Chapter 2 - The Parallel Parking Lot
Elena bolted out of the foreign SUV so fast her heel caught the rubber floor mat, nearly sending her sprawling onto the sun-baked asphalt. She scrambled backward, clutching her smartphone to her chest like a shield, her breath coming in ragged, shallow gasps.
The man in the green polo shirt leaned across the center console, roaring with hysterical laughter that echoed sharply off the surrounding concrete walls. "We never speak about this!" he called out, wiping a tear from his eye.
"Absolutely telling everyone!" Elena snapped back, her cheeks burning crimson as she spun on her heel and practically sprinted toward the other vehicle.
The man in the grey t-shirt pushed off the side of the second Escalade, his expression dark and guarded. He didn't laugh. Instead, he reached into his pocket, his knuckles turning chalk white as his fingers closed around a metallic object. Elena approached him, ready to unleash a torrent of humiliated apologies, but stopped cold when she noticed the state of his license plate. It was off by a single digit from the car she had just vacated.
"Get in," the grey-shirted man ordered in a low, flat whisper. "Do not look back."
"Excuse me?" Elena crossed her arms, trying to regain a shred of corporate dignity. "I made a simple mistake. Your car was unlocked, and honestly, you people really need to stop buying the exact same mass-produced luxury tanks."
The man stepped closer, towering over her. His eyes darted nervously toward the office building across the street, where several men in identical charcoal suits were stepping out through the revolving glass doors. "That wasn't a mistake, Ms. Vance. They’ve been tracking your phone since you left the federal courthouse this morning."
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Elena felt a cold sweat break out along her spine. She hadn't told anyone she was going to the courthouse. Not even David. She slowly looked down at her phone screen, where a brand-new notification had just popped up from an unknown sender, containing a single high-resolution photograph taken from directly behind her shoulder three minutes ago.
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