Chapter 10 - The Second FrontBy four o'clock that afternoon, the news of Daniel’s denied bail was the lead story on every local network. But as the sun began to set over the city, the true battle moved out of the courtroom and into the shadows.
Rachel and I returned to my apartment under police escort to gather my remaining personal belongings. Detective Reed had assigned an officer to sit outside the building in a marked unit, but as we pulled into the alley behind the brownstone, I noticed the cruiser was gone.
"Reed," I said immediately into my cell phone as I got out of the car. "Where is Officer Davis? He was supposed to be stationed in the alley."
"Davis?" Reed’s voice came through the speaker, crisp and urgent over background noise. "Clara, Davis was reassigned by Internal Affairs thirty minutes ago. They claimed there was a precinct emergency. I didn't authorize that. Get out of there right now!"
Before I could turn back toward Rachel’s car, the door to the alley's service entrance creaked open.
A man in a dark utility jacket stepped out into the rain. It wasn't Daniel. It was Arthur Pendelton’s personal driver—a man named Viktor, whom I had seen dozens of times standing quietly beside limousines at Mercer House fundraisers.
"Mrs. Mercer," Viktor said smoothly, his hand resting inside his jacket pocket. "Mr. Pendelton would like to have a private conversation with you before the grand jury convenes tomorrow."
"Get back in the car, Clara!" Rachel screamed, throwing her vehicle into reverse.
Viktor didn't draw a gun. Instead, he pulled out a tablet screen and held it toward me in the dim alley light. On the screen was a live security feed of Dr. Priya Shah’s urgent-care clinic across town. A second man in a dark coat was standing in the clinic’s waiting room, leaning against the reception desk where Dr. Shah was writing charts.
"Mr. Pendelton understands that you have the primary flash drive," Viktor said softly, his voice drowned out slightly by the steady patter of rain on the cobblestones. "He also understands that Dr. Shah was kind enough to document your injuries without asking questions. It would be a tragedy if her clinic suffered a tragic fire tonight because of a faulty gas line."
My heart hammered against my ribs, but the paralysis that used to grip me when Daniel threatened me was gone. Five years of fear had burned out, leaving only cold calculation.
I reached slowly into my coat pocket. Viktor watched my hand carefully, his eyes narrowing.
"Careful, Clara," Viktor warned.
I didn't pull out a flash drive. I pulled out my phone, its screen glowing brightly.
"You're a little late, Viktor," I said, holding up the phone so he could see the active upload status on the screen. "The air-gapped files weren't just on one drive. Ten minutes ago, ASA Lin filed the entire Safekeeping archive directly into the Federal Court clerk's public docket under the Victims Protection Act. By now, the FBI has already executed a search warrant on Arthur Pendelton’s home."
Far off in the distance, down toward the harbor, the sharp, rising wail of multiple federal sirens cut through the evening rain, growing closer with every second.
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