Chapter 10
The old diesel truck rumbled to a halt beneath the fluorescent canopy of the highway checkpoint. A military police officer in a crisp dark green uniform stepped out from the roadside booth, shining a high-powered flashlight across the cracked windshield and signaling for Elena to roll down the window.
Elena forced her breathing to remain slow and measured, mimicking the tired demeanor of a rural logistics worker as she cranked the manual window handle down. The damp morning air rushed into the cab.
“Morning, ma'am,” the officer said, his eyes scanning the interior of the truck with practiced suspicion. His hand rested casually on the holster of his sidearm. “Routine security sweep. Commercial logistics verification. Where are you hauling from?”
“Northern timber sector, officer,” Elena replied, her voice steady, low, and devoid of any panic. She gestured vaguely toward the empty truck bed behind them. “Hauling spare generator parts back to the central yards before the morning shift.”
The officer narrowed his eyes, shining his flashlight across the dashboard and briefly lingering on Clara, who sat quietly in the passenger seat with her head partially turned away, her canvas jacket pulled up around her neck.
“License and registration,” the officer demanded, holding out his gloved hand.
Elena reached into her pocket and handed over an old, faded commercial transit permit Marcus had stashed in the glove compartment—a valid document registered to a regional timber cooperative. The officer took it, shining a small UV light across the watermark to check its authenticity.
For agonizing seconds, the only sound was the rhythmic, heavy thumping of the truck’s diesel engine idling beside them. A second officer walked slowly past the passenger side, peering through the side window at Clara.
“Everything alright, Sergeant?” a voice crackled over the radio clipped to the first officer’s shoulder.
The sergeant hesitated, his eyes flicking back to Elena’s face. He noticed the faint scratch on her left cheek, illuminated for a brief second by the overhead light. A flicker of recognition crossed his features, his brow furrowing as his brain tried to connect the rugged logistics driver with the high-society bulletins broadcasted across internal networks.
Elena didn’t flinch. She met his gaze with a dull, indifferent stare, projecting total exhaustion and absolute boredom.
The sergeant’s radio squawked again with an urgent dispatch call regarding an unrelated traffic accident on the western bypass. He looked down at the transit permit, handed it back through the window, and gave a sharp nod. “Move along. Keep your lights on.”
“Thank you, officer,” Elena said smoothly.
She eased the clutch out, and the old truck lurched forward, rolling past the blockade and accelerating down the ramp toward the downtown federal district. As the checkpoint faded into the rearview mirror, Clara let out a long, shuddering breath, her hands trembling as she clutched the manila folder.
May you like
“That was entirely too close,” Clara whispered.
“He almost made the connection,” Elena replied, her knuckles finally relaxing on the steering wheel. “Which means Julian has expanded the search parameters beyond luxury vehicles. We have less than an hour before they realize we bypassed the checkpoints entirely.”
