"How many?"
"Eight."
Elias whispered:
"They're not here to arrest anyone."
Nia looked at him.
"How do you know?"
"Because I've seen them before."
The security supervisor moved toward the rear exit.
"We need to go."
They moved through the garage.
A loud crack echoed behind them.
Someone had fired into the ceiling.
Nobody stopped.
Nia's security team pushed them toward a service elevator.
The elevator doors closed.
Nia looked at Elias.
"Who are they?"
"Cleaners."
"What does that mean?"
"They erase problems."
The elevator descended.
Nia's phone buzzed.
A message.
You should have handed over the briefcase.
She showed Marcus.
His reply came immediately.
Do not respond.
Another message appeared.
You have ten minutes.
Then:
After that, people start dying.
Nia stared at the screen.
Fear finally touched her.
Not for herself.
For the people around her.
She looked at Elias.
"Who else knows about the ledger?"
"Nobody."
"You're lying."
He looked away.
Nia stepped closer.
"Who?"
Elias swallowed.
"My daughter."
Nia froze.
"Where is she?"
"At school."
The elevator stopped.
The doors opened.
A school bus horn sounded somewhere outside.
Nia understood immediately.
They were not being chased because of the ledger.
They were being chased because the ledger could expose the entire network.
And now someone was threatening a child.
Nia turned to the security supervisor.
"Get me a phone."
"Senator?"
"I need to make a call."
"To whom?"
Nia looked toward the city beyond the garage.
"To the one person they don't realize I can reach."
The Judge
At 12:09, Nia Caldwell called Chief Justice Eleanor Whitmore.
Not the governor.
Not the attorney general.
Not the federal authorities.
The chief justice of the state's highest court.
Whitmore answered on the second ring.
"Nia?"
"I need an emergency judicial review."
Silence.
"Of what?"
"An alleged federal seizure conducted without a valid warrant."
Whitmore's voice sharpened.
"Are you safe?"
"For the moment."
"Do you have evidence?"
"Yes."
"How much?"
"Enough to make people nervous."
Whitmore paused.
"Send it."
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because I don't know who inside the government is compromised."
Whitmore was silent for several seconds.
Then she said:
"Good."
Nia frowned.
"Good?"
"You finally understand the game."
Nia closed her eyes.
"Can you issue an emergency order?"
"Not against a federal agency without jurisdiction."
"I know."
"Then what do you want?"
"A preservation order for the evidence."
Whitmore understood.
"You're trying to make the evidence impossible to destroy."
"Exactly."
"Can you prove chain of custody?"
"I can."
"Can you prove the agents attempted to seize it?"
"Every second."
Whitmore's voice became firm.
"Then send me the recordings."
Nia did.
The files arrived.
Minutes later, the chief justice called back.
"Someone forged a federal authorization."
"Yes."
"I've seen the signature."
Nia froze.
"Whose?"
Whitmore hesitated.
"Adrian Voss."
Nia looked at Elias.
"We found that."
Whitmore continued.
"But there is something else."
"What?"
"The signature wasn't forged."
Nia stared at the phone.
"What?"
"The certificate is legitimate."
Nia's voice dropped.
"Then someone accessed his credentials."
"Yes."
"Can you prove it?"
"Not yet."
"Then find out."
Whitmore's voice hardened.
"I will."
Nia ended the call.
Elias looked at her.
"What did she say?"
Nia answered:
"The signature is real."
Elias's face went pale.
"Then we're already too late."
The Inside Man
At 12:41, Adrian Voss arrived at Nia's temporary location under heavy security.
He looked exhausted.
He had spent the last several hours discovering that someone had used his credentials to authorize an operation he never approved.
Nia met him alone.
"You came."
Voss nodded.
"I owe you an explanation."
"You owe me more than that."
"I know."
She studied him.
"Did you send those agents?"
"No."
"Did you sign the authorization?"
"No."
"Your certificate was used."
"I know."
"How?"
Voss looked at her.
"Someone inside my office has administrator-level access."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
Nia crossed her arms.
"Then find them."
Voss almost smiled.
"That's what I'm trying to do."
He placed a file on the table.
"I think the person you're looking for is Deputy Director Calvin Rourke."
Nia opened the file.
Rourke's name appeared repeatedly.
Nia looked up.
"Why?"
"He controlled internal security credentials."
"Could he forge your signature?"
"No."
"Could he access your certificate?"
"Yes."
"Could he authorize agents?"
"Indirectly."
Nia stared at the documents.
"And could he have ordered the seizure?"