Chapter 7: The Manhunt
The first patrol car came through the warehouse doors less than two minutes later.
Marcus heard the siren before he saw the headlights.
Red and blue light swept across the concrete walls.
Ortiz looked at him.
“Where do we go?””
Marcus listened.
“Not outside.””
Caldwell nodded.
“They've sealed the streets.””
Pike moved toward the rear corridor.
“There is another exit.””
Marcus followed.
“You knew about it?””
“I helped build the old command center.””
Caldwell gave him a bitter look.
“You built everything.””
Pike stopped.
“And you kept people alive.””
“Not enough.””
Marcus looked between them.
“Save the arguments.””
The sound of boots entered the warehouse above.
Several officers.
More than six.
Maybe ten.
Marcus pulled out his phone.
No signal.
Ortiz checked hers.
Nothing.
“They've jammed communications,” she whispered.
Marcus nodded.
Then a loudspeaker outside crackled.
“Chief Marcus Reed, this building is surrounded. Drop your weapon and surrender immediately.””
Ortiz looked at him.
“They're really doing this.””
Marcus almost smiled.
“They've had practice.””
He looked at Pike.
“Exit.””
Pike pushed open a steel panel.
Behind it was a narrow maintenance tunnel.
Cold air moved through the darkness.
“Follow the pipes,” Pike said.
“It reaches an old storm drain.””
Caldwell looked at Marcus.
“You should go first.””
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because they'll expect me to.””
Caldwell frowned.
Marcus handed him his command badge.
Caldwell stared.
“What are you doing?””
“Give me your badge.””
Caldwell slowly removed his old patrol badge and handed it over.
Marcus swapped them.
Now Caldwell carried the chief's badge.
Marcus clipped Caldwell's battered badge to his jacket.
Ortiz understood immediately.
“They're tracking the command credential.””
Marcus nodded.
“Let them.””
Caldwell stared at the badge in his hand.
“You're putting a target on me.””
“You already have one.””
Caldwell gave a grim smile.
“Fair enough.””
Marcus turned to Ortiz.
“Stay with Pike.””
She shook her head.
“No.””
“That's an order.””
“I stopped taking orders from people hiding information eighteen months ago.””
Marcus stared at her.
Then he nodded.
“Fine.””
They entered the tunnel.
Behind them, the warehouse door exploded inward.
Officers shouted.
Flashlights swept through the darkness.
Someone yelled:
“Chief Reed!””
Caldwell stepped out from the shadows.
He held Marcus's command badge high.
“Here!””
Three officers raised their weapons.
For one second, the entire operation became confused.
“Drop it!””
Caldwell threw the badge onto the floor.
Then ran.
The officers chased him.
Marcus watched from the tunnel entrance.
Caldwell disappeared around a corner.
Ortiz looked at Marcus.
“You trust him?””
“Enough.””
“That's dangerous.””
Marcus turned toward the tunnel.
“Everything today is dangerous.””
They moved quickly.
The passage narrowed until they had to turn sideways.
Old water pipes ran along the ceiling.
Pike led them by memory.
After several minutes, a faint rectangle of daylight appeared ahead.
They climbed through an iron hatch and emerged beside an abandoned drainage canal.
Marcus checked the city around them.
No patrol cars.
No cameras that he could see.
Pike pointed east.
“There is a service road.””
They moved through tall grass.
Once they reached the road, Ortiz spotted a parked utility truck.
“Keys?””
Marcus tried the door.
Unlocked.
Inside was a clipboard, a reflective vest, and a set of keys.
Ortiz looked at him.
“You're not going to steal a city truck.””
Marcus picked up the keys.
“We're borrowing it.””
Pike climbed into the passenger seat.
Ortiz drove.
Marcus sat in the back.
For the first time since the manhunt began, he had a moment to think.
Everything he knew had become unreliable.
His appointment.
His badge.
The mayor.
The department.
Caldwell.
Even Pike's death.
He looked at the reflection in the rear window.
“Where are we going?””
Pike answered without turning.
“Somewhere the archive can't see us.””
“That place doesn't exist.””
“It does.””
“Where?””
Pike finally looked back.
“The old courthouse.””
Ortiz frowned.
“It's been closed for four years.””
“Exactly.””
They reached the courthouse at 9:27.
The building stood between two newer government structures, forgotten behind construction fencing.
Pike led them through a side entrance.
Inside, dust covered the floor.
The old courtroom benches remained.
Marcus looked around.
“What are we doing here?””
Pike walked toward the judge's chamber.
“Waiting.””
“For what?””
“The person who can decrypt the archive.””
Marcus stopped.
“You never mentioned a decryptor.””
“Because I didn't know whether I could trust you.””
Marcus laughed without humor.
“You've been using me all morning.””
“Yes.””
“At least you're honest now.””
Pike opened a hidden compartment beneath the judge's desk.
Inside was a laptop.
He activated it.
A screen appeared.
Three letters.
R.C.T.
Marcus stepped closer.
“Riverside Civic Trust.””
Pike nodded.
“That's their public name.””
“What is their private name?””
Pike looked at him.
“The Board.””
Marcus frowned.
“Who sits on it?””
“That depends on the year.””
“Who sits on it now?””
Pike typed.
Six names appeared.
Mayor Daniel Whitmore.
Former Chief Harold Vance.
Attorney Eleanor Shaw.
Developer Malcolm Trent.
Judge Robert Harlan.
And one final entry.
REDACTED.
Marcus studied the list.
“Six people.””
“There are seven.””
“Who is redacted?””
“That is the person nobody has been able to identify.””
Ortiz looked at the screen.
“Arthur Bell said he didn't know.””
“He doesn't,” Pike said.
Marcus pointed to Whitmore's name.
“Why is the mayor still on the Board?””
“Because he never left.””
“And you?””
“I was never on it.””
Marcus looked at Caldwell's name.
“Neither was Caldwell.””
Pike shook his head.
“That was the point.””
Marcus leaned against the desk.
“You said Caldwell redirected cases to protect people.””
“Yes.””
“Then why did he take their money?””
Pike hesitated.
“Because he needed access.””
“To what?””
“Evidence.””
Marcus looked at the laptop.
Pike continued.
“Caldwell built a private collection of everything the Board tried to erase.””
“His copies.””
“Exactly.””
“Where are they?””
Pike smiled faintly.
“That is what we're here to find.””
A sound echoed through the courthouse.
Someone was walking in the hallway.
Marcus drew his weapon.
Ortiz did the same.
Pike closed the laptop.
The footsteps stopped outside.
A woman's voice spoke.
“Chief Reed.””
Marcus froze.
He knew that voice.
Attorney Eleanor Shaw.
The city attorney's deputy.
She had been in the police department that morning.
Marcus moved toward the doorway.
“Come in.””
The door opened.
Shaw stood alone.
No weapon.
No escort.
She looked exhausted.
“You need to leave.””
Marcus kept his gun lowered but ready.
“Why?””
“Because the police department is under federal investigation.””
Marcus frowned.
“That's news to me.””
“It started twenty minutes ago.””
“Who requested it?””
“I did.””
Marcus stared.
“Why?””
“Because I finally realized the Board was never protecting the city.””
She stepped inside.
“They were protecting themselves.””
Pike looked at her.
“You changed sides.””
Shaw's expression hardened.
“I stopped pretending there were sides.””
Marcus asked, “Where is Mayor Whitmore?””
“He surrendered.””
“Voluntarily?””
“No.””
Marcus waited.
“They found him trying to leave the country.””
Pike cursed.
Marcus looked at Shaw.
“And Mercer?””
She hesitated.
“Missing.””
Marcus's stomach tightened.
“Caldwell?””
“Still running.””
“He's being hunted.””
“I know.””
Shaw placed a folder on the desk.
“Then there's something you need to see.””
Marcus opened it.
Inside were bank transfers.
Payments between shell companies.
Riverside contractors.
Legal trusts.
Private accounts.
Dates.
Signatures.
One name repeated more than all the others.
Garrett Caldwell.
Marcus looked at Shaw.
“These payments are from years ago.””
“I know.””
“Why show me this?””
“Because they're not payments to Caldwell.””
Marcus frowned.
“Then what are they?””
“Payments made in his name.””
Marcus turned the page.
Every transfer had been routed through a company called Caldwell Security Holdings.
He looked at Pike.
“That company belongs to him?””
“No.””
Shaw shook her head.
“It belongs to his brother.””
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
“His brother is dead.””
“So the records say.””
Pike stepped toward the folder.
“His brother isn't dead.””
Marcus looked at him.
Pike's face had gone pale.
“You know him?””
“I thought I knew who he was.””
“Who is he?””
Pike pointed at the account holder.
“Elias Caldwell.””
Ortiz looked at Marcus.
“Garrett's brother.””
Pike nodded.
“Garrett spent eighteen months believing Elias was dead.””
Marcus read the transfer dates.
One appeared from last month.
Another from yesterday.
The newest one had been processed at 8:51 that morning.
One minute after Marcus entered Riverside.
His eyes moved to the destination account.
RIVERSIDE POLICE COMMAND OFFICE.
Marcus felt the room tilt.
“They're paying someone inside my office.””
Shaw nodded.
“That's why you're the suspect.””
Marcus looked up.
“They needed a chief to authorize the transfers.””
“Yes.””
“And they chose me.””
“Yes.””
“Then who is Elias Caldwell?””
Nobody answered.
The laptop suddenly turned itself on.
The screen displayed a live security feed.
Riverside Police Department.
Marcus's command office.
His desk was visible.
Someone was sitting in his chair.
The camera angle showed only the back of the person's head.
Gray hair.
Dark suit.
Marcus stared.
Shaw whispered, “That's impossible.””
Pike stepped closer.
“No.””
Marcus looked at him.
“You know him.””
Pike's face had gone completely white.
“That isn't Elias.””
“Then who?””
Pike stared at the screen.
“That's the person who has been calling you.””
Marcus watched the figure rise.
The man slowly turned toward the camera.
Marcus stopped breathing.
It was Daniel Mercer.
Captain Mercer looked directly into the lens.
Then he smiled.
The laptop speakers clicked on.
Mercer's voice filled the courthouse.
“Chief Reed.””
Marcus moved closer.
Mercer continued.
“You've been asking the wrong questions.””
Marcus said nothing.
“You want to know who controls Riverside.””
Mercer leaned toward the camera.
“Look behind you.””
Everyone turned.
Nothing.
Then Ortiz noticed movement in the courtroom.
A figure was standing behind the old judge's bench.
A man in a maintenance jacket.
Pike turned.
“Get down!””
The first shot shattered the courthouse window.
Marcus dropped behind the desk.
Ortiz returned fire.
Shaw screamed and ducked.
Pike lunged toward the laptop.
The screen went black.
The attacker disappeared.
Marcus rose carefully.
Glass littered the floor.
Ortiz approached the broken window.
“Who was that?””
Marcus looked at Pike.
Pike was staring at the judge's chamber.
“He wasn't shooting at us.””
Marcus frowned.
“What?””
Pike walked to the old bench.
He reached underneath it.
His fingers found a small metal box.
He pulled it free.
Inside was a single file folder.
He opened it.
The top page contained one sentence.
THE SEVENTH MEMBER IS GARRETT CALDWELL.
Marcus stared.
“That can't be.””
Pike looked up.
“It can.””
Ortiz shook her head.
“Caldwell wasn't on the Board.””
“No.””
Pike turned the page.
“He wasn't a member when this began.””
Marcus read the final note.
BECAME MEMBER AFTER PIKE DISAPPEARED.
His eyes lifted.
“Who added him?””
Pike looked toward the shattered window.
“The seventh member.””
Marcus's phone vibrated.
For the first time all morning, it had regained a signal.
One message.
From Caldwell.
Marcus opened it.
CALL ME.
A second arrived.
HURRY.
A third followed.
I FOUND THE SEVENTH MEMBER.
Then the final message appeared.
IT'S NOT WHO YOU THINK.
Marcus stared at the screen.
Before he could call, the courthouse doors exploded open.
Federal agents flooded the building.
Weapons raised.
“DROP YOUR WEAPONS!””
Ortiz lifted her hands.
Pike did the same.
Marcus stood still.
One agent approached him.
“Marcus Reed?””
“Yes.””
“You're under arrest.””
Marcus looked past him.
At the broken window.
At the folder.
At the name on the page.
Garrett Caldwell.
Then he heard a familiar voice from the back of the courthouse.
“Don't arrest him.””
Everyone turned.
Caldwell stood in the doorway.
Blood ran down his temple.
His hands were empty.
He looked directly at Marcus.
Then at the agents.
“The chief is the only person who can stop them.””
One of the agents raised his weapon.
Caldwell smiled.
“Unless you already work for them.””
The agent's expression changed.
May you like
And Marcus realized that the manhunt had never been about capturing him.
It had been about discovering which side every person in the room belonged to.
