.
“My brother.”
Shaw said nothing.
Kaelen’s hands shook.
Clara saw the rage.
She moved between them.
“No.”
Kaelen stared at her.
“He took nine years.”
“I know.”
“He took my brother.”
“I know.”
“He killed your people.”
Clara looked at Shaw.
“Yes.”
Kaelen’s eyes filled with tears.
“Then move.”
Clara didn’t.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because if you hit him now, he becomes the victim in every courtroom photograph.”
Kaelen stared.
Clara’s voice softened.
“Don’t give him anything else.”
For a long moment, Kaelen looked ready to break.
Then Aaron put a hand on his shoulder.
Kaelen lowered his fists.
Shaw laughed quietly.
“You think this is over?”
Clara turned.
“No.”
He smiled.
“Good.”
Clara picked up the drive.
“Because now you get to watch.”
The biometric key required three things.
Clara’s fingerprint pattern.
A pulse waveform.
And an old scar map recorded in her medical file.
Lucas had built the encryption around her body.
Not because he believed she would survive.
Because, Aaron explained, he believed she was the only person who would know what to do with the truth if she did.
Clara hated him for that.
Loved him for it.
Mourned him all over again.
The drive unlocked at 0437.
Everyone gathered around a secure offline terminal.
Files appeared.
Thousands.
Accounts.
Transfers.
Names.
Photographs.
Audio.
Operational documents.
Warren, who had reached the site with federal reinforcements, stared.
“This is enough to dismantle half a dozen careers.”
Halden said quietly, “More.”
They opened the highest-level directory.
One file.
Labeled VANCE.
Clara stopped.
Mercer looked at her.
“Don’t.”
She clicked.
A video opened.
Lucas appeared on screen.
Alive.
Sitting inside a dark room.
Clara stopped breathing.
His face looked tired.
He stared into the camera.
“If you’re watching this, Clara, then I’m probably gone.”
Her eyes filled instantly.
Nobody spoke.
Lucas continued.
“And if you’re watching this with Mercer, he’s probably pretending he didn’t know I suspected him.”
Mercer closed his eyes.
Toby looked at him.
Lucas smiled faintly on screen.
“Sorry, Colonel.”
Clara laughed through tears.
The sound broke.
Lucas continued.
“Clara, I need you to understand something. You were never part of this because I thought you were the toughest person on the team.”
She wiped her face.
“You were part of it because you were the only one who still knew the difference between winning and becoming the thing we were fighting.”
Clara looked down.
Lucas leaned toward the camera.
“Shaw thinks everyone has a price. Money. Loyalty. Fear. Revenge. He’s wrong.”
His expression softened.
“Your weakness, Clara, is that you care.”
She shut her eyes.
“And that’s also the reason I trust you.”
The video paused for a second.
Then Lucas said, “One more thing.”
Clara looked up.
“If Aaron found you, Kaelen probably hates you.”
A sound escaped Toby.
Half laugh.
Half disbelief.
Kaelen stared at the screen.
Lucas smiled.
“Don’t judge him too quickly. He’s loud when he’s scared.”
Kaelen looked away.
Clara almost smiled.
Then Lucas’s expression became serious.
“The network has one final safeguard. Shaw doesn’t know about it.”
Everyone leaned closer.
“He believes the evidence identifies him as the center.”
Clara frowned.
“It doesn’t.”
The room became silent.
Lucas looked directly into the camera.
“Shaw answers to someone else.”
Halden whispered, “No.”
On screen, Lucas reached toward something.
A name appeared.
Clara stared.
Mercer made a sound.
Not shock.
Recognition.
The name was impossible.
GENERAL ADRIAN MERCER.
Everyone turned.
Mercer stared at the screen.
His face went white.
Clara slowly stepped away from him.
“No.”
Mercer shook his head.
“No.”
Aaron reached for a weapon.
Mercer raised both hands.
“It’s not me.”
Lucas continued on screen.
“If Mercer is watching this, he’s probably confused.”
Popular Posts
→- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Recently Viewed
Stories you read recently will appear here.
