Footsteps.
Someone was approaching the side entrance.
Cole motioned Evelyn toward the back.
"There's a tunnel."
"A tunnel?"
"Old drainage passage. It comes out behind the rail yard."
"I can't run."
"You won't have to."
Cole opened a wooden cabinet.
Behind it was a narrow passage.
The bikers began moving motorcycles toward the front entrance.
Evelyn stared.
"What are you doing?"
Cole smiled.
"Giving them something to look at."
The engines roared.
One after another.
The sound shook the building.
Evelyn had never heard so many motorcycles start at once.
Cole handed her the metal box.
"You keep this."
"What about you?"
"I'm right behind you."
She looked at him.
"Why are you helping me?"
Cole paused.
"Because your grandson trusted me."
He lowered his voice.
"And because nobody should have to run for six days just because they told the truth."
The Blue Door
The tunnel was narrow.
Evelyn moved slowly, one hand against the wall.
Cole stayed behind her.
Water dripped from the ceiling.
Every step hurt.
But she kept going.
Behind them, they heard shouting.
Then engines.
Then silence.
They emerged near an abandoned rail yard.
A truck waited there.
One of Cole's friends, Ray, opened the door.
"Get in."
They drove.
For nearly an hour, nobody spoke.
Finally Evelyn asked:
"How do you know Nathan?"
Cole looked out the windshield.
"Your grandson once saved my life."
Evelyn turned.
"What?"
"Not physically."
He sighed.
"Four years ago, I was investigating a friend of mine who disappeared. Nathan was working on something similar. We discovered the same company was involved."
"What happened?"
"We went separate ways."
"Why?"
"Because Nathan believed the police were compromised."
Evelyn stared ahead.
"He was right."
Cole nodded.
"Looks like he was."
They reached a small farmhouse before sunrise.
An elderly woman named June opened the door.
She hugged Cole.
Then looked at Evelyn.
"Is this Nathan's grandmother?"
Evelyn nodded.
June's eyes filled with tears.
"I wondered when you'd arrive."
Evelyn froze.
"You know me?"
"No."
June pointed toward a chair.
"Your grandson left something for you."
A sealed envelope rested there.
Evelyn's hands shook as she opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
Nathan standing beside a younger Cole.
On the back were words:
Grandma, if you're reading this, I failed to keep you out of it. I'm sorry.
Evelyn began crying.
There was another page.
The people following you aren't the real problem. They're contractors. Find the man above them. His name is Victor Hale.
Cole's face hardened.
Victor Hale.
He knew the name.
Everyone in certain circles knew it.
A wealthy executive.
Former government consultant.
Owner of several companies.
Publicly respected.
Privately feared.
And according to Nathan—
The man behind the entire operation.
Evelyn looked at Cole.
"Where is Nathan?"
Cole didn't answer.
She understood.
"You don't know."
"No."
"Do you think he's dead?"
Cole looked at her.
"I don't know."
Evelyn wiped her eyes.
"Then we're going to find him."
Cole smiled slightly.
"That's what I was hoping you'd say."
Victor Hale
Victor Hale lived in a mansion overlooking the city.
He had never personally followed Evelyn.
He didn't need to.
He had people for that.
He sat in a quiet office while an assistant placed a photograph on his desk.
Evelyn.
Cole.
The motorcycle group.
Hale studied the image.
"Who is the biker?"
"Cole Harrison."
Hale's expression changed.
"That complicates things."
"Should we bring him in?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because men like Harrison don't scare easily."
Hale stood.
"Find Nathan."
"We've searched every place connected to him."
"Then search again."
The assistant hesitated.
"What about the grandmother?"
Hale looked at him.
"She isn't the objective."
"But she has the evidence."
"Exactly."
Hale smiled.
"Which means she will eventually lead us to it."
He walked to the window.
Rain streaked the glass.
"People always think information is valuable."
He turned.
"It isn't."
"What is?"
"Control."
Across town, Cole and Evelyn were preparing to leave June's farmhouse.
Cole checked his motorcycle.
Evelyn watched.
"You really believe we can find him?"
"I believe Nathan wanted us to."
"That's not the same thing."
"No."
Cole looked at her.
"But it's enough."
They rode toward an old hotel where Nathan had once stayed.
The room had been cleared.
Too clean.
Cole noticed immediately.
"Someone was here."
Evelyn pointed toward the desk.
A small mark had been carved into the wood.
Three lines.
Then a circle.
She recognized it.
"Nathan used that symbol when we were children."
"What does it mean?"
"It means 'look underneath.'"
Cole lifted the carpet.
A floorboard had been loosened.
Underneath was a small envelope.
Inside was a key.
And a handwritten address.
MERCER WAREHOUSE.
Cole looked at Evelyn.
"That's where this started."
"No," Evelyn said.
She held the key tightly.
"That's where Nathan wants us to finish it."
The Warehouse
The Mercer Warehouse stood near the river.
It had been abandoned for years.
Cole parked two blocks away.
The bikers spread out.
Evelyn remained in the truck.
"You stay here."
"No."
"Evelyn."
"You said Nathan trusted me."