“On it.”
“And lock every remote server tied to Hollow Shield.”
“It’s already done.”
Reyes grabbed his jacket.
“Good. They wanted to arrest our lead investigator? Then let’s make sure they remember the night they tried.”
By the time he reached the federal field office on the edge of town, the first black SUVs were already rolling.
Inside the command room, screens lit up one by one.
Station exterior cameras.
Traffic feeds.
Secure maps.
A digital copy of Claire’s case tree.
Two years of work layered over fifteen years of her career in corruption cases.
Names.
Patterns.
Overlapping complaints.
Suppressed reports.
Tampered evidence chains.
Civil rights settlements quietly paid out by the town without admitting wrongdoing.
One small department.
One long sickness.
Reyes stood over the central table as his team filled in around him.
“Talk to me.”
“Body camera upload confirmed,” said the digital lead. “Officer Parker pushed one stream before anyone could scrub it.”
