As they prepared to leave, Jack found Evelyn in the bathroom mirror, wearing the nicest clothes they could find. Her hair was pulled back severely. She looked nothing like the heiress from the photos.
“You don’t have to do this,” Jack said, though they both knew that was a lie.
“Yes, I do,” Evelyn said.
She turned, fear bright in her eyes.
“Jack, if something happens, if they get to me before I testify, promise you’ll make sure that drive reaches the right people. Promise Sarah and those others won’t have died for nothing.”
“Nothing is going to happen,” Jack said firmly. “We’re doing this right, together. You’ll testify. They’ll prosecute. And justice will actually win.”
She looked at him.
“How did you stay so good after everything they took? How do you still believe in justice?”
“Because the alternative is letting them win,” Jack said. “And I won’t do that.”
Evelyn kissed him then, soft and desperate and full of unspoken words.
When they broke apart, she was crying but also smiling.
“Okay,” she said. “Let’s go save the world.”
The federal courthouse sat like a granite fortress in the city center. Marcus had arranged everything carefully. They would drive straight into underground parking, where FBI agents would escort Evelyn inside immediately.
No press.
No spectacle.
Just a quiet handover of evidence that could topple empires.
But as they approached the city limits, Jack felt wrongness crawl up his spine.
The streets were too quiet for a Tuesday morning.
“Marcus,” he started.
His friend was already on the radio.
“Something’s wrong. I’m getting chatter about an incident at the courthouse. Security threat. They’re evacuating.”
Before anyone could process that, a black SUV appeared behind them.
Then another pulled alongside them, boxing them in.
“They found us,” Evelyn whispered.
“How?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Marcus snapped, drawing his weapon. “Jack, take the next right. Head for the industrial district. Lose them in the warehouses.”
Jack yanked the wheel hard.
The truck careened down a side street, the SUVs following close behind. They tore through narrow streets, over railroad tracks, and past startled pedestrians. Lily was crying now, terrified. Evelyn wrapped her arms around the girl protectively.
“I’m sorry,” Evelyn kept saying. “I’m so sorry. I never should have brought you into this.”
“Not your fault,” Jack ground out. “These people made their choices long before you ran.”
One SUV pulled alongside. Jack saw the window rolling down and a weapon appear. He swerved hard, using the truck’s bulk to slam the SUV into a parked car.
But two more remained behind them.
Marcus was on the radio, shouting coordinates and calling for backup.
Suddenly, they were cutting through a park, tearing up wet grass. Evelyn spotted a narrow service road.
“There.”
Jack took it.
The SUVs could not follow. They were too wide for the barriers.
They had bought seconds.
Jack used them.
He finally pulled into an abandoned warehouse.
“Everybody out,” he ordered. “We go on foot.”
The warehouse was a maze of boxes, steel beams, and old industrial equipment. Marcus took point, weapon drawn. They had made it halfway through when Alexander Pierce stepped out from behind a row of pallets.
Six armed men flanked him.
In the dim light, Alexander was smiling.
“Evelyn,” he said pleasantly. “You’ve caused quite a lot of trouble. I’m disappointed.”
“The understanding was that you would get rid of me eventually,” Evelyn shot back. “I heard everything, Alexander.”
His smile never wavered.
“And yet you have no proof. That USB drive you’re protecting? We’ve been tracking it since you left. We wanted to see how far this rebellion went, who else was involved.”
He gestured casually.
“Now we know. The mechanic. His daughter. A state cop. It’s quite tidy. A tragic accident. Everyone dies. Evidence disappears.”
Marcus raised his weapon.
“I’ve already transmitted everything to my contact. The investigation started.”
“Has it?”
Alexander showed his phone.
A news feed displayed a headline about a major computer breach at the FBI field office that morning and the loss of key files.
“And your contact?” Alexander continued. “Being investigated for corruption. He won’t help you.”
Jack felt everything collapsing.