Nathan stared at the message until everything became unclear.“The commodity is prepared. Send the signal.”His digit trembled above the display. Thirty-six months of quiet. Thirty-six months of acting deceased while society moved on.A single phrase could shift everything.Yet not right now. Not this evening.He erased the message and returned the phone to his garment.“Nathan.” Victoria’s voice broke through his thinking. “Collect the dishes.”Disregarding the hurt in his middle, he rose and began gathering plates. For a quick instant, their hands made contact as he approached Victoria’s place. She pulled away like she had been scorched. “I regret that,” he whispered. She replied, “Simply complete your task,” though her gaze shifted. Shame? Revulsion? He could no longer distinguish.As Nathan transported the plates to the cooking area, Marcus’s tone rang from the dining area. “Father, regarding the Redwell city Heights Development. Are we confident the authorizations are authentic?

Nathan grabbed the computer and shoved it into a bag he found in the corner. The sirens grew louder, multiplying like a swarm. Two minutes, maybe less.He rifled through the drawers looking for anything useful. Cash. Fake IDs. A pistol with two magazines. His hands closed around the weapon, feeling the cold and heavy metal that was familiar to him.His body’s training came back automatically. He checked if it was loaded, put in a magazine, and tucked the gun into his waistband. Three years of pretending to be weak had not erased what his father taught him.The sirens stopped outside the building.Nathan turned off all the lights and moved to the window to look out. Three police cars blocked the entire street. Officers were getting out with their hands ready on their weapons.“Nathan Porter!” A voice came booming through a megaphone. “We know you are in there right now. Come out with your hands up where we can see them.”He glanced at his phone where the safe house location glowed on t

Nathan ran down the hall fast. Sarah was right behind him. Guns went off. Bullets hit the walls and dust came down.“Emergency door, fifty steps ahead!” Sarah yelled.Behind them, people yelled. “Shooter in the place! Close it all down!”They went through the door and into stairs made of cement. Nathan went up the steps three at a time. His hurt ribs did not matter. He was too scared to feel pain.“Why did you shoot him?” Nathan asked while running.“He knew who you were. He would call Harrison. You would be dead in seconds.”They got to the bottom. Sarah kicked open a door to a dark place with cars. A black van sat there with the motor on. They got in fast and the van went quick before the door shut.Robert sat up front at the wheel. His face was not good. “Please tell me you did not just kill Edward Blackwell.”“I did not,” Sarah said fast. “I did.”Inside the van, screens showed what was happening in the dining room. Nathan put on a headset and listened.Sound was all over the plac

Two girls that looked the same stood on each side of the small place. Same face. Same body. Same mark from her eye to her face.Nathan’s gun went back and forth. He could not know which Sarah was the true one.“Nathan, move away from Victoria,” the Sarah in the door said. “That girl has lied to you all the time.”“Hear me and you die,” the Sarah from the window said back. “She is the one who works for David Porter. I try to help you live.”Victoria put her back on the wall. She held the small thing with files. “Nathan, I do not know who these two are.”“Be quiet!” both Sarah’s said at the same time.Nathan kept his gun set. His mind went through all times with Sarah. All talk. All warn. He looked for a thing that would say which was true.“If you are the real Sarah,” Nathan said to the one in the door, “say what you told me in the basement the night we got out.”The door Sarah did not wait. “I said your dad told me the thing is in the time piece. The one you sold three years back.”“S

The explosion shook the underground parking garage like an earthquake.Chunks of concrete crashed onto the floor as car alarms blared in every direction. Thick gray dust filled the air, making it difficult to breathe.Nathan instinctively pulled Victoria behind a concrete pillar."Stay down!"Another explosion erupted above them.The ceiling groaned.Emma peered toward the garage entrance, her face pale."They're collapsing the exits."Sarah drew her pistol."No. They're forcing us into one."Nathan's jaw tightened.His father wasn't trying to arrest him.David Porter was hunting him.Heavy footsteps echoed through the garage.Then came the unmistakable sound of automatic rifles being loaded.Nathan peeked around the pillar.Six armed men dressed in black tactical gear entered through the main ramp.Another four emerged from the stairwell."We're surrounded," Victoria whispered.Nathan counted quickly.Ten enemies.Only three pistols.Very little ammunition.The odds were terrible.On