Evelyn stood in her doorway, straight-backed and resolute. Remember what your father always said. Record everything. Trust your training and never let them see fear. Nia nodded, then slipped behind the wheel.
As they pulled away from the curb, porch lights clicked on up and down the street. Silent signals of solidarity from neighbors refusing to look away. Darkness cloaked the industrial district as Nia crouched behind a stack of wooden pallets, her muscles tense from holding still. The abandoned warehouse loomed ahead, its broken windows like empty eye sockets in the dim security lighting. Daniel knelt beside her while Tessa balanced her camera on a stabilizer, the lens focused on the loading dock.
Movement, " Daniel whispered, pointing to a black SUV rolling silently down the access road. Headlights off, the vehicle stopped at the warehouse's side entrance. Sheriff Larkin stepped out, straightening his civilian jacket and glancing around the empty lot. Behind him, an unmarked white van pulled up, its government plates visible in the weak light. Councilman Theodore Bryce emerged from the van's passenger side, his expensive suit incongruous against the decrepit setting.
Two men in tactical gear flanked him, their posture screaming private security training. "Recording! " Tessa breathed, her camera capturing every detail. Nia adjusted the directional microphone, aiming it carefully through a gap in the pallets. The audio feed crackled in her earpiece as Bryce and Larkin converged in the shadows.
This is becoming expensive, Bryce said, his cultured voice tight with irritation. The Pentagon investigator was never supposed to surface. Now we have federal attention we can't afford. We can contain it, Larkin insisted. Once we recover the drive once, Bryce cut him off.
You assured me this morning's operation would secure everything. Instead, you've managed to create exactly the kind of spectacle we've spent decades avoiding. Daniel leaned closer to Nia, his voice barely audible. He's running damage control. Brass Locust must still be active.
Larkin's response carried clearly through the microphone. My men are monitoring every move she makes. The minute she accesses the evidence, we'll know. See that you do, Bryce replied. I've invested too much in this pipeline to let it collapse now.
The buyers expect regular shipments, and our law enforcement partners require their cut. Nia's hand tightened on the microphone as the pieces clicked together. Her father's investigation hadn't died. The weapons technology theft network had simply evolved. Using police departments as cover for moving classified material.
The county systems will be frozen by federal oversight within days. Larkin said, "We need to move fast. " "Then stop talking and find that drive, " Bryce snapped. "Use whatever resources necessary. If she's anything like her father, she'll try to expose everything.
" A car engine rumbled in the distance. Daniel tensed. "We need to move now. Patrol lights suddenly flashed at both ends of the street, casting strobing red and blue across the warehouse walls. Nia quickly packed the microphone while Tessa secured her camera.
"Back route, " Daniel whispered urgently. "Through the alley! " They slipped between buildings as radio static crackled behind them. "The timing was too perfect. Someone had spotted them and called it in.