CHAPTER 3: THE MAN IN THE CROWD
CHAPTER 3: THE MAN IN THE CROWD
Every exit was sealed.
No one entered.
No one left.
Airport cameras began scanning every hallway.
The mother's hands shook uncontrollably.
"My husband..."
"He wasn't always like this."
Brooks looked at her carefully.
"What changed?"
She hesitated.
"He lost everything."
"His business."
"Our home."
"He started meeting dangerous people."
"He said someone offered him one final job."
Brooks exchanged a glance with another officer.
A final job.
His radio suddenly crackled.
"Officer Brooks."
"We found surveillance footage."
Brooks hurried toward the security monitor.
There he was.
A tall man wearing a baseball cap.
Walking beside the family thirty minutes earlier.
Smiling.
Helping the little boy adjust the backpack.
Then calmly disappearing into the crowd.
The father.
Before Brooks could respond, Rex suddenly pulled hard on the leash.
The dog wasn't looking at the monitor.
He was staring across the terminal.
Toward a man pretending to read a newspaper.
The instant the man noticed Rex...
He ran.
"Police!"
Brooks sprinted after him.
Passengers screamed again as officers flooded the concourse.
The suspect pushed through people, knocked over luggage, and raced toward an emergency stairwell.
Rex closed the distance in seconds.
The man reached into his jacket.
Brooks' heart nearly stopped.
A remote control.
"Rex!"
The German Shepherd launched.
He struck the suspect before the man could press the button.
The remote skidded across the floor.
An officer grabbed it immediately.
The suspect fought wildly.
But within moments he was handcuffed.
Brooks picked up the remote.
The safety cover had already been lifted.
The man had been less than one second away from triggering the explosion.
One second.
The little boy would never have known what happened.
Neither would hundreds of innocent travelers.
As officers searched the suspect, Brooks asked only one question.
"Where's the father?"
The man smiled.
"He already knows."
"He's gone."
But Brooks wasn't convinced.
Because Rex wasn't finished.
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The dog suddenly turned...
...and began pulling toward the airport parking garage.
