Chapter 7 - THE MAN WITH DANIEL’S RING
Daniel removed the council ring and placed it on the table.
“I was in Washington when Claire was attacked,” he said.
Grant stood on the opposite side of the command room, still guarded by two officers.
“I didn’t say the person was you.”
“You said the ring matched mine.”
“It did.”
Rebecca examined the ring beneath a portable scanner.
“There are twelve official copies,” she said. “Each carries a microscopic serial number.”
Mara looked toward the security feed.
“Adrian owns at least two unofficial copies.”
“How?” Daniel asked.
“He removed them from council members who tried to leave Icarus.”
Claire did not ask what had happened to those people.
She did not need the answer.
Voss remained on the secure phone.
“Daniel, listen to me. Vale wants you confused and divided. Do not take Claire to Halston.”
“You know about Halston?”
Mara’s eyes narrowed.
Voss answered carefully.
“I know Vale has used abandoned military sites.”
Daniel stared at the phone.
“I never told you which site.”
Silence.
Rebecca disconnected the call.
Almost immediately, the estate’s exterior cameras showed a convoy approaching the southern drive.
Six black vehicles.
No military markings.
Voss’s protective unit had arrived less than four minutes after he claimed he was sending them.
“They were already nearby,” Claire said.
Daniel gave rapid orders.
“Close the outer barriers. No vehicle enters. Rebecca, verify every name through independent channels.”
The convoy stopped at the gate.
A tall man stepped from the first vehicle and held up an official credential.
The camera zoomed closer.
Major Owen Price.
Claire recognized him from family dinners and military ceremonies. Price had worked for Voss for more than a decade.
He looked into the camera.
“Colonel Mercer, General Voss ordered us to secure your family.”
Daniel activated the intercom.
“Remain outside the gate.”
“Sir, we have intelligence indicating an armed threat inside the estate.”
“Source?”
“Classified.”
“You will remain outside.”
Price lowered his credential.
“Respectfully, Colonel, we cannot do that.”
The black vehicles moved forward.
The reinforced gate held.
Then one of the men in the convoy opened a metal case.
The estate’s security monitors flickered.
Grant swore.
“They have the master override.”
“How?” Rebecca demanded.
“I gave Lydia an early version two years ago. I changed the system after that.”
“You changed the visible system,” Mara said. “Not the foundation code.”
The gate began to open.
Daniel ordered every internal door sealed.
Officers took positions along the hallway.
Claire watched the security screen as Price’s team entered the grounds.
“Are they here to rescue us or take us?”
Daniel did not answer.
Mara picked up the pale blue blanket.
“If Adrian allowed me to escape, he wanted this confrontation.”
“Why?”
“To force Voss into the open.”
Grant looked toward the red folder.
“Vale doesn’t only want the map. He wants the person who rebuilt Icarus.”
Daniel faced him.
“You believe Voss is Shepherd.”
“I believe he was in the photograph Lydia sent me after I installed the cameras.”
Grant asked for Claire’s wedding ring.
She hesitated before placing it on the scanner connected to Rebecca’s tablet.
A secure account opened.
Rows of files appeared.
Financial transfers.
Audio recordings.
Images of meetings inside hotels, aircraft hangars, and government buildings.
Rebecca selected the newest video.
It showed Lydia speaking to a man whose back faced the camera.
The room was dim, but his right hand rested on a table.
A black ring with three silver stars reflected beneath the lamp.
The man said, “Vale can chase the old list. Mercer’s daughter is the real key.”
The voice was distorted.
Daniel listened twice.
Claire watched his expression.
“You recognize him.”
Daniel closed the file.
“It could be altered.”
“That is not what I asked.”
Before he answered, gunfire sounded outside.
Not close.
Not directed at the house.
Short controlled bursts came from the woods near the incoming convoy.
The security feed showed Price’s men diving behind their vehicles.
Another armed team emerged between the trees.
Mara stared at the screen.
“Adrian.”
Vale’s team and Voss’s unit began firing at one another across the rain-soaked drive.
Daniel activated the estate’s external speakers.
“All units cease fire!”
Neither side obeyed.
Claire felt a tightening pain across her abdomen.
She drew a sharp breath.
Daniel turned immediately.
“What is it?”
“I’m fine.”
Mara shook her head.
“You are not.”
Another pain followed.
Claire gripped the table.
The doctor rushed into the room and guided her toward a chair.
“Stress can cause contractions. We need to move her somewhere quiet.”
“There is nowhere quiet,” Claire said.
The house shook as an explosive charge struck the outer wall.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Emergency alarms began sounding.
Grant pointed toward the underground passage.
“The tunnels lead beyond the estate.”
Daniel shook his head.
“They may be controlled by Vale.”
“They connect to the old carriage house,” Grant said. “I used them while installing the cameras.”
Claire looked at him.
“You knew they existed.”
“I discovered part of them. I didn’t know how far they went.”
Rebecca checked the map.
“The carriage house is outside both teams’ current positions.”
Daniel made the decision.
“Move Claire through the passage. Rebecca, take Mara and the doctor. Two officers with them.”
Claire caught his arm.
“You’re coming.”
“I will hold the house.”
“No.”
“I need to keep both teams focused here.”
Grant stepped forward.
“Let me stay.”
Daniel looked at him as though he had misheard.
“They already consider me disposable,” Grant said. “If Vale sees me in the house, he may believe Claire is still here.”
Claire stared at him.
“You expect me to trust that you are sacrificing yourself now?”
“No.”
Grant’s eyes held hers.
“I expect you to remember that I failed you long before tonight. This does not erase it.”
Daniel handed Grant a radio.
“Do not mistake this for forgiveness.”
“I won’t.”
As Rebecca opened the passage door, Claire looked back.
Grant stood beside Daniel beneath the red emergency lights.
Her father held a rifle.
Her husband held only a radio and the remains of his courage.
The hidden door began to close.
Grant spoke before Claire disappeared from view.
“The account contains a file called FIRST FLAME. Open it when you reach Halston.”
Claire froze.
“What is inside?”
May you like
Grant looked toward the stained-glass windows as shadows moved across the lawn.
“The reason Vale chose me to marry you.”
