"What?"
"The motorcycle."
Garrett frowned.
"Why?"
The stranger looked at Owen.
"Because your father hid something inside it."
Owen's heart stopped.
"What?"
The stranger smiled faintly.
"That's what everyone is trying to find."
Then he turned.
He walked out.
Garrett watched the SUV disappear down the road.
The garage remained silent.
Owen looked at the photograph.
His father's face stared back at him.
Garrett approached.
"You okay?"
Owen shook his head.
"No."
Garrett nodded.
"Fair."
Owen folded the photograph.
"Did you know my father?"
Garrett paused.
"Not well."
"But you knew him."
"Once."
"When?"
"Years ago."
Garrett looked at the motorcycle.
"Daniel came here with a broken bike."
Owen stared.
"What happened?"
"He fixed it."
Garrett smiled faintly.
"Didn't charge me."
"Why?"
"He said I'd owe him one someday."
Owen looked at the bike.
"Did you?"
Garrett nodded.
"I suppose I do."
Owen looked at the five thousand dollars in his hand.
Then at Garrett.
"I think I know what my father left."
Garrett waited.
Owen spoke quietly.
"His old notebook."
The Notebook
The notebook was hidden inside Owen's house.
Not in a safe.
Not under the floor.
Not inside a secret compartment.
It was in a cardboard box beneath Owen's bed.
Daniel had left dozens of notebooks.
Most contained ordinary mechanical diagrams.
Engine specifications.
Electrical schematics.
Parts lists.
But one notebook was different.
Black cover.
No title.
Owen had never opened it.
He had always assumed it contained unfinished work.
Now he placed it on the kitchen table.
His mother sat across from him.
"You shouldn't get involved."
Owen looked at her.
"Mom."
"Your father spent years trying to leave that life."
"What life?"
She looked away.
Owen waited.
Finally she whispered:
"People came looking for him."
"When?"
"Before he died."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you were seventeen."
"I wasn't a child."
"You were my son."
Silence.
She touched the notebook.
"Your father wanted you to have that."
Owen opened it.
The first pages contained technical diagrams.
Then photographs.
Then names.
Then locations.
One sentence appeared repeatedly.
If the system is compromised, trust the machine, not the people.
Owen turned another page.
A diagram of a motorcycle appeared.
It was Garrett's motorcycle.
Owen froze.
"Mom."
She looked.
"What?"
"This was designed before Garrett's bike was built."
His mother became pale.
"Then maybe that isn't Garrett's motorcycle."
Owen looked at the diagram.
A hidden compartment was marked beneath the fuel tank.
He remembered the stranger's words.
Your father hid something inside it.
Owen closed the notebook.
"We need to go back."
His mother grabbed his arm.
"No."
"Mom."
"No, Owen."
"Why?"
"Because if those men are looking for what your father hid, they won't stop."
Owen looked at her.
"Neither will I."
She stared at him.
For a moment, she saw something of Daniel in his face.
Then she let go.
"Be careful."
Owen nodded.
"I will."
The Hidden Compartment
Iron Rail was nearly empty when Owen returned.
Garrett was still there.
He had not gone home.
He was sitting beside his motorcycle.
"You found something."
Owen nodded.
"My father knew about this bike."
Garrett looked at him.
"How?"
Owen opened the notebook.
Garrett read the diagram.
His expression hardened.
"Under the fuel tank?"
"Yes."
They removed the tank.
At first, there was nothing.
Then Owen saw a tiny seam.
He pressed it.
A panel clicked open.
Inside was a small metal cylinder.
Garrett stared.
"What is that?"
Owen carefully removed it.
The cylinder was sealed.
His father's initials were engraved on the side.
D.C.
Daniel Carter.
Owen's hands shook.
Garrett looked at him.
"Open it."
Owen twisted the cap.
Inside was a memory card.
Nothing else.
Garrett's phone rang.
He answered.
"Yeah?"
His face changed.
"What?"
He listened.
Then slowly looked at Owen.
"Someone broke into your house."
Owen's blood ran cold.
"My mother?"
"She's safe."
Owen closed his eyes.
"Where is she?"
"At the sheriff's station."
Garrett stood.
"Come on."
Owen grabbed the memory card.
"What about this?"
Garrett looked at it.
"Bring it."
They left.
But neither noticed the black SUV parked across the street.
Inside, a man watched them drive away.
He made a phone call.
"They found it."
The Truth About Daniel
The sheriff's station was crowded.
Owen found his mother sitting in a small office.
She was shaken but unharmed.
He hugged her.
Then he noticed the deputy standing nearby.
"Who broke into the house?"
"We don't know yet."
Garrett entered behind him.
"Any cameras?"
The deputy nodded.
"We're reviewing footage."
Owen looked at his mother.
"Did they take anything?"
She shook her head.
"Not that I could see."
Owen thought about the notebook.
Then the memory card.
"They weren't looking for things."
Garrett understood.
"They were looking for information."
A deputy approached.
"We found something."
He placed a laptop on the desk.
Security footage showed two men entering the Carter house.
One went directly to Owen's bedroom.
The other searched the kitchen.
Then one man opened the bedroom door.
He stood there.
Looking around.
Then he pulled out a photograph.
It was a photograph of Daniel.
The man stared at it.
Then said something to the other.
The audio was faint.
But Owen could hear one word.
"Carter."
The footage ended.
Owen looked at Garrett.
"Who were they?"
Garrett's face was grim.
"I think I know."
"Who?"
Garrett hesitated.