Chapter 5 - THE MAN WHO CONTROLLED THE CAMERASCaptain Harold Vance stepped into the blue light.
He wore the same uniform Daniel had seen hundreds of times.
Calm.
Pressed.
Professional.
But now there was something different in his eyes.
Daniel's grip tightened.
“Where's Eli?”
Vance smiled.
“Still asking the wrong question.”
Olivia moved beside Daniel.
“Stay away from me.”
Vance looked at her.
“You should have followed instructions.”
“You killed my husband.”
“I didn't kill Nathan.”
“You disappeared him.”
“He disappeared himself.”
Daniel interrupted.
“Enough.”
Vance looked at him.
“You want the truth, Daniel?”
“Yes.”
“Then stop pretending you're the hero.”
Rex growled.
Vance's eyes moved to the dog.
“Interesting.”
“What?”
“He found the wrong thing.”
Daniel narrowed his eyes.
Vance continued.
“The backpack was never intended to hurt Eli.”
“What was inside it?”
“A key.”
“To what?”
Vance smiled.
“To something your father never knew existed.”
Daniel stiffened.
“My father?”
Vance nodded.
“Your father worked maintenance here before you joined law enforcement.”
Daniel stared at him.
He had never discussed his father with Vance.
“My father died sixteen years ago.”
“Correct.”
“Then how would you know him?”
“Because I was there.”
Daniel's pulse climbed.
“What did he do?”
Vance took one step closer.
“He discovered the first route.”
“What route?”
“The route underneath the airport.”
Olivia whispered:
“The tunnels.”
Daniel looked at her.
“You know about them?”
She nodded.
“Nathan found them years ago.”
Vance laughed.
“Not tunnels.”
He pointed toward the floor.
“Archives.”
A heavy door behind him opened.
Beyond it was a massive underground chamber.
Rows of shelves.
Boxes.
Hard drives.
Passports.
Photographs.
Medical records.
Names.
Thousands of them.
Daniel's stomach turned.
“This is a database.”
Vance's expression hardened.
“It's a record.”
“Of what?”
“Everyone who was moved through here.”
Olivia covered her mouth.
Daniel stepped toward the shelves.
A file lay open.
NATHAN HART.
Daniel picked it up.
Inside were photographs of Nathan.
Dates.
Locations.
Surveillance notes.
One page was marked in red.
SUBJECT REFUSED COOPERATION. CHILD WILL BE USED AS LEVERAGE.
Daniel looked at Olivia.
She shook her head.
“I never saw that.”
Then Daniel saw another file.
His own name.
OFFICER DANIEL BROOKS.
He opened it.
Photographs of him.
His apartment.
His patrol car.
Rex.
His mother.
His childhood home.
Every detail.
At the bottom was a recent photograph.
Taken that morning.
Daniel and Rex walking into the airport.
Under it:
DOG IDENTIFIED.
Then:
BROOKS IDENTIFIED.
Then:
ELI HART READY.
Daniel looked up slowly.
“This was planned.”
Vance said nothing.
A distant alarm began to sound.
Vance's face changed.
“They know we're here.”
Daniel pointed his weapon.
“You're coming with us.”
Vance laughed softly.
“You still don't understand.”
“What?”
Vance looked at the ceiling.
“The airport was never locked down to keep people out.”
Then the lights went off.
Complete darkness.
Rex barked.
A gunshot echoed.
Olivia screamed.
Daniel fired toward the sound.
May you like
When emergency lights returned, Vance was gone.
And so was the file containing Eli Hart's name.
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