The patrol car began moving.
Keller drove several blocks before turning into a quiet industrial area.
Marcus looked through the window.
No police station.
No evidence center.
No courthouse.
Nothing.
"Where are we going?"
Keller ignored him.
Marcus understood.
He wasn't being taken to process an arrest.
He was being taken somewhere private.
That changed everything.
"Keller."
Silence.
"Where are you taking me?"
"Somewhere we can talk."
"Without witnesses?"
Keller looked at him through the mirror.
"You ask too many questions."
"And you avoid too many answers."
The cruiser stopped behind an abandoned maintenance building.
Keller turned off the engine.
For several seconds, neither man moved.
Then Keller got out.
He opened the rear door.
Marcus remained seated.
"Come on."
"No."
Keller stared at him.
"You don't get to say no."
Marcus looked up.
"Actually, I think I do."
Keller grabbed the door.
"You've made a serious mistake."
Marcus smiled faintly.
"No, Officer Keller."
His voice became colder.
"That was you."
Keller reached for his radio.
Before he could speak, headlights appeared at the far end of the street.
One vehicle.
Then another.
Then another.
Black SUVs.
Keller froze.
Marcus leaned back.
"That's my ride."
The first SUV stopped.
Doors opened.
Federal agents stepped out.
Lena Morales walked toward the patrol car.
Her FBI credentials were visible beneath her rain jacket.
"Keller," she said.
The officer's face went pale.
"What is this?"
Lena pointed toward Marcus.
"Step away from the vehicle."
Keller looked inside.
Marcus was still handcuffed.
Lena's expression hardened.
"Remove those."
Keller didn't move.
"I had reasonable suspicion."
"No, you didn't."
"I received a call."
"We checked."
Lena held up a tablet.
"No call exists."
Keller looked at Marcus.
Marcus said nothing.
Lena continued.
"You detained a federal agent assigned to an active investigation."
Keller stared.
"Federal agent?"
Marcus nodded.
"Special Agent Marcus Reed."
The officer's confidence disappeared.
"You should have told me."
"I asked you why you were stopping me."
"I didn't know."
"You didn't ask."
Lena stepped closer.
"Unlock him."
Keller hesitated.
Then he removed the handcuffs.
Marcus rubbed his wrists.
He didn't look angry.
That somehow made Keller more nervous.
"Where's Crane?" Marcus asked.
Keller remained silent.
Lena answered.
"We lost him."
Marcus looked toward the road.
"Then we have work to do."
He turned toward Keller.
"But first, we're going to talk about why you decided to invent a burglary."
Keller's mouth tightened.
"You have no proof."
Marcus looked at Lena.
She smiled slightly.
"We have twelve minutes of audio."
Keller stared at them.
"Audio?"
Marcus nodded.
"Everything you said."
Then Lena's radio crackled.
An agent reported from several blocks away.
"Target located."
Marcus looked up.
"Crane?"
"Yes."
"Status?"
"He's at the storage facility."
Marcus straightened.
"Let's go."
The storage facility looked different at night.
Rain had stopped, but the pavement remained wet, reflecting the security lights in long streaks.
Marcus stood behind an unmarked vehicle while federal agents positioned themselves around the property.
Lena approached.
"Crane is inside Unit 41."
"Anyone with him?"
"Two men."
"Armed?"
"Probably."
Marcus looked at the building.
"What about Keller?"
"Taken into custody."
"Good."
Lena hesitated.
"There's something else."
Marcus turned.
"His phone."
"We searched it."
"And?"
"We found a message from Crane."
Marcus's expression changed.
"Read it."
Lena showed him the screen.
The message contained only seven words.
THE MAN AT THE GAS STATION KNOWS TOO MUCH.
Marcus stared at it.
"Sent when?"
"Thirty minutes before Keller stopped you."
Marcus looked across the parking lot.
"Then Keller wasn't improvising."
"No."
"He knew exactly who I was supposed to be."
"Not your name. Just that someone was watching Crane."
Marcus nodded.
"Which means somebody inside our investigation leaked the surveillance."
Lena lowered the phone.
"That's what I'm worried about."
They entered the facility twenty minutes later.
Unit 41 was empty.
Except for a metal desk.
A computer.
And hundreds of documents.
Marcus opened the first folder.
Shipping records.
The second.
Payment records.
The third.
Police schedules.
He stopped.
"That's not possible."
Lena looked over his shoulder.
The documents contained dates and times for police inspections.