Chapter 7 - Blackwater Property 6)
The island had no name on most public maps.
Calder Global had purchased it twelve years earlier as part of an abandoned maritime storage deal.
Three warehouses.
One dock.
One old caretaker house.
Roman had visited once.
Victor had visited dozens of times.
Records showed fuel deliveries every month.
Security maintenance every two weeks.
Animal food shipments disguised as marine supply orders.
At dawn, Roman, Emma, Elias, and state investigator Grace Nolan crossed the harbor in an unmarked boat.
Fog covered the water.
Roman stood at the bow.
Emma watched his hands.
They remained still.
His face did not.
For the first time she saw fear clearly.
Not fear for himself.
For Titan.
Grace touched Roman's shoulder.
"We do this legally."
Roman nodded.
"If Victor is there?"
"You do nothing until my team secures him."
Roman looked toward the island.
"You've known me fifteen years, Grace."
"Which is why I said it twice."
The first warehouse was empty.
The second contained equipment.
Remote receivers.
Harnesses.
Training logs.
Boxes of sedatives.
Emma photographed everything.
The third warehouse was different.
She heard dogs before they opened the door.
Twenty two of them.
Kennels lined the walls.
Some barked.
Some cowered.
Some remained silent.
Emma's throat tightened.
"Where's Titan?"
They searched every enclosure.
He was not there.
At the rear they found a separate room.
A heavy door stood open.
Inside was one large kennel.
Titan's collar lay on the floor.
Emma picked it up.
Still warm.
"He's gone."
Grace received a radio call.
A boat had left the island twenty minutes earlier.
Registered to a Calder contractor.
Heading toward Boston.
Roman stared toward the harbor.
"The gala."
Emma shook her head.
"It's twelve hours away."
"They don't need the gala yet."
Elias appeared from the office holding a binder.
"Sir."
Inside were schedules.
Training sessions.
Payments.
And a plan.
CALDER FOUNDATION GALA INCIDENT RESPONSE.
Roman read it in silence.
Titan would be delivered through the service entrance at 8:20 p.m.
At 8:45, an audio trigger would be activated.
Security response team B would open a corridor toward Roman's position.
Team C would fire if Titan crossed a marked line.
Emma felt sick.
Roman turned the page.
Another instruction.
During evacuation, Roman Calder to be moved through east service hallway.
Vehicle E waiting.
Grace frowned.
"They weren't planning to kill you in the ballroom."
Elias understood.
"They were planning to remove him."
Roman looked at the schedule.
"Kidnap me?"
Grace shook her head.
"Maybe."
Emma pointed to the final line.
If RC resists, secondary response authorized.
Roman closed the binder.
"Victor wasn't building an animal incident."
"No," Emma said.
"He was building a human one."
Grace's team secured the island and rescued the dogs.
But Titan was still missing.
At noon Roman's phone received a message.
A photograph.
Titan inside a transport cage.
Behind the cage stood a wall Emma recognized.
Polished white stone.
Calder Foundation headquarters.
The gala venue.
Beneath the photo were six words.
COME ALONE IF YOU WANT HIM BREATHING.
Emma read it over Roman's shoulder.
"No."
Roman put the phone away.
"He expects me to go."
"He expects you to go alone."
"Which is why we let him think I will."
Emma studied him.
A week ago she might have assumed Roman planned to storm the building.
Now she saw something else.
He was learning.
"What's your plan?"
Roman looked at Grace.
"We open the gala."
Emma stared.
Grace almost objected.
Roman continued.
"Public event. Hundreds of witnesses. Victor thinks he controls the building because his security teams built the protocols."
Elias nodded slowly.
"But we replace key positions."
"Quietly."
Emma looked from one to the other.
"And Titan?"
Roman's voice softened.
"We bring him home."
By evening the island rescue had remained secret.
The gala remained scheduled.
Roman's suspension from the board made his attendance controversial, which helped.
Reporters packed the entrance.
Nobody expected him to have operational control.
Victor believed Roman was isolated.
At seven thirty, Emma stood inside a service corridor wearing a black catering jacket.
Elias wore maintenance clothes.
Grace's investigators were scattered among staff.
Roman entered through the main doors alone.
The ballroom glittered with chandeliers.
Music played.
Champagne moved through the crowd.
Malcolm Voss approached Roman immediately.
"I didn't expect you."
Roman looked at him.
"I own the building."
"For now."
Roman's eyes narrowed.
Malcolm smiled.
"Enjoy the evening."
Emma watched from the service corridor camera.
She whispered into her earpiece.
"I still don't trust him."
Elias replied.
"Neither do I."
At 8:18, a white transport van entered the loading bay.
Emma's heart pounded.
Two men stepped out.
Then Victor Hale.
He opened the rear doors.
Titan stood inside a cage.
Emma took one step forward.
Elias caught her arm.
"Not yet."
Titan looked thinner.
Exhausted.
But alive.
Victor attached a dark harness.
Emma recognized the design.
He held the remote.
At 8:37, Titan was moved into a service hall.
At 8:42, Roman took his position near the gala stage.
At 8:44, Victor looked at his watch.
Emma whispered.
"Now."
Grace's team moved.
But before they reached Victor, every light in the service corridor went out.
Emma heard a door slam.
A chirp sounded.
Titan barked.
Then another chirp.
A louder one.
Emma ran toward the sound.
When emergency lights came on, the cage was open.
Victor was gone.
So was Titan.
In the ballroom, Roman heard screaming.
Guests turned toward the west doors.
A massive black shape appeared.
Titan.
He stood at the end of the ballroom.
Hundreds of people froze.
Security guards raised weapons.
Roman saw them.
He saw the firing line from the plan.
"Lower your weapons!"
Nobody moved.
A chirp sounded from somewhere overhead.
Titan jerked.
Another chirp.
May you like
He started running.
Straight toward Roman.
