Chapter 2 - The Name Adrian BuriedAdrian Vale stood in the center of his garage as if someone had pulled the floor out from beneath him.
The engine continued running.
Mechanics were still staring at the machine.
Victor finally broke the silence.
"Adrian..."
Adrian didn't answer.
His eyes remained fixed on the empty doorway.
The boy was gone.
"Adrian."
Victor stepped closer.
"What did you recognize?"
Adrian looked at him.
"The key."
Victor frowned.
"What about it?"
Adrian walked toward the engine.
He reached into the hidden compartment.
His fingers touched the metal edge.
There was an engraved symbol.
A simple letter.
R.
Victor stared at him.
"You know who built this?"
Adrian nodded slowly.
"Not who built it."
He swallowed.
"Who designed it."
Victor looked toward the door.
"The kid's father."
Adrian didn't answer.
Victor's expression changed.
"Who?"
Adrian took a long breath.
"Elias Reed."
The name hung in the garage.
Victor's face went blank.
"Elias Reed?"
"You know him?"
"Everyone in this industry knows him."
Victor stared at the engine.
"The engineer who disappeared?"
Adrian nodded.
"The same one."
Seven years earlier, Elias Reed had been one of the most brilliant automotive engineers in the country.
He had designed experimental power systems that major manufacturers had tried to buy.
Then he had vanished.
Officially, Elias had died in a highway accident.
His car had gone over a bridge during a storm.
No body had ever been recovered.
Most people had eventually accepted the story.
Adrian never had.
Because Elias had once been his closest friend.
And because the night before the supposed accident, Elias had called him.
Adrian still remembered the conversation.
Don't trust the people around you.
That was all Elias had said.
The following morning, he was gone.
Adrian had spent years trying to discover what happened.
Nothing.
Until today.
"Where did that boy go?" Victor asked.
Adrian turned.
"Find him."
Victor hesitated.
"Adrian, he's a child."
"Find him."
Victor left.
Adrian looked back at the supercar.
The model was called the Asterion R9.
Only eight had ever been built.
Seven were privately owned.
The eighth belonged to Adrian.
But there was something nobody knew.
The R9 wasn't simply a supercar.
It was a test platform for technology Adrian and Elias had developed together.
The engine inside it was supposed to be impossible to sabotage without leaving visible evidence.
Yet someone had done exactly that.
Adrian walked around the car.
The hidden module bothered him.
The boy hadn't merely found it.
He had known exactly where to look.
A sound came from behind him.
"Mr. Vale?"
Adrian turned.
One of the mechanics held something in his hand.
"We found this under the car."
It was a small piece of torn fabric.
Adrian stared at it.
Dark blue.
Children's clothing.
"Where?"
"Near the rear tire."
Adrian took it.
He studied the fabric.
Then he noticed a tiny white label sewn into the seam.
One word.
REED.
His pulse quickened.
The boy wasn't random.
He had come here on purpose.
Adrian grabbed his coat.
"Lock the shop."
"What?"
"Nobody leaves."
Victor looked confused.
"Why?"
"Because somebody wanted this engine dead."
Victor's face hardened.
"And the kid?"
Adrian looked toward the street.
"The kid knew how to revive it."
He walked outside.
Rain had begun to fall.
The city lights shimmered against the wet pavement.
Adrian scanned the sidewalk.
Nothing.
Then he noticed something.
Across the street.
A small figure stood beneath an awning.
The boy.
Adrian crossed the road.
The boy saw him.
He turned.
Then ran.
"Wait!"
Adrian chased him.
The child slipped between two buildings.
Adrian followed.
He emerged into an alley.
Empty.
"Where did you go?"
A metallic clang echoed behind him.
Adrian spun.
A dumpster moved slightly.
He approached cautiously.
The boy wasn't there.
But someone else was.
A man in a black hood stepped from the shadows.
He had a scar across his cheek.
He stared at Adrian.
"You shouldn't have brought the car back."
Adrian's heart stopped.
"What did you say?"
The stranger smiled.
"You should have let the engine die."
Adrian stepped forward.
"Who are you?"
The man reached into his jacket.
Adrian braced himself.
But the man didn't pull a weapon.
He pulled out a photograph.
He tossed it at Adrian.
Adrian caught it.
His entire body went cold.
The photograph showed Elias Reed standing beside the Asterion R9.
And beside Elias was the boy.
Only the photograph had been taken years ago.
The child couldn't have been more than three years old.
Adrian stared at the image.
The stranger smiled.
"You know what that means."
Before Adrian could answer, a car screeched around the corner.
The stranger jumped inside.
Adrian ran after him.
Too late.
The car disappeared into traffic.
Adrian looked down at the photograph again.
Then he noticed something written on the back.
Three words.
May you like
HE IS YOURS.
Adrian's breathing stopped.
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