Chapter 11 - THE LAST MISSIONThe underground structure was part of a much larger system.
Maps showed tunnels beneath three city blocks.
Old utility corridors.
Maintenance shafts.
Emergency exits.
Someone had built an invisible world beneath the school.
Police flooded the area.
Mrs. Holloway was arrested.
Mercer was found unconscious in a storage room.
But Thomas Hale was gone.
And so was the ledger.
The key I'd thrown had opened a metal box beneath the stage.
Inside was a hard drive.
The hard drive contained transactions.
Names.
Companies.
School contracts.
Payments.
Enough evidence to bring down the network.
But one file was missing.
The file marked:
ATLAS.
Reyes looked at me.
“Why do they want the dog?”
Michael answered.
“Because Atlas isn't just a dog.”
“He knows routes,” I said.
“He knows people.”
Michael nodded.
“And he was trained to recognize scent trails.”
“Which means?”
“He can identify whoever handled the children.”
I stared at Bear.
He could lead us to the source.
But someone had anticipated that.
At 2:11 a.m., every police computer in the building shut down.
The lights went out.
Phones lost signal.
Emergency generators failed.
A voice came through the speakers.
“Atlas.”
Bear stood.
Michael grabbed him.
“No.”
The voice continued.
“Come to the old rail station.”
A location appeared on the wall monitor.
“Or Lily dies.”
My blood ran cold.
“She has guards.”
Michael shook his head.
“Look at the screen.”
A video appeared.
Lily was sitting in a room.
Alive.
A man stood behind her.
Yellow cap.
Her kidnapper.
But the video was live.
Lily looked directly into the camera.
Then whispered:
“Sarah.”
Michael stepped forward.
“Don't move.”
A second later, the video cut.
Reyes turned toward the officers.
“No one goes alone.”
We assembled a tactical team.
Michael insisted on coming.
The old rail station was abandoned.
Tracks rusted.
Windows broken.
Snow beginning to fall.
Bear entered first.
His nose went to the ground.
Then he stopped.
He looked at Michael.
Michael nodded.
“Find her.”
Bear ran.
We followed.
The tunnel ended at a platform.
Lily was tied to a chair.
Mercer stood beside her.
He raised a gun.
“Stop.”
We stopped.
Then Thomas Hale stepped from the shadows.
He looked older than expected.
Calm.
Almost ordinary.
He held a folder.
Michael stared at him.
“You.”
Hale smiled.
“You took long enough.”
“What do you want?”
“The drive.”
“You already have copies.”
“Yes.”
“Then why?”
Hale looked at Bear.
“Because Atlas remembers something.”
Michael's face changed.
“What?”
Hale said one word.
“Saturday.”
Bear growled.
Hale looked at him.
“You were there.”
A sudden memory flashed through Michael's face.
“What happened Saturday?”
Hale smiled.
“That is what we need the dog to remember.”
Mercer pulled Lily upright.
“Give us the drive.”
Michael looked at me.
I shook my head.
Then Bear suddenly lunged.
The gun fired.
Glass exploded.
People screamed.
Lights shattered.
And in the darkness, Lily's chair tipped over.
I heard her cry.
Then silence.
When emergency lights returned, everyone was still.
Mercer was gone.
Hale was gone.
Lily was gone.
But Bear stood in the center of the platform.
May you like
Alone.
Between his teeth was a bloodstained piece of yellow fabric.
