Chapter 1 - THE GIRL IN THE YELLOW RAINCOAT
The rain hammered against the windshield as Maya slammed the diner’s back door open.
The old delivery alley behind Joe’s Diner was empty except for overflowing trash cans, puddles reflecting broken neon lights, and Sam’s aging black sedan parked beside the brick wall.
Sam stood near the driver’s door, watching the street.
The man in the dark trench coat had moved.
He was no longer standing across from the diner.
He was walking toward them.
“Tell me you have a better plan than stealing my car,” Sam said.
Maya grabbed the keys from his hand.
“You said I drive.”
“I didn’t say you were allowed to destroy my only possession.”
She looked at the old sedan.
“It looks like it’s already been destroyed.”
Sam stared at her.
“That car has survived seventeen winters and three investigations.”
“Investigations?”
Sam opened the passenger door.
“Get in.”
Maya hesitated.
For the first time since she entered the diner, her confident expression cracked.
“You’re really a cop?”
Sam looked at her.
“Former.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“No.”
He closed the door.
“It’s worse.”
The engine coughed twice before finally starting.
Maya stepped on the gas.
The sedan jumped forward, splashing dirty rainwater across the alley.
Behind them, the back door of Joe’s Diner exploded open.
The man in the trench coat appeared.
He did not run.
He simply watched them leave.
Then he raised his phone.
“He’s not chasing us,” Maya whispered.
Sam looked at the side mirror.
“That bothers you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because men like him don’t chase.”
Sam’s eyes narrowed.
“They wait.”
The sedan disappeared into the rain.
For ten minutes, neither of them spoke.
Only the sound of the windshield wipers filled the silence.
Finally, Sam looked at the leather duffel bag between Maya’s feet.
“What exactly did you steal?”
Maya tightened her grip on the steering wheel.
“I didn’t steal it.”
“You literally said you stole it.”
“I borrowed it.”
“From your ex-boss?”
“Temporary borrowing.”
Sam sighed.
“People usually say that right before they end up on wanted posters.”
Maya glanced at him.
“You were sent to arrest me.”
“Yes.”
“And now you’re helping me escape.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Sam looked out the window.
The city lights blurred through the rain.
“Because whoever is hunting you scares me more than you do.”
Maya became quiet.
That answer clearly bothered her.
“What does that mean?”
Sam didn’t respond immediately.
Then he pulled a small photograph from his jacket pocket.
The picture was old.
Faded.
A younger Sam stood beside a woman outside a government facility.
Behind them was a logo.
A black circle with a silver line through the center.
Maya saw it.
Her face changed instantly.
“Where did you get that?”
Sam watched her carefully.
“You recognize it.”
She looked away.
“No.”
“You’re a terrible liar.”
Maya drove faster.
“That symbol belongs to a company called Vortex Dynamics.”
“I know.”
“Then you know they don’t lose things.”
Sam looked at the duffel bag.
“What is inside?”
Maya stayed silent.
The rain grew heavier.
Then her phone suddenly vibrated.
She looked down.
A message appeared.
UNKNOWN NUMBER:
YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT THE PROTOTYPE WHERE YOU FOUND IT.
Maya’s hands tightened around the wheel.
Sam noticed.
“What did they say?”
She turned the phone toward him.
Sam read the message.
His expression changed.
Because underneath the warning was another line.
One that made his blood run cold.
ASK SAM WHY HIS PARTNER DIED.
Sam slowly looked at Maya.
The car became completely silent.
“How do they know about that?” Maya whispered.
Sam didn’t answer.
Because there was only one possibility.
May you like
Someone inside the investigation had betrayed him.
And they were still watching.
