The man ignored her.
He ran between two parked vehicles and grabbed the leather case with both hands.
Isaiah saw his right hand disappear into his coat.
Every instinct sharpened.
“Hands!”
The man turned.
Isaiah moved behind the concrete engine block of a parked SUV.
The suspect froze.
His hand emerged slowly.
Empty.
“Don't do it,” Isaiah said.
The man looked toward the garage exit.
Lena appeared there with her weapon drawn but lowered.
Another agent arrived behind her.
The recipient understood.
The leather case slipped from his fingers and struck the concrete.
“On your knees.”
He complied.
Isaiah stepped forward, breathing heavily from the run.
Thirty seconds later the man was handcuffed.
Inside the case investigators found an encrypted storage device, photocopies of restricted procurement records, and a handwritten list of offshore account numbers. It was more evidence than the FBI had expected to recover. Several blocks away, Adrian Voss was arrested by the second team before he could enter the subway station.
The operation had survived.
Barely.
Isaiah returned to Calder Park forty minutes later.
The snow was coming down a little harder now, enough to leave a thin white layer along the edges of the grass. His spilled coffee had turned into a brown stain surrounded by slush. The bench where he had spent the afternoon was empty.
Two additional police cruisers were parked nearby.
Officer Mercer stood beside one of them.
His supervisor had arrived.
Captain Richard Mallory was in his fifties, white-haired and heavyset, with the expression of a man who had received a phone call that immediately ruined the rest of his day. He had already spoken with Keller and reviewed the opening minutes of Mercer's body-camera footage on a department tablet. When Isaiah approached, Mallory removed one glove and extended his hand.
“Special Agent Cole.”
Isaiah looked at the hand.
Then shook it.
“Captain.”
“I owe you an apology.”
“You don't know me well enough to owe me anything yet.”
Mallory absorbed the remark.
“Fair.”
Mercer stood several feet away, arms folded.
He no longer looked frightened.
He looked resentful.
That bothered Isaiah more.
Mallory lowered his voice.
“I understand an undercover federal operation was affected.”
“It was.”
“Did we cost you the case?”
“No.”
Mallory exhaled.
“That is good news.”
“It doesn't make what happened good.”
“No.”
Isaiah looked toward Mercer.
The officer stared back.
Mallory followed his gaze.
“I've placed him on administrative duty pending review.”
Mercer immediately spoke.
“Captain, I responded to a citizen complaint.”
Mallory closed his eyes briefly.