Chapter 10 - The Frequency of Truth
Agent Harris paused, her gaze dropping to the small black remote Clara held out in the open palm of her trembling hand.
""It's a civilian panic button,"" Julian shouted through the window crack, panic finally threading through his composed voice. ""She bought it online! Don't let her stall!""
""Look at the serial code stamped on the back edge, Agent Harris,"" Clara insisted, stepping closer to the agent. ""It’s stamped with a Department of Justice procurement code. Serial 884-Bravo.""
Agent Harris frowned. She took the device from Clara’s hand, angling her tactical flashlight toward the microscopic stamp pressed into the matte plastic casing. Her expression hardened instantly.
""Where did you get this?"" Harris asked, her voice dropping all hostility.
""Three months ago, a man named Marcus Kane contacted me,"" Clara explained, her heart hammering against her ribs. ""He told me Julian was preparing a federal entrapment scheme against me to shield his real superiors. Kane gave me this beacon. He told me that when Julian finally made his move, pressing this button would upload the mirror drive to the Treasury Inspector General's office—not the local DA.""
Julian’s face went chalk-white against the police car glass. ""She's lying! Kane died in a private plane crash two years ago!""
""That’s what you were told to keep you compliant, Julian,"" Clara said, stepping right up to the window. ""Marcus Kane was never your partner. He was an undercover operative for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.""
Agent Harris keyed her personal encrypted radio. ""Harris to Director Vance. The beacon has been verified. The target's backup protocol is authentic.""
Julian gasped. Director Vance?
May you like
From the passenger seat of the lead black sedan, a tall, distinguished man with silver hair and steel-rimmed glasses stepped out into the rain. He looked identical to Julian, twenty years older.
It was Julian’s estranged father—the former Undersecretary of the Treasury whom Julian claimed had disowned him.
