Chapter 10 - The Missing Drive
Arthur’s heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped bird. He stared at Julian Thorne through the cold iron bars, the expensive suit and calm demeanor contrasting violently with the brutal reality of the concrete cell around them.
“What drive?” Arthur asked, his voice shaking with a mixture of terror and fury. “Clara didn't have any drive. She was dying in that folding chair!”
Julian sighed, pulling a gold-plated pocket watch from his vest and checking the time with theatrical indifference. “Let’s not play amateur hour, Arthur. Clara may have a compromised psyche, but her survival instincts are razor sharp. When our operative tossed that duffel bag over the wooden fence, there was a secondary compartment. Inside it was a solid-state cryptographic drive containing the master keys to the entire operation.”
“She didn't know what was in the bag!” Arthur shouted, gripping the bars tighter until his fingers turned white. “She thought it was a ransom! She was focused entirely on surviving!”
Julian’s smile faded, replaced by a chillingly placid stare. “The police searched her personal effects at the county hospital twice. They found nothing. But logic dictates that she handed it to someone she trusted implicitly before the state patrol cruiser ever pulled up behind the truck.”
Arthur’s breath hitched in his throat. A sudden, terrifying memory flashed across his mind—the frantic moments right before the trooper approached the truck, when Clara had leaned her head against his shoulder and whispered something into his ear while slipping a small, hard object into the deep pocket of his light blue button-down shirt.
Julian noticed the micro-expression instantly, his eyes locking onto the pocket of Arthur’s shirt. “Ah. I see the fog in your brain is clearing. She gave it to you, didn't she?”
Arthur instinctively took a step back, pressing his hand flat against his chest, right over the hidden pocket where a small, metallic rectangle rested against his ribs.
“She didn't know what it was,” Arthur lied, his voice trembling betraying every word. “She gave me nothing. The police searched me.”
“The police are notoriously thorough about weapons and contraband, Arthur, but they aren't looking for standard consumer electronics unless they know what keywords to punch into the scanner,” Julian said smoothly, stepping closer to the bars and lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Hand it over, and I’ll have your daughter released from the psychiatric ward by midnight. Refuse, and Detective Miller will discover that Clara’s medical history is a fraudulent paper trail designed to cover up an international cyber-syndicate.”
Before Arthur could formulate a response, the sound of heavy boots and a loud warden’s buzzer echoed down the corridor.
“Visiting hours are over!” a guard shouted from the end of the hall.
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Julian adjusted his lapels, taking a slow step back. “Think carefully, Arthur. You have until sunrise. The internet loved your performance on the live stream. Let’s see how they like your curtain call.”
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