Chapter 12 - THE HEAD OF HARBOR NINEThe prison became chaos.
Prisoners flooded the corridors.
Federal agents fired warning shots.
Alarms screamed.
Nathan pulled Evelyn into a maintenance room.
Mara slammed the door behind them.
Karen arrived seconds later.
“What happened?”
Nathan looked at her.
“My mother.”
Karen stared.
“She’s alive?”
“Yes.”
Before she could celebrate, a television inside the room turned on.
The face of the most powerful emergency official in the country appeared.
Director Helena Ward.
Perfect hair.
Perfect suit.
Perfect smile.
Mara stared.
“That’s her.”
Evelyn nodded.
“She runs Harbor Nine.”
The broadcast was live.
Ward addressed the nation.
“We are responding to a dangerous attack on a secure federal facility.”
Nathan laughed bitterly.
“She’s blaming us.”
Mara watched.
Ward continued.
“Agents have been attacked by terrorists embedded within our emergency network.”
Karen whispered,
“She means us.”
Ward's eyes seemed to look directly into the camera.
Then she said:
“Nathan Hail is armed and extremely dangerous.”
Nathan stared.
“I'm officially wanted.”
Mara nodded.
“By the person hunting us.”
Ward continued.
“Anyone assisting him should surrender immediately.”
Then the screen changed.
A photograph appeared.
Nathan's childhood photo.
The burning car.
And Lucas.
Ward said:
“His brother was part of a known extremist network.”
Nathan's blood ran cold.
“They're rewriting everything.”
Mara nodded.
“That's what they do.”
Evelyn touched Nathan's arm.
“Your father knew this day would come.”
“Where's the ledger?”
She looked at Mara.
Mara stiffened.
“The real ledger is not in the truck.”
Nathan frowned.
“Then where?”
Evelyn smiled faintly.
“Inside you.”
Nathan stared.
“What?”
“Your father didn't trust technology.”
She reached toward his neck.
A tiny scar sat beneath his collar.
Nathan had always assumed it was from the accident.
Evelyn pressed the scar.
A small compartment opened.
Inside was a microfilm strip.
Nathan stared.
“You put this there?”
“Your father did.”
Mara took it.
“This could expose everyone.”
“Exactly.”
Then the door exploded inward.
Ruiz entered.
He fired.
Mara shoved Nathan aside.
The bullet hit her shoulder.
“Mara!”
She collapsed.
Nathan grabbed her.
Evelyn picked up a metal pipe.
Karen screamed.
Ruiz raised his weapon again.
Then another shot rang out.
Ruiz dropped.
Everyone stared.
Lucas stood behind him.
Alive.
Blood covered his face.
Nathan laughed in disbelief.
“You're impossible to kill.”
Lucas smiled.
“I learned from Mom.”
Evelyn stared at her son.
Lucas looked at her.
“It's time.”
“To do what?” Nathan asked.
Lucas held out his hand.
“To end Harbor Nine.”
He looked toward the security monitors.
“There's one problem.”
“What?”
Lucas pointed at Helena Ward's broadcast.
“She knows the lighthouse isn't the real headquarters.”
Nathan frowned.
“Then where is?”
Lucas looked at him.
“Willowmere Lane.”
Mara, bleeding but conscious, whispered,
“The houses.”
Lucas nodded.
“The whole neighborhood is a machine.”
Nathan understood.
Karen's fake HOA wasn't just a cover.
It was a control system.
Every house was part of the network.
Every “violation.”
Every forged notice.
Every forced sale.
Every property change.
Karen had not been ruling the neighborhood.
May you like
She had been maintaining it.
And the real headquarters was beneath the street.
