Chapter 11 - THE WAREHOUSE
Police found Rebecca's abandoned coat near an old Northstar warehouse.
Federal agents surrounded the building.
I wasn't supposed to enter.
For once, I listened.
This wasn't a battlefield.
It was law enforcement's job.
But I remained at the command vehicle.
Twenty minutes passed.
Then thirty.
A negotiator contacted Grant.
No response.
Finally, Rebecca appeared at an upstairs window.
Alive.
Grant stood behind her.
He demanded transportation.
Money.
Safe passage.
None of it was going to happen.
Then he demanded something else.
The red ledger.
That was when I understood.
Grant still believed destroying one book could save him.
He didn't know investigators had copied everything.
Marco stood beside me.
“He's finished.”
“He just doesn't know it.”
Agents negotiated for another hour.
Then Rebecca did something nobody expected.
She fought back.
Not dramatically.
Not heroically.
She simply waited until Grant looked away and unlocked a side door.
The tactical team entered.
Minutes later, Grant Holloway was in custody.
Rebecca walked outside wrapped in a blanket.
She saw me.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then she asked,
“Are they okay?”
“Yes.”
“Do they hate me?”
“They're five.”
She lowered her head.
“I never wanted Ethan dead.”
“But you helped create everything that killed him.”
Tears appeared.
This time, they were real.
“I know.”
She looked toward me.
“Tell them I'm sorry.”
“No.”
Her face tightened.
“You can tell them yourself when they're old enough to decide whether they want to hear it.”
Agents led her away.
Grant followed minutes later.
He looked at me and smiled.
“You think this ends because you found a ledger?”
I didn't answer.
His smile widened.
“Ask your Major who authorized Northstar's first contract.”
Marco stiffened.
Grant was pushed into the vehicle.
I turned toward Marco.
“What is he talking about?”
Marco didn't know.
But we were about to find out.
The signature on Northstar's first government contract belonged to someone I had trusted for twenty years.
May you like
Lieutenant General Robert Kane.
My former commanding officer.
