Chapter 10: The Basement
They got there in time.
Nora was not supposed to be in the building.
Marsh had been clear about that — federal operation, active warrant execution, civilians stay back.
Nora had agreed, and then she had followed at a distance that was technically outside the building but close enough to see through the glass doors of the parking structure entrance.
Garrett was already in the car when the agents came down the ramp.
She couldn't hear it from where she stood.
But she could see it.
The car stopped.
The door opened.
Garrett stepped out slowly, the way a man steps out when he has already calculated that running will make it worse.
He was in his sixties, silver-haired, the kind of man who had spent decades looking like the most reasonable person in any room.
He straightened his jacket as he stood.
Even now.
Even here.
One of the agents said something.
Garrett responded.
She could see his mouth moving, the slight tilt of his head — the posture of a man who was still trying to negotiate.
Then Marsh walked down the ramp.
Garrett saw her and stopped talking.
Marsh said something short.
Garrett's jaw moved once, then stopped.
His hands went to his sides.
The agent behind him moved forward.
Nora watched Garrett's face in the moment the cuffs went on.
He didn't look frightened.
He looked, for just a second, like a man who had always known this room existed and had simply hoped he would never have to stand in it.
Then he looked up.
Directly at the glass doors.
Directly at her.
She didn't move.
She held his gaze.
He looked away first.
Marsh came out through the side door ten minutes later and stopped beside Nora on the pavement.
"You were supposed to stay back," Marsh said.
"I stayed outside the building," Nora said.
Marsh looked at her for a moment.
"Technically accurate." She turned to face the street.
"He's asking for his attorney.
He'll try to negotiate a reduced charge in exchange for information on Vore."
"Will it work?"
"Not if the drive holds up, and it will." Marsh paused.
"We also picked up Danny at a transit hub on the east side an hour ago.
He's talking.
Apparently his loyalty to his brother's network has limits when federal charges are on the table."
"His brother," Nora said.
"Who is the brother?"
Marsh looked at her.
"Stellan Vore."
Nora absorbed that.
Danny hadn't been boasting on the train.
He'd been telling her exactly who he was.
She just hadn't had the context yet.
"Vore?" she said.
"We have a location.
Team is moving now." Marsh glanced at her.
"And we have a signal back from Callum.
He's out.
He surfaced at a transit checkpoint on the north corridor forty minutes ago.
He's safe."
The word landed differently than she expected.
Not relief exactly.
Something quieter.
The specific feeling of a weight you have carried so long you stopped noticing it, finally set down.
"Where is he?" she said.
"On his way here," Marsh said.
"He asked if you were present."
"What did you tell him?"
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"I told him technically you were outside the building." A pause that might have been the closest Marsh came to a smile.
"He said that sounded about right."
