Thomas Vale looked nothing like the official portrait Victoria remembered from agency headquarters.<\/p>\n
In that photograph he had been composed, gray-haired, formal.<\/p>\n
In the recording, his collar was open and a bruise darkened one side of his face.<\/p>\n
The timestamp showed the video had been made eleven hours before his fatal car crash.<\/p>\n
Victoria stood motionless.<\/p>\n
Vale began without introduction.<\/p>\n
\u201cI chose you because you refused me once.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena looked at Victoria.<\/p>\n
Victoria frowned.<\/p>\n
She had met Vale only twice.<\/p>\n
Then she remembered.<\/p>\n
Four years earlier.<\/p>\n
A misconduct review.<\/p>\n
Vale had pressured her to close a case quickly because senior officials considered the underlying violation minor.<\/p>\n
Victoria refused.<\/p>\n
She documented the disagreement and continued.<\/p>\n
Nothing dramatic happened.<\/p>\n
She had almost forgotten it.<\/p>\n
Vale had not.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the Harland review,\u201d he continued, \u201cI asked you to accept an explanation you could not verify. You told me institutional convenience was not evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria remembered the exact argument now.<\/p>\n
Vale looked into the camera.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was angry with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
A faint smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cLater, I realized anger was the reason I remembered you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena glanced toward Victoria.<\/p>\n
Vale continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I discovered the transfer system had been compromised, I needed someone outside its inherited loyalties.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria understood.<\/p>\n
Not someone powerful.<\/p>\n
Someone inconvenient.<\/p>\n
\u201cI inserted your identity into the Custodian succession protocol,\u201d Vale said. \u201cI did so without your knowledge because asking permission would have exposed you before the protocol could protect you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria muttered, \u201cThat worked beautifully.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena almost smiled.<\/p>\n
Vale\u2019s expression became serious.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Custodian will guide you toward evidence. Do not mistake guidance for truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria focused sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe protocol has been altered by at least one unknown administrator. Some instructions may serve the original protective purpose. Others may serve whoever gained access.\u201d<\/p>\n
That confirmed Victoria\u2019s fear.<\/p>\n
The breadcrumbs had not necessarily come from one source.<\/p>\n
Different people could have been steering the same system.<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s anonymous messages.<\/p>\n
Sarah\u2019s location.<\/p>\n
Victoria\u2019s photograph.<\/p>\n
Perhaps even the farmhouse warning.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour task is not to expose everything,\u201d Vale said. \u201cYour task is to separate what must be exposed from what must remain protected.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena folded her arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s convenient.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale seemed almost to answer her from the past.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you reveal the identities of protected witnesses, innocent people will die. If you preserve the system intact, corrupt people will continue using secrecy as a weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria felt the central dilemma settle into its true shape.<\/p>\n
Destroying the network blindly could be as destructive as protecting it.<\/p>\n
Vale continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need the master audit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe audit records every administrative change made to the Custodian protocol. It cannot reveal protected identities directly. It will show who altered permissions, who added targets and who redirected transfers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Exactly what they needed.<\/p>\n
Not the witness list.<\/p>\n
The people manipulating it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d Victoria whispered.<\/p>\n
Vale answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe master audit is stored offline.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coordinates appeared.<\/p>\n
Elena read them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria checked the engineering map.<\/p>\n
A compartment behind Transfer Control.<\/p>\n
Vale continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccess requires two successors.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena looked at Victoria.<\/p>\n
Their names on the terminal suddenly made sense.<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert designated Elena,\u201d Vale said. \u201cI designated Victoria. Neither designation can be revoked by a single administrator.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena\u2019s eyes filled briefly, though her voice remained steady.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father did this to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria said nothing.<\/p>\n
Vale continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf both of you are present, the audit can be opened.\u201d<\/p>\n
The video flickered.<\/p>\n
Vale glanced away from the camera.<\/p>\n
Someone had made a noise outside his room when he recorded it.<\/p>\n
His urgency increased.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne more thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdrian Voss is compromised, but not in the way you will assume.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe committed crimes to protect the program. He concealed evidence. He authorized unlawful surveillance. He used officers to intimidate people he believed threatened protected operations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria thought of Dalton and Cole.<\/p>\n
None of that disappeared merely because Voss claimed protective motives.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Voss did not alter the Custodian,\u201d Vale continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho did?\u201d Elena asked the recording helplessly.<\/p>\n
Vale looked frightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe Anna Mercer created a second administrative identity before her death.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria remembered Anna had died eleven years earlier.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho inherited it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
The recording cut abruptly.<\/p>\n
The terminal returned to the access screen.<\/p>\n
Two credential symbols appeared.<\/p>\n
MORRIS.<\/p>\n
HALE.<\/p>\n
Elena looked at Victoria.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria considered.<\/p>\n
Opening the audit was exactly what Vale wanted.<\/p>\n
Which meant it could also be exactly what the unknown administrator wanted.<\/p>\n
But they had reached the point where refusing to act would preserve the existing imbalance.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
They placed their credentials on separate readers.<\/p>\n
The system processed them.<\/p>\n
A section of wall released with a mechanical click.<\/p>\n
Behind it sat a small steel case.<\/p>\n
No network cable.<\/p>\n
No external connection.<\/p>\n
Victoria photographed it before removal.<\/p>\n
Inside was a ruggedized storage device.<\/p>\n
Elena stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat little thing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully.\u201d<\/p>\n
A dedicated offline terminal sat beside the compartment.<\/p>\n
They inserted the device.<\/p>\n
The audit opened.<\/p>\n
Thousands of entries appeared.<\/p>\n
Years of administrative changes.<\/p>\n
Victoria filtered for the period following Anna Mercer\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
One administrator remained active.<\/p>\n
Identifier only.<\/p>\n
A.M.-2.<\/p>\n
Elena pointed.<\/p>\n
\u201cSecond identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria filtered changes made by A.M.-2.<\/p>\n
Hundreds.<\/p>\n
Protected locations added.<\/p>\n
Contractors authorized.<\/p>\n
Others removed.<\/p>\n
Then the pattern shifted roughly five years earlier.<\/p>\n
Unauthorized transfers increased.<\/p>\n
People were placed into HOLD status.<\/p>\n
Records were altered after the fact.<\/p>\n
Payments routed through Mercer-linked companies.<\/p>\n
Sloane\u2019s network appeared repeatedly.<\/p>\n
But Sloane himself did not hold administrator access.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was exploiting the system,\u201d Victoria said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot controlling it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
They searched Voss.<\/p>\n
His administrator privileges were limited.<\/p>\n
He could initiate protective transfers but not alter the master architecture.<\/p>\n
He had attempted multiple times to revoke Mercer contractors.<\/p>\n
Each attempt was overridden by A.M.-2.<\/p>\n
Elena stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cDalton said Voss fought the contract board.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat part was true.\u201d<\/p>\n
Voss had been corrupt in method, but he had also been fighting whoever controlled the deeper system.<\/p>\n
Victoria searched Daniel Cross.<\/p>\n
His file appeared.<\/p>\n
The initial HOLD order had come from Voss.<\/p>\n
A later transfer order came from A.M.-2.<\/p>\n
\u201cVoss detained him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd someone else moved him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel had assumed Voss remained responsible.<\/p>\n
Reasonable.<\/p>\n
Wrong.<\/p>\n
Victoria searched Sarah.<\/p>\n
Her surveillance order came from A.M.-2.<\/p>\n
Her brother\u2019s HOLD order did too.<\/p>\n
Then Emily Harrow.<\/p>\n
Same administrator.<\/p>\n
Mason Reed.<\/p>\n
Same.<\/p>\n
Thomas Vale.<\/p>\n
Victoria hesitated before pressing Enter.<\/p>\n
The result appeared.<\/p>\n
MONITOR.<\/p>\n
ESCALATE.<\/p>\n
TERMINATE ACCESS.<\/p>\n
Elena went pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was before his crash.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The final command had been entered six hours before Vale died.<\/p>\n
A.M.-2 had targeted him.<\/p>\n
Victoria felt anger rise but kept it controlled.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan we identify the terminal used?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena pointed toward the audit metadata.<\/p>\n
\u201cLocation code.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria opened it.<\/p>\n
M-ADMIN-PRIMARY.<\/p>\n
She searched the facility directory.<\/p>\n
No match.<\/p>\n
Then she searched historical Mercer properties.<\/p>\n
One appeared.<\/p>\n
Mercer Administrative Primary.<\/p>\n
A corporate office downtown.<\/p>\n
Victoria knew the building.<\/p>\n
Graham Sloane\u2019s law firm occupied the upper floors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat points to Sloane,\u201d Elena said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still won\u2019t say it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause terminal location isn\u2019t user identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena nodded reluctantly.<\/p>\n
Victoria searched the most recent A.M.-2 access.<\/p>\n
Three months ago.<\/p>\n
The night Daniel disappeared.<\/p>\n
Location:<\/p>\n
STATION NINE.<\/p>\n
They looked around.<\/p>\n
Someone had been inside this room.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan we pull camera history?\u201d Elena asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
They searched the archive.<\/p>\n
Most surveillance had been deleted.<\/p>\n
One frame survived.<\/p>\n
Timestamped three months earlier.<\/p>\n
A person stood before the Transfer Control door.<\/p>\n
Face turned away.<\/p>\n
Dark coat.<\/p>\n
Gray hair.<\/p>\n
Victoria enlarged the image.<\/p>\n
Elena leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a woman.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The next frame showed her profile.<\/p>\n
Elena recoiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou recognize her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena stepped backward.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena stared at the photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw her funeral.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria felt the answer before Elena spoke it.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
The supposedly dead architect of the Custodian.<\/p>\n
Victoria enlarged the image.<\/p>\n
An elderly woman.<\/p>\n
Older than the photographs in historical records.<\/p>\n
But facial structure matched.<\/p>\n
Same eyes.<\/p>\n
Same distinctive curve of the nose.<\/p>\n
If the image was genuine, Anna Mercer had not died eleven years earlier.<\/p>\n
Or someone had spent extraordinary effort impersonating her.<\/p>\n
The terminal beeped.<\/p>\n
REMOTE SESSION ATTEMPT.<\/p>\n
Someone was trying to reach the system again.<\/p>\n
Victoria disconnected the offline audit device and returned it to the steel case.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena nodded.<\/p>\n
The reinforced door remained locked.<\/p>\n
Victoria tried the control panel.<\/p>\n
Denied.<\/p>\n
Then a new message appeared.<\/p>\n
SUCCESSORS CONFIRMED.<\/p>\n
EXIT AUTHORIZED.<\/p>\n
The door opened.<\/p>\n
Too easy.<\/p>\n
Victoria drew her weapon.<\/p>\n
They moved through the corridor.<\/p>\n
Level two was empty.<\/p>\n
Level one appeared unchanged.<\/p>\n
Then Victoria noticed the surface-camera monitor.<\/p>\n
Two state investigators should have been visible near the entrance.<\/p>\n
Neither was there.<\/p>\n
\u201cElena.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI see it.\u201d<\/p>\n
They moved toward the stairs.<\/p>\n
A man lay near the upper landing.<\/p>\n
One of the state investigators.<\/p>\n
Alive.<\/p>\n
Unconscious.<\/p>\n
Blood at his temple.<\/p>\n
His weapon was gone.<\/p>\n
Elena checked him.<\/p>\n
\u201cPulse.\u201d<\/p>\n
The second investigator was outside.<\/p>\n
Also unconscious.<\/p>\n
No obvious gunshot wounds.<\/p>\n
Victoria looked toward their vehicles.<\/p>\n
One had been moved.<\/p>\n
The passenger door stood open.<\/p>\n
On its windshield rested a black envelope.<\/p>\n
Same kind as the roadside warning.<\/p>\n
Victoria approached carefully.<\/p>\n
No one visible.<\/p>\n
Elena stayed behind cover.<\/p>\n
Victoria photographed the envelope and opened it.<\/p>\n
Inside was a single card.<\/p>\n
YOU FINALLY ASKED THE RIGHT QUESTION.<\/p>\n
No signature.<\/p>\n
Victoria turned it over.<\/p>\n
An address was written on the back.<\/p>\n
Downtown.<\/p>\n
Mercer Administrative Primary.<\/p>\n
Graham Sloane\u2019s building.<\/p>\n
Elena came closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother breadcrumb.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou going to follow this one too?\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria looked at the building address.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot blindly.\u201d<\/p>\n
A telephone rang.<\/p>\n
Not Victoria\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Not Elena\u2019s.<\/p>\n
The sound came from inside the abandoned surface building.<\/p>\n
They looked at each other.<\/p>\n
It rang again.<\/p>\n
An old landline sat on the desk.<\/p>\n
Victoria approached.<\/p>\n
Third ring.<\/p>\n
Fourth.<\/p>\n
She answered.<\/p>\n
No greeting.<\/p>\n
Then a woman spoke.<\/p>\n
Her voice was old but strong.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas always did choose stubborn people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria felt every nerve sharpen.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna?\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you found my picture.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena moved closer.<\/p>\n
Victoria put the call on speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna Mercer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStart with whether you\u2019re supposed to be dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor many people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you kill Thomas Vale?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then Anna answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you order his access terminated?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat led to his death.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. It was supposed to keep him away from Station Nine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho killed him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re still looking for one villain, Investigator Hale.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria\u2019s patience snapped cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople keep saying that whenever a name becomes inconvenient.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna chuckled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand why Thomas chose you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCloser than you think.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you send the team to the farmhouse?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho did?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGraham.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria looked at Elena.<\/p>\n
\u201cSloane?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me he was helping Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was. Until Daniel stopped being useful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Sloane make the call to Dalton\u2019s interview room?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho did?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria remembered the male voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn\u2019t your voice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Voice synthesis.<\/p>\n
The same method used outside the farmhouse.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou threatened Dalton\u2019s family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI warned him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said he wouldn\u2019t reach them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo keep him inside a protected building.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria paused.<\/p>\n
Another action that had sounded like a threat but could have had another purpose.<\/p>\n
That did not make it acceptable.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Graham\u2019s people were waiting outside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria looked toward the unconscious investigators.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you do this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who is here?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna became silent.<\/p>\n
Victoria heard something faint through the receiver.<\/p>\n
A door.<\/p>\n
Footsteps.<\/p>\n
Then Anna said, \u201cYou need to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Graham knows you have the audit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria looked toward the road.<\/p>\n
No vehicles.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou seem to know everything else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the first time, Anna sounded genuinely frightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictoria, listen carefully. Do not bring the audit to me. Do not bring it to Voss. Do not bring it to Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Daniel stopped running three weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria\u2019s stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe made a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna answered with one word.<\/p>\n
\u201cGraham.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria remembered Daniel admitting Sloane helped him.<\/p>\n
But perhaps the relationship went much deeper.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel led me to Sloane\u2019s property.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe led me to the ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Graham needs legitimate authorities to seize the old network.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria understood slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he can expose Voss.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd destroy his competition.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen take over what survives.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria looked at Elena.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Daniel now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna\u2019s answer came quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe left the medical site twenty minutes ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Sarah?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Sarah?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s still under guard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria tightened her grip on the receiver.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did Daniel go?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere Graham told him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The address on the card suddenly felt different.<\/p>\n
Not an invitation.<\/p>\n
A convergence point.<\/p>\n
Everyone was being drawn to the same building.<\/p>\n
Victoria asked, \u201cIs Voss going there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou?\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena whispered, \u201cIt\u2019s a trap.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna heard.<\/p>\n
\u201cCaptain Morris is correct.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria asked, \u201cThen why are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna\u2019s voice softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I started this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Outside, headlights appeared between the trees.<\/p>\n
More than one vehicle.<\/p>\n
Elena raised her weapon.<\/p>\n
Victoria watched them approach.<\/p>\n
Anna spoke one last time.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd because tonight, one way or another, the Custodian ends.\u201d<\/p>\n
The line disconnected.<\/p>\n
Victoria lowered the receiver.<\/p>\n
The vehicles approaching Station Nine were black SUVs.<\/p>\n
Three of them.<\/p>\n
The same kind used at the farmhouse.<\/p>\n
Elena looked toward the injured state investigators.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t hold this position.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria picked up the steel case containing the master audit.<\/p>\n
For the first time since the traffic stop began, she possessed something every faction needed and none could safely destroy.<\/p>\n
Voss wanted it to prove who corrupted his program.<\/p>\n
Sloane wanted it to eliminate rivals.<\/p>\n
Daniel wanted the truth exposed.<\/p>\n
Anna wanted the Custodian ended.<\/p>\n
And Victoria wanted something none of them seemed prepared to accept.<\/p>\n
Evidence that could survive all of them.<\/p>\n
She looked at Elena.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you drive?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena stared toward the approaching vehicles.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria secured the case beneath her jacket.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot where they told us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first SUV turned onto the access road.<\/p>\n
Victoria picked up the keys to the remaining state vehicle.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re done following breadcrumbs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas Vale looked nothing like the official portrait Victoria remembered from agency headquarters. In that photograph he had been composed, gray-haired, formal. In the recording, his collar was open and … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3337,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chapter-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3349"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3365,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3349\/revisions\/3365"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}