Chapter 11: The State Attorney General
The interior of Mark's sedan was warm, but the tension inside was thick enough to cut with a knife. Mark slammed the car into reverse, executing a rapid three-point turn on the narrow logging road before accelerating down the mountain toward the interstate. In the back seat, Sarah clutched a thermal blanket around her shoulders, staring blankly out the window as the dark pines rushed past in a blur.
Leo sat in the front passenger seat, the canvas bag resting securely at his feet. He reached down and touched the rough fabric, feeling the hard edges of the black leather ledgers inside. They had escaped the house, but the cost was devastating. David was still back there, facing men who answered to the most powerful and corrupt politician in the state.
""We need to get to the state police barracks in the capital immediately,"" Mark said, his knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel. ""I spoke with Assistant Attorney General Vance on my cell just before the signal dropped in the canyon. Wait—not Vance, that's just a coincidence of names. Assistant AG Hayes. She’s clean, and she’s been waiting three years for an actionable paper trail on the Fairview transit embezzlement.""
Leo turned to look at Mark. ""How do we know she isn't compromised? The mayor has tentacles everywhere in this state.""
""Hayes prosecuted her own uncle for municipal corruption two years ago,"" Mark replied without hesitation. ""She’s the real deal. When she sees Arthur Miller's original ledgers and the transaction numbers linking the shell accounts directly to Thomas Vance, she’ll issue emergency arrest warrants before the sun comes up.""
""And David?"" Sarah asked from the back seat, her voice breaking the heavy silence. ""What happens to him?""
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Mark shot a sympathetic glance at his sister through the rearview mirror. ""As soon as the AG's office mobilizes the state police to secure the jurisdiction, we send a tactical unit up to the Miller house. David knows how to survive; he’s trained for this. We just have to give them a reason to move fast.""
They drove in silence for the next hour, descending from the dark, winding mountain roads onto the smooth, multi-lane concrete of Interstate 84. Fairview grew smaller in the rearview mirror, a cluster of artificial lights glowing against the horizon like a dying ember. But Leo knew the battle wasn't over. They were heading directly into the lion's den to bring down a system that had protected itself for over a decade.
