Chapter 5 - The Federal Perimeter
The flashing red and blue lights of the unmarked cruisers painted the interior of the black SUV in a surreal, bleeding neon glow.
Clara watched through the windshield as four men in plain tactical vests and dark windbreakers stepped out of the federal vehicles, drawing sidearms with practiced, mechanical efficiency.
Marcus didn't panic; instead, he casually tossed the forged legal documents back into the glove box, locked it with a small brass key, and tucked the key securely into his front pocket.
"Looks like your husband's timing is just as terrible as his business sense," Marcus muttered, keeping his hands flat and visible on the top of the steering wheel.
"Open this door," Clara demanded again, her voice low and dangerous as she reached for the overhead panic button. "If the FBI is out there, I'm walking out right now."
"Go ahead," Marcus invited with a thin, mocking smile. "Tell them why you were carrying David’s burner phone while sitting in a car registered under an alias that hasn't existed since 2018."
Clara’s hand froze an inch away from the console. "What are you talking about? I've never used a burner phone in my life."
"Have you checked your coat pocket lately?" Marcus asked, nodding toward the deep woolen lining of the dark blue blouse and trousers she had worn out that morning.
Slowly, reluctantly, Clara slid her right hand down into her side pocket, her fingers brushing against a sleek, unfamiliar rectangular object that was distinctly smaller and heavier than her own smartphone.
She pulled it out into the light: a prepaid, encrypted burner phone, its screen glowing with a single active text message from an unknown sender.
The message read: “Package secured. Meet at the terminal in ten minutes.”
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Before Clara could drop the terrifying device, the front passenger window exploded inward in a shower of harmless safety glass as a tactical officer grabbed the door frame and ripped it open from the outside.
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