Chapter 4 - The Friend in the Dark
Grace lowered the flashlight.
Olivia stared at her.
For months, Grace Holloway had been the one person Olivia believed was completely outside Derek’s reach.
Grace had listened when Olivia whispered about the locked office.
She had helped Olivia open a new bank account.
She had promised to keep a copy of the files somewhere safe.
Now she was standing inside a secret corridor beneath Derek’s private lounge.
Mason shifted Caleb’s weight.
“What is she doing here?”
Olivia did not answer.
Grace stepped closer.
“You need to move.”
Derek blocked the corridor.
“No.”
Grace looked at him.
Her expression changed instantly.
“You.”
Derek smiled without warmth.
“Grace.”
Olivia looked between them.
“You know each other.”
Grace said, “Unfortunately.”
Olivia felt something inside her crack.
“How?”
Grace hesitated.
Derek answered.
“She worked for me.”
Olivia stared at her friend.
Grace closed her eyes.
“It isn’t what you think.”
“What am I supposed to think?”
“Olivia, listen.”
“You told me you met me by accident.”
“I know.”
“At the bookstore.”
“I know.”
“You said you were a freelance designer.”
“I was.”
Derek laughed.
Grace glared at him.
“Shut up.”
Olivia’s voice trembled.
“Why were you working for him?”
Grace looked ashamed.
“I wasn’t working for Derek when we became friends.”
Derek interrupted.
“She was hired to watch you.”
Mason turned.
Olivia stopped breathing.
Grace stepped toward her.
“I quit.”
“When?”
“After three weeks.”
“You watched me for three weeks?”
“I was supposed to make sure you weren’t talking to reporters.”
Olivia looked at Derek.
“You hired someone to follow me?”
Derek said nothing.
She turned back to Grace.
“And you stayed my friend.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you needed one.”
The words hurt more than Olivia expected.
Grace pulled a key card from her pocket.
“We can discuss this later.”
Derek reached for it.
Grace pulled it back.
“You don’t touch anything.”
Mason asked, “Where does that lead?”
“To the freight elevator.”
Caleb groaned.
Olivia looked at him.
His face had become pale.
“We need to get him medical help.”
Grace nodded.
“There’s a maintenance clinic two floors down.”
Derek frowned.
“How do you know that?”
“I spent six months mapping this building.”
Derek stared.
Grace continued.
“Adrian didn’t just come back tonight.”
Silence.
“What do you mean?”
“He’s been preparing for months.”
Olivia asked, “How do you know?”
Grace looked at her.
“Because I’ve been preparing too.”
She opened a metal door.
A narrow stairwell waited beyond.
Red emergency lights illuminated the concrete walls.
They moved quickly.
Mason and Derek carried Caleb between them.
Olivia followed Grace.
She wanted answers.
But every second they spent talking was another second Adrian controlled the building.
They reached the maintenance clinic.
Grace unlocked it.
Inside were basic medical supplies.
Olivia helped Caleb onto a table.
Mason found gauze.
Derek examined the wound.
“It’s not as deep as it looked.”
Caleb opened his eyes.
“Lucky me.”
Grace moved toward the door.
Derek stopped her.
“Where are you going?”
“To restore communications.”
“You can’t.”
“I already know where Adrian cut them.”
Derek looked skeptical.
Grace opened her backpack.
Inside were cables, a laptop, two phones, and a portable radio.
Mason stared at her.
“You came prepared.”
Grace looked at Olivia.
“I knew tonight was coming.”
Olivia felt anger rise again.
“You knew?”
“Not the exact night.”
“But you knew Adrian was coming.”
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t tell me.”
“I was trying to keep you out of it.”
Olivia laughed.
“That seems to be everyone’s favorite excuse.”
Grace flinched.
Derek almost smiled.
Olivia pointed at him.
“You don’t get to enjoy that.”
His expression flattened.
Grace opened her laptop.
“Adrian’s men entered the building through the loading dock at 9:17.”
Mason looked at the screen.
“How many?”
“At least eleven.”
Derek shook his head.
“Adrian doesn’t trust that many people.”
Grace looked at him.
“Then some of them aren’t his.”
Derek became still.
Olivia noticed.
“What?”
Derek walked toward the screen.
“Show me the garage.”
Grace pulled up footage.
Several black SUVs were visible.
Derek focused on one vehicle.
A small silver emblem appeared on the side.
He cursed.
Mason asked, “Who are they?”
“Federal contractors.”
Grace shook her head.
“Not anymore.”
Derek looked at her.
“You’re sure?”
“They were discharged two years ago.”
Olivia asked, “Why does that matter?”
Grace answered.
“Because somebody besides Adrian is funding this.”
A loud boom echoed somewhere above them.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Caleb tried to sit up.
“What was that?”
Grace checked the building schematic.
“Security door.”
Another boom.
Closer.
Derek looked toward the hallway.
“They found the service corridor.”
Mason stood.
“We need to move.”
Grace grabbed her laptop.
“Not yet.”
She typed quickly.
Olivia watched lines of code fill the screen.
“What are you doing?”
“Giving us ninety seconds.”
The hallway lights went out.
Emergency sirens began to sound.
Grace smiled faintly.
“Fire suppression override.”
Derek stared at her.
“You learned new tricks.”
“I had motivation.”
Sprinklers activated in nearby corridors.
Grace pointed toward another door.
“That way.”
They moved again.
Caleb could walk now with help.
The corridor led toward the lower service level.
Olivia stayed beside Grace.
“Where’s the copy I gave you?”
Grace kept walking.
“Safe.”
“Mason had one in his coat.”
Grace stopped.
“What?”
“The copy.”
Grace’s face changed.
“I never gave it to Mason.”
“I know.”
Grace turned toward Derek.
Derek shook his head.
“It wasn’t me.”
Mason pulled the drive from his pocket.
Grace stared.
“That’s not your copy.”
Olivia frowned.
“It looks identical.”
Grace held out her hand.
Mason hesitated.
Then gave it to her.
Grace studied the casing.
She pressed her fingernail against one corner.
A hidden seam opened.
Inside was a second microchip.
Grace looked horrified.
“This isn’t just storage.”
Mason asked, “What is it?”
“A tracker.”
Derek grabbed the drive and threw it onto the floor.
Grace shouted, “No!”
Too late.
Derek crushed it beneath his shoe.
A tiny green light flashed.
Then died.
Grace stared at the pieces.
“What?”
“That tracker wasn’t following the drive.”
Derek looked at her.
Grace whispered, “It was transmitting audio.”
Everyone went silent.
Then a voice spoke from the ceiling speaker directly above them.
Adrian.
“Thank you, Grace.”
Grace looked up.
May you like
Adrian laughed softly.
“You finally told me exactly where you are.”
