Chapter 12 - The Spotlight
"Hey! You four on the drainage ledge! Stay right where you are!"
The authoritative voice cut sharply through the steady roar of the rain and the distant wailing of sirens. Two state police officers, clad in high-visibility yellow raincoats and tactical gear, scrambled down the muddy embankment toward the concrete spillway ledge. Their hands hovered cautiously near their utility belts, unsure of who had just emerged from the condemned underground tunnels.
Brad instinctively took a step back, raising his hands slightly. "We're students! Well—some of us are. We just came out of the maintenance tunnel because the east wing collapsed!"
The leading officer, a tall, stern-faced woman with her badge clearly displayed on her chest, leveled her flashlight beam directly at Maya. "Identify yourselves. This entire campus is under a federal and state emergency evacuation order."
Maya stepped forward into the harsh glare of the flashlight, completely unfazed. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, her dark eyes locking onto the officer with an unyielding intensity. She reached into her waterproof inner pocket and withdrew her state Department of Environmental Protection investigator's badge, holding it up so the holographic seal caught the light.
"Junior Investigator Maya Reyes, DEP Special Task Force," Maya announced, her voice carrying a calm, authoritative weight that immediately caused the officer to pause. "I am placing this entire facility under federal environmental seizure on behalf of the state grand jury."
The officer blinked, lowering her flashlight slightly as she read the badge credentials. She looked past Maya at Arthur Vance, then at the ruined, smoking skeleton of the Oak Ridge High east wing behind them. "You're... Arthur Reyes's daughter? The structural engineer?"
"I am," Maya replied sharply. "And the men responsible for murdering her and covering up the structural poisoning of this entire district are currently sitting in the principal's office—or whatever is left of it."
Mr. Vance stepped forward, holding out his hands. "Officer, I'm a faculty member here. My brother Arthur and I have the original physical ledgers detailing the fraudulent safety sign-offs. We’re ready to cooperate fully with the attorney general's office."
The police officer pressed her radio headset, speaking in a low, urgent tone. "Command, this is Unit Four. We have four survivors emerging from the south drainage spillway. One of them is a state DEP investigator holding active seizure papers for the administration block. Send a transport unit down to the perimeter fence immediately."
May you like
As the crackle of static confirmed the radio transmission, Brad looked down at his ruined varsity jacket, then back at Maya. A heavy, profound silence hung between them, broken only by the relentless downpour washing away the sins of Oak Ridge High.
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