Chapter 6 - The FactoryThe factory had been empty for fifteen years.
Broken windows.
Rusting machinery.
No lights.
We entered from the eastern side.
Police moved ahead.
I stayed behind Ortiz.
Then we heard a voice.
My father's.
“You should have stayed out of this.”
Dylan answered.
“I couldn't.”
I stopped.
He sounded afraid.
Not angry.
Terrified.
Ortiz raised her hand.
We moved forward.
We found them in an old processing room.
Dylan was tied to a chair.
Victor stood behind him.
There was blood on Dylan's shirt.
My father looked at me.
For the first time, he seemed genuinely surprised.
“Daniel.”
“You're going to prison.”
He laughed.
“You still think this is about a promotion?”
I stepped closer.
“What is Blackline?”
His expression changed.
“You don't remember.”
“I remember enough.”
“You remember nothing.”
Dylan looked at me.
“Don't listen to him.”
Victor grabbed Dylan's shoulder.
“You're confused.”
I looked at my brother.
“What happened?”
Dylan whispered:
“Dad was using Halcyon to move money for Meridian.”
Victor shook his head.
“That's not the whole story.”
“No,” Dylan said.
“You don't want him to know the rest.”
My father pulled out a gun.
The police raised theirs.
“Drop it!”
Victor froze.
Then the lights went out.
Chaos.
A gunshot.
Dylan screamed.
Someone ran through the darkness.
When the emergency lights came back on, Victor was gone.
So was the unidentified man.
Dylan remained tied to the chair.
Ortiz freed him.
He was shaking.
“Did Dad shoot you?”
Dylan touched his shoulder.
“No.”
“Then who?”
He looked at me.
“The man in the photograph.”
“Elias Grant?”
Dylan nodded.
“He was here.”
“What does he want?”
Dylan's eyes filled with fear.
“You.”
I stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because you were the only one who figured out what Blackline really was.”
I couldn't understand.
“I didn't know anything.”
“You did.”
He shook his head.
“Before the attack, you knew everything.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You gave me the files.”
My heart stopped.
“I gave you what?”
“The evidence.”
I stared at him.
Dylan continued.
“You told me Dad was going to kill you.”
I stepped backward.
The room seemed to tilt.
“You're lying.”
“No.”
“You attacked me.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
His eyes filled with tears.
“Because Dad told me you had changed the files.”
“What files?”
“The evidence against him.”
He swallowed.
“I thought you were trying to frame him.”
“And you believed him?”
“I was stupid.”
“You tried to kill me.”
“I know.”
He looked broken.
“I thought if I took your job, Dad would stop.”
Silence.
“But then he told me to make sure you couldn't talk.”
My chest tightened.
“What did he mean?”
Dylan looked at Ortiz.
Then back at me.
“He didn't want you dead.”
“Then what did he want?”
Dylan whispered:
“He wanted you alive.”
I stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because you had memorized something.”
The room went silent.
“What?”
May you like
Dylan looked at me.
“A password.”
