Chapter 4 - The Empty Alley
When Victor hit the pavement, sliding on the wet gravel and catching himself against the brick wall, the alley was dead silent.
The black van at the street exit was gone.
Javier was standing near the center of the loading dock, holstering his weapon, his expression dark as a thundercloud.
“Where is she?” Victor demanded, his voice dropping into a dangerous register that made Javier step back a half-pace.
“She ran,” Javier said flatly.
Victor stared at him. “You let her go?”
“I didn’t have a choice, Boss,” Javier defended himself, holding up his hands. “When that second sniper opened fire from across the street, the black van punched through the barricade. They tossed a flash-bang grenade into the loading dock. While I was blinded, someone came out of the shadows, grabbed her by the arm, and hauled her into the back of the van before it tore out toward Lake Shore Drive.”
Victor looked down at the ground.
draped over a broken wooden pallet.
He walked over, picked it up, and felt the lingering warmth of her body heat still trapped in the heavy wool.
“The assassin on the roof said she wasn’t a civilian,” Victor muttered, running a hand over his face as rain washed away the blood and soot.
Javier crossed his arms. “Could be a lie. Dying men say anything to mess with your head.”
“No,” Victor said, his eyes locking onto the dark horizon where the city skyline pierced the stormy night. “He didn't have time to lie. He believed it.”
Victor pulled his phone from his ruined trousers, hitting a speed dial that connected straight to his private intelligence broker downtown.
May you like
“Vance,” Victor said the moment the line picked up. “I need a full identity scrub on a Khloe Bennett. Dig past the state registry. Check corporate feeder shells, medical databases, and federal watchlist clearances.”
“Boss,” Vance’s voice crackled through the static of the speakerphone. “You don't need to dig. Her file hit the national security wire three minutes ago. She isn't a caterer, Victor. She’s a federal cyber-intelligence analyst who downloaded three terabytes of encrypted ledger data from O’Neill’s offshore server before she went dark.”
