Chapter 6: The Rescue Nobody Asked For
The three-mile drive to Riverside Municipal Storage took Marcus eleven minutes.
They did not use sirens.
They did not turn on the lights.
And they did not tell dispatch where they were going.
Marcus drove the unmarked sedan while Ortiz sat beside him, gripping her weapon against her thigh. Pike was in the back seat, silent, watching every intersection through the rear window.
The city passed outside in streaks of gray morning.
Traffic had thickened.
People were going to work.
Parents were dropping children at schools.
Businesses were opening.
Nobody on the sidewalks knew that a police department less than three miles away was being torn apart from the inside.
Ortiz finally broke the silence.
“You said the archive was fragmented.””
Pike nodded.
“Across physical files, electronic systems, personnel records, and private storage.””
“How did you know?””
“I helped build part of it.””
Marcus glanced at him in the mirror.
“You worked for them.””
“For a while.””
“And then you turned.””
Pike shook his head.
“I realized there was nothing to turn back to.””
Marcus kept his eyes on the road.
“What changed?””
Pike looked out the window.
“Caldwell.””
That surprised Marcus.
“You've said his name several times.””
“He saved my life.””
“By helping you fake your death?””
“Before that.””
Pike looked down at his hands.
“Eighteen months ago, I was ready to expose everything.””
“And?””
“They found out.””
“What did they do?””
“They gave Caldwell an order.””
Marcus glanced at him.
“To kill you?””
“No.””
Pike's voice was barely above a whisper.
“To arrest me for a crime I didn't commit.””
Marcus frowned.
“That doesn't explain your disappearance.””
“It does when the arrest warrant came with a private execution order.””
Ortiz turned toward him.
“You were supposed to be killed in custody.””
“Yes.””
“Who signed it?””
Pike looked directly at Marcus in the mirror.
“The same person who approved your appointment.””
Marcus felt the old tension return.
“You still haven't told me who that is.””
“I don't know the person's real name.””
“You expect me to investigate a ghost?””
“I expect you to survive long enough to discover it.””
Marcus turned into the storage facility's service road.
The building appeared ahead.
Two stories of stained concrete.
Broken windows.
A rusted security fence.
A faded municipal seal remained above the entrance.
The lot was almost empty.
Almost.
Marcus saw a black SUV parked near the loading dock.
Engine running.
“Someone is here,” Ortiz said.
Pike leaned forward.
“Don't park near it.””
Marcus killed the engine beneath an overgrown section of fence.
They exited separately.
Marcus checked the perimeter.
No visible guards.
No cameras.
That was what worried him.
A building scheduled for demolition usually had at least a temporary security system.
This one had none.
Ortiz whispered, “Too quiet.””
Marcus nodded.
They moved through a side entrance.
The door was already open.
Inside, the air smelled like mildew and old paper.
Rows of metal shelves filled the warehouse.
Most were empty.
Some still carried boxes stamped with municipal department names.
Marcus raised his flashlight.
“Which section?””
Pike pointed deeper inside.
“Cold storage.””
Marcus looked at him.
“Why would Caldwell be there?””
“They needed a place no one would search.””
“How did you know?””
“I've been here before.””
Marcus stopped.
“When?””
“Three weeks ago.””
“You told us you didn't know where they were holding the archive.””
“I said I didn't know where the archive was.””
Marcus's voice hardened.
“And Caldwell?””
“I didn't know where Caldwell was either.””
Pike looked toward the dark corridor.
“I only knew he had been moved.””
Ortiz stepped between them.
“Enough.””
They continued.
At the end of the corridor was a steel door with a keypad.
Marcus tried the handle.
Unlocked.
Inside stood a line of industrial freezers.
Most were disconnected.
One was running.
Marcus moved toward it.
He heard something.
A faint tapping.
Three times.
Ortiz raised her weapon.
Marcus opened the freezer door.
Garrett Caldwell was inside.
He was not tied to a chair.
He was sitting on the floor with his wrists cuffed in front of him.
His face was bruised.
His shirt was torn.
But he was alive.
Caldwell looked at Marcus.
Then Pike.
He stared.
“You.””
Pike nodded.
“Hello, Garrett.””
Caldwell laughed weakly.
“You've got terrible timing.””
Marcus crouched beside him.
“Who did this?””
Caldwell looked at Ortiz.
“Not here.””
Marcus cut the restraints.
Caldwell stood unsteadily.
“How did you find me?””
Marcus held up his phone.
“They sent me a photograph.””
Caldwell glanced at the screen.
“That wasn't them.””
“Who was it?””
Caldwell rubbed his wrists.
“Someone wanted you to come.””
Pike nodded.
“That's why I warned him.””
Marcus looked between them.
“You two know more than you're telling me.””
Caldwell's expression turned grim.
“We don't have time.””
A noise echoed from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Marcus immediately pushed Caldwell behind the freezer door.
Ortiz moved left.
Pike moved right.
The footsteps approached.
A figure appeared.
Dark tactical clothing.
Face covered.
Weapon raised.
Marcus fired first.
The shot struck the wall beside the figure.
The intruder ducked.
Ortiz fired.
The figure retreated.
Marcus pursued into the hallway.
“Police! Drop your weapon!””
The figure disappeared around a corner.
Marcus followed.
He reached the loading bay just as the black SUV's engine roared.
The vehicle shot through the open gate.
Marcus raised his weapon but did not fire.
He stopped.
Something metallic lay on the ground.
A badge.
He picked it up.
Riverside Police.
Not current.
Old style.
The nameplate read:
MERCER.
Marcus stared at it.
Captain Daniel Mercer.
Ortiz and Pike reached him.
“Was that his?”” Ortiz asked.
Marcus turned the badge over.
There was a number etched into the back.
17.
Pike's expression hardened.
“That's not Mercer.””
Marcus looked at him.
“What?””
“That's the number they give to archive custodians.””
Marcus looked down at the badge.
“So Mercer is a custodian?””
“Not Mercer.””
Pike pointed toward the road.
“The person wearing it.””
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
“Then who?””
Caldwell limped toward them.
“Someone you haven't met yet.””
Marcus turned.
Caldwell was holding a small folded paper.
“I found this in the room where they kept me.””
Marcus took it.
Inside was a floor plan.
The municipal storage building.
One section circled.
Basement.
Access point marked in red.
Marcus looked at Caldwell.
“There isn't a basement on the municipal plans.””
“There is under the old records building.””
“This isn't the records building.””
Caldwell nodded.
“That's why it works.””
Marcus studied the map.
A handwritten note appeared at the bottom.
NINE MINUTES.
He looked at his watch.
8:57.
“What happens in nine minutes?””
Caldwell didn't answer.
Pike did.
“They erase everything.””
Marcus folded the map.
“Then let's go downstairs.””
Caldwell grabbed his arm.
“No.””
Marcus looked at him.
“You just said we don't have time.””
“I said they don't.””
Caldwell pointed toward the ceiling.
“They're counting on you going down there.””
“Why?””
“Because that's where they want the handoff.””
Marcus stared at him.
“What handoff?””
Caldwell looked at Pike.
Pike nodded reluctantly.
“The person behind all of this is going to meet you.””
Marcus frowned.
“When?””
“At nine.””
“Here?””
“No.””
Pike pointed toward a side door.
“There.””
They crossed the warehouse to a narrow stairwell Marcus hadn't noticed before.
At the bottom was a concrete room.
An old municipal command center.
Dead monitors lined one wall.
A conference table occupied the center.
And sitting at the far end was a man in a gray suit.
Marcus stopped.
The man looked up.
He was in his sixties.
Silver hair.
Calm eyes.
No visible weapon.
He smiled.
“Chief Reed.””
Marcus kept his weapon trained on him.
“Identify yourself.””
The man clasped his hands.
“Arthur Bell.””
Marcus recognized the name.
Former deputy city attorney.
Retired eleven years ago.
Reportedly died of a heart attack three years earlier.
Marcus looked at Pike.
Again, Pike nodded.
“He's alive.””
Arthur smiled.
“You really must stop believing government records.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“You arranged my appointment.””
Arthur shook his head.
“No.””
“You put my name in the archive.””
“No.””
“You watched me before I arrived.””
“Yes.””
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
“Why?””
Arthur leaned back.
“Because we needed to know whether you were the kind of man who would open a locked door.””
Marcus said nothing.
Arthur continued.
“You did.””
“Why choose me?””
“Because of your record.””
“My record?””
“You've spent twenty years following orders.””
Marcus's jaw tightened.
“That's what police officers do.””
Arthur smiled.
“Exactly.””
Pike stepped forward.
“You're wasting time.””
Arthur looked at him.
“Daniel.””
Marcus watched their exchange.
There was something strange in Arthur's expression.
Not anger.
Not fear.
Recognition.
“We thought you were dead,” Arthur said.
“You thought wrong.””
Arthur's attention returned to Marcus.
“The archive has been waiting for you.””
Marcus looked around the room.
“I don't want it.””
Arthur laughed.
“That's why you were chosen.””
Caldwell stepped forward.
“What happens at nine?””
Arthur checked his watch.
“Nothing.””
Marcus frowned.
“Then why the deadline?””
Arthur smiled.
“There is no deadline.””
The lights above them turned red.
A low mechanical hum began.
Pike froze.
“No.””
Arthur stood.
“You see, Chief, there's one thing nobody explained to you.””
“What?””
Arthur reached beneath the table.
He pressed a button.
The steel doors behind them slammed shut.
A digital screen on the wall came alive.
Four names appeared.
GARRETT CALDWELL.
LENA ORTIZ.
DANIEL PIKE.
MARCUS REED.
Then a fifth.
UNKNOWN.
Marcus stared at it.
“What is that?””
Arthur's smile vanished.
“That is the person who has been controlling all of us.””
“Who?””
Arthur looked genuinely afraid for the first time.
“I don't know.””
The room vibrated.
A countdown appeared.
00:08:59.
Eight minutes and fifty-nine seconds.
Marcus looked at Caldwell.
“Now we have a deadline.””
Caldwell nodded.
Arthur moved toward a second door.
Marcus raised his weapon.
“Don't move.””
Arthur stopped.
“I wouldn't.””
“Then tell me how to get out.””
“You don't.””
Marcus took another step.
Arthur whispered, “The archive isn't beneath this building.””
Marcus frowned.
“Where is it?””
Arthur looked directly at him.
“It's already inside Riverside Police Department.””
Marcus felt a chill.
Pike's face went pale.
Arthur continued.
“Someone uploaded the archive into your command system before you arrived.””
Marcus's thoughts raced.
The transfer.
The badge.
The hidden computer.
The files in his office.
He suddenly understood.
The archive had never been something he was supposed to open.
It was something he had already brought inside.
His phone vibrated.
One new message.
UNKNOWN NUMBER.
The screen displayed only five words.
YOU ARE NOT THE CHIEF ANYMORE.
Marcus stared at the message.
Then the lights went black.
And in the darkness, a voice came through the room's speakers.
His own voice.
Recorded earlier that morning.
“Effective eight o'clock this morning, I am the interim chief of Riverside Police Department.””
The recording stopped.
A different voice whispered through the speakers.
“Effective now, you are the suspect.””
The lights returned.
Arthur Bell was gone.
The steel door was open.
And lying on the floor where he had been standing was a pair of handcuffs.
Marcus stared at them.
Caldwell's voice was low.
“They're coming for you now.””
Then every police radio in the city came alive at once.
“Attention all units. Be advised. Interim Chief Marcus Reed is considered armed, dangerous, and wanted for obstruction, evidence tampering, and conspiracy.””
Ortiz looked at Marcus.
“They just made you the new Caldwell.””
Marcus picked up the handcuffs.
His face hardened.
“No.””
He looked toward the open doorway.
“They made me the person who can prove what Caldwell couldn't.””
Pike stared at him.
“And what are you going to do?””
Marcus stepped into the dark corridor.
“What I was appointed to do.””
“Which is?””
He looked back at them.
May you like
“Find out who owns this department.””
Then every siren in Riverside began screaming at once.
