Chapter 6 - The Tollway Interception
The phone speaker trembled against my ear, Judge Harrison’s words cutting through the hum of the engine like jagged glass.
"A tactical unit?" I gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles popped. "Judge, my father is a municipal clerk who spends his weekends pruning rosebushes. He’s not a cartel boss. If my mother called the marshals out of sheer panic, she’s walking right into a trap she doesn't understand."
"It's worse than you think, Ms. Carter," Harrison replied, his voice strained with urgency. "The tip didn't come from your mother. It came from an encrypted routing protocol originating inside the state attorney's office. Someone wanted those marshals dispatched before you or I could secure an injunction to protect your father."
In the rearview mirror, two blinding sets of high-intensity LED headlights suddenly crested the rise behind me, cutting through the dark Indiana rain. They weren't civilian high beams. They were the synchronized, pulsing strobes of unmarked federal cruisers.
"They're behind me," I said, checking my speed. Ninety miles per hour and climbing.
"Do not pull over," the judge commanded sharply. "If they take you into federal custody under a manufactured detainer, your father stands alone against a municipal conspiracy that has already compromised local law enforcement. Take the next exit—Route 41 South. Head toward the old rail yards."
The first cruiser swung hard into the left lane, its engine roaring as it accelerated to match my speed, trying to box me in against the concrete median.
I didn't hesitate. I slammed my foot down on the gas, downshifted into third gear, and threw the sedan across two lanes of wet asphalt, narrowly missing the front bumper of a semi-truck as I dove for the crumbling concrete off-ramp of Route 41.
The federal cruiser fishtailed on the slick wet ramp, its tires smoking, but it stayed right on my tail.
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"Judge," I panted, keeping my eyes fixed on the winding, poorly lit industrial road ahead. "If I go off the grid, I'm obstructing federal officers."
"You aren't obstructing justice, Ms. Carter," Judge Harrison said firmly before disconnecting the line. "You're keeping it alive."
