Chapter 12 - THE JOURNALIST IN THE SAFE HOUSEMaya Reed was alive.
She was hiding inside an old townhouse in Alexandria.
The boss entered first.
She aimed a pistol at him.
He stopped.
Ethan stepped forward.
Maya lowered the weapon.
“You're late.”
The boss stared.
“You knew we were coming?”
“I knew someone would eventually find me.”
The girl stepped into the room.
Maya's expression softened.
“Oh.”
She crouched.
“Hi.”
The girl hugged her bunny.
“Are you the lady who writes the truth?”
Maya smiled.
“Sometimes.”
“My mommy liked you.”
Maya's smile disappeared.
“She knew me?”
“She said you were brave.”
Maya looked at the boss.
“What happened?”
He handed her the memory card.
“Everything.”
She inserted it into a secure laptop.
Files appeared.
Hundreds.
Maya's face slowly changed.
“These names…”
“Yes.”
“These are senators.”
“Yes.”
“Governors.”
“Yes.”
“Judges.”
“Yes.”
She looked at him.
“Who are you?”
The boss hesitated.
“Someone who helped build the system.”
Maya stared.
Then closed the laptop.
“You're part of it.”
“I was.”
“That isn't how accountability works.”
“I know.”
The girl walked toward the window.
Maya noticed.
“What is she doing?”
The girl pointed outside.
A black SUV had stopped across the street.
Nobody exited.
Maya immediately shut the curtains.
“How did they find us?”
The boss looked at Ethan.
Ethan's expression darkened.
“They didn't.”
The boss understood.
“Someone followed us.”
Maya checked the laptop.
A new file appeared.
No sender.
No timestamp.
Just one sentence.
MAYA, YOU HAVE SIX MINUTES.
She stared.
“What happens in six minutes?”
The lights went out.
The townhouse became completely dark.
Then came a knock.
Three times.
The girl whispered:
“That's him.”
The boss crouched beside her.
“Who?”
“The man with the sad eyes.”
Ethan looked toward the door.
“No.”
The girl shook her head.
“He's outside.”
Ethan's face changed.
“If he's outside…”
The boss finished the thought.
“Then who is inside?”
A floorboard creaked behind them.
Everyone turned.
A shadow moved in the hallway.
Maya raised her weapon.
The boss stepped forward.
A figure emerged.
Not the security chief.
Not Ethan.
A woman.
Older.
Silver hair.
The boss recognized her photograph.
His mother.
But she had died fifteen years ago.
She looked directly at him.
May you like
And whispered:
“You should never have remembered.”
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