Chapter 15 - The St. Louis Hand-Off
My phone buzzed sharply against my thigh, breaking the tense atmosphere in the dusty dining room. I pulled it out, tapping the screen to decrypt a high-priority push notification from Special Agent Vance.
*Target Marcus identified,* the encrypted text read. *He’s operating out of a burner location in downtown St. Louis—the old shipping warehouse near the riverfront. Federal tactical units are mobilizing now. Do not engage alone.*
I locked the screen and looked back at my family. My mother was silently crying into her hands, while my father stared at the floor in utter despair. Sophia stood frozen, the reality of her foolish mistake finally sinking in.
"Get your coats," I commanded, my tone leaving no room for argument.
"Lena, what are you doing?" Dad asked, looking up in panic.
"We are going down to the waterfront," I said steadily. "You are going to help me draw Marcus out into the open, and Sophia is going to undo the mess she made. If we cooperate with federal tactical teams, we might keep you both out of a federal penitentiary."
Within twenty minutes, our rental car was slicing through the wet St. Louis streets toward the dilapidated industrial district near the Mississippi River. The rain hammered against the windshield as I tapped into the encrypted tactical radio channel, linking my secure earpiece directly to Special Agent Vance’s command van parked three blocks away from the target warehouse.
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"Callaway to command," I spoke quietly into the comms link. "We're approaching the secondary perimeter. I have two civilian assets—my parents—securing the diversion protocol. I'm going in through the loading dock."
"Copy that, Lena," Vance’s voice crackled back through the static. "Tactical teams are locked and loaded. Do not compromise the primary suspect until our snipers have the roof secured."
