Chapter 11 - The Abandoned Track
The prototype track had been closed for four years.
Tall weeds pushed through the cracked asphalt.
Rain clouds darkened the sky.
Kevin drove through the rusted gate alone.
Police vehicles remained two miles away.
Annie sat hidden in the rear compartment beneath a maintenance blanket.
Kevin had ordered her to stay behind.
She had ignored him.
“You should not be here,” he said.
“Neither should your sons.”
“This man may kill you.”
“He already tried to send me to prison.”
“That is not the same.”
“No.”
Annie’s voice became quiet.
“But I know what it is like to lose family while a powerful company explains why nobody is responsible.”
Kevin glanced toward the mirror.
“What happened to your aunt?”
“She worked nights in one of your research buildings.”
“There was a chemical leak.”
“The company called it employee error.”
Kevin remembered the case.
Morrison Dynamics had settled privately.
“Daniel handled the investigation,” he said.
“Yes.”
Kevin looked toward the road.
“Is that why you came to my house?”
“At first.”
The confession landed heavily.
“You lied on your application.”
“I left out my aunt’s connection.”
“Why?”
“I wanted proof.”
“Did you know Lauren?”
“No.”
“But my aunt did.”
Annie removed a folded photograph from her pocket.
Lauren stood beside Annie’s aunt outside a hospital.
“Lauren visited her after the accident.”
“She believed the company had hidden safety failures.”
“She promised to investigate.”
Kevin stared at the photograph.
“Why did you not tell me?”
“Because you fired everyone who told you something you did not want to hear.”
Kevin had no defense.
A black sedan appeared at the center of the track.
Daniel stood beside it.
Jordan and Justin were inside.
Kevin parked thirty feet away.
He carried the music box in both hands.
Daniel smiled.
“You came.”
“Let them go.”
“Give me the drive.”
Kevin held up the box.
“You killed Lauren for financial records.”
Daniel laughed.
“I did not kill her.”
“You remotely disabled her steering.”
“I frightened her.”
“I needed her to understand that I controlled the situation.”
“The truck was not supposed to cross the median.”
Kevin’s expression became still.
“So you admit it.”
Daniel realized his mistake.
He raised the remote device.
“Give me the box.”
The sedan doors were locked.
Jordan pressed both hands against the glass.
Justin was crying.
Kevin walked forward.
“Release them first.”
Daniel pressed a button.
The sedan’s engine started.
The vehicle began rolling toward the steep edge of the test track.
Kevin ran.
Daniel struck him across the face with the remote.
Kevin fell.
The sedan gained speed.
Annie burst from the rear of Kevin’s car.
She sprinted toward the track.
Daniel stared in disbelief.
“You.”
Annie jumped onto the sedan’s side step and grabbed the door handle.
It was locked.
The car rolled faster.
Kevin tackled Daniel.
The remote flew across the asphalt.
Daniel reached for it.
Kevin held him down.
“Annie!” Kevin shouted.
She slammed her elbow against the rear window.
The glass did not break.
Inside, Jordan pulled Lauren’s brass key from his pocket.
He pushed it into the emergency lock beside the door.
The lock released.
Annie tore the door open.
She pulled Justin out first.
Then Jordan.
The empty sedan rolled over the edge and crashed into the drainage basin below.
Daniel stopped fighting.
Sirens approached.
Kevin looked at his sons clinging to Annie.
Then Daniel began laughing.
“You think the drive will save you?”
Kevin grabbed his collar.
“It will bury you.”
Daniel smiled through a split lip.
“The drive proves you approved every transfer.”
Kevin’s grip loosened.
May you like
Daniel whispered the final blow.
“Lauren signed the authorization too.”
