The FBI field office was a fortress of glass and steel in downtown Chicago, the kind of building designed to look welcoming while being nearly impossible to breach. Marcus parked the stolen Civic two blocks away, engine idling.
"This is a terrible idea," he said.
"You have a better one?" Sarah was already checking her weapon, making sure she had a full magazine.
"We could call. Leave a message. Anonymous tip."
"Ellis isn't answering his phone. That means either he's in a meeting, or he's compromised, or…."
"Or he's already dead and we're about to walk into a trap." Marcus watched the building's entrance. Normal foot traffic. People in suits coming and going. No visible crisis. "If Devereaux sent someone to kill Ellis, they'd do it quietly. No alarms. No lockdown. Just one dead FBI agent and a story about a heart attack or accident."
"Which is why we need to get in there. Now." Sarah opened her door.
Marcus grabbed her arm. "Sarah. If we go in there, we're done. Federal building. Cameras everywhere. They'll ID us in thirty seconds and we'll be in custody before we reach the second floor."
"So what do you suggest? Sit here and hope Ellis is fine?"
Marcus stared at the building, mind working through possibilities. They needed to warn Ellis without getting arrested. Needed to verify he was alive without exposing themselves.
"What if we trigger an evacuation?" he said slowly. "Fire alarm. Everyone out of the building. We spot Ellis in the crowd, warn him, disappear."
"And if he's not in the crowd?"
"Then we know something's wrong and we call in reinforcements. Real reinforcements. The kind that can actually do something."
Sarah considered this for a moment. "How do we trigger an alarm without getting caught?"
"Phone call. Anonymous bomb threat. They have to evacuate for that."
"Bomb threats get traced. Even from burners."
"Not if we're smart about it." Marcus pulled out the burner Tommy had given him. "We call from a moving vehicle. Make it quick. Hang up and ditch the phone immediately. By the time they trace it, we're gone."
Sarah looked skeptical but didn't argue. "Make the call. But if we see anything wrong….anything at all, we'll go in regardless. Deal?"
"Deal."
Marcus dialed 911, put the phone on speaker. It rang twice before a dispatcher answered.
"911, what's your emergency?"
Marcus deepened his voice, tried to sound panicked. "There's a bomb. FBI building downtown. You have thirty minutes. This is not a drill."
He hung up immediately, powered down the phone, and pulled the battery. "Drive. Now."
Sarah was already moving, pulling away from the curb as Marcus rolled down the window and tossed the phone into a storm drain. They turned the corner just as the first siren wailed in the distance.
"That was either brilliant or incredibly stupid," Sarah said.
"We'll find out in about five minutes."
They circled the block, keeping the FBI building in sight. Within three minutes, fire trucks arrived. Four minutes, and the building's alarm began blaring. At five minutes, people started streaming out; agents, staff, visitors, all filing out in organized chaos.
Marcus and Sarah watched from half a block away, scanning faces.
"There," Sarah pointed. "Third group out. Dark suit, gray tie."
Marcus spotted him. Ellis was moving with the crowd, phone pressed to his ear, looking annoyed but not panicked. Alive. Safe.
"He's okay," Marcus felt relief wash over him. "He's fine."
"For now." Sarah was still scanning the crowd. "But if Devereaux sent someone, they're in that crowd too. Waiting for the right moment."
Marcus studied the evacuees more carefully. Hundreds of people now, all milling around in the street while bomb dogs searched the building. Too many faces. Too many potential threats.
Then he saw her.
Mid-thirties. Athletic build. Dark jacket. Standing twenty feet from Ellis with her hand inside her jacket pocket.
Detective Lisa Park. One of the four they'd saved from the suicide protocol.
"Sarah. Three o'clock. Dark jacket."
Sarah followed his gaze and swore. "That's Park. Ellis said she was secured. Safe."
"She's not safe. Look at her eyes."
Even from this distance, Marcus could see it. That blank, empty stare he'd seen in Moss. In Whitmore before they'd pulled him back. Park was activated.
And she was moving closer to Ellis.
"We have to stop her." Sarah was already opening her door.
"Wait." Marcus grabbed her arm again. "You run over there, you'll be arrested before you get ten feet. And Park will still kill Ellis while we're in cuffs."
"Then what?"
Marcus scanned the area. Too many cops. Too many witnesses. Park had picked the perfect moment; chaos and confusion, Ellis exposed in a crowd, and an easy escape route in every direction.
"We need a distraction. Something that pulls attention away from Ellis long enough for us to get to Park."
"Like what?"
Marcus looked at the stolen Civic. Old. Dented. Anonymous. Nobody would miss it.
"Like a car accident."
Understanding dawned on Sarah's face. "You're insane."
"Probably. But it'll work." Marcus slid into the driver's seat. "Get out. Wait here. When Park moves on Ellis, you move on Park. I'll handle everything else."
"Marcus…"
"Go. We've got maybe sixty seconds before she makes her move."
Sarah hesitated, then climbed out. Marcus watched her take position behind a parked delivery truck, weapon concealed but ready.
He put the Civic in gear.
Park was fifteen feet from Ellis now. Her hand emerged from her jacket. Marcus couldn't see what she was holding, but he didn't need to. He knew.
Ten feet.
Marcus gunned the engine and aimed the Civic at a parked news van thirty yards down the street. The van was empty, crew out filming the evacuation. Perfect target.
Five feet.
Park's arm extended. Something metallic glinted in her hand. Ellis turned, saw her, recognition dawning on his face too late.
Marcus hit the van doing forty miles per hour.
The impact was massive. Glass exploded. Metal screamed. The van's alarm began shrieking. Every head in the crowd turned toward the crash, including Park's.
That second of distraction was all Sarah needed.
She moved like lightning, covering the distance between the delivery truck and Park in four strides. By the time Park's attention snapped back to Ellis, Sarah was there, grabbing Park's weapon arm and twisting hard.
The gun; a compact nine millimeter, fell to the pavement. Park didn't make a sound. Just turned on Sarah with mechanical efficiency, no emotion, no hesitation.
They went down together, both struggling for advantage. The crowd around them scattered, people screaming and running. Cops converged from every direction.
Marcus climbed out of the Civic, ears ringing, ribs aching from where he'd hit the steering wheel. He saw Ellis running toward Sarah and Park. Saw Sarah getting the upper hand, pinning Park to the ground. Saw Park's eyes; still blank, still empty, staring at nothing while her body fought with programmed violence.
Then Marcus saw the cops drawing weapons. Shouting commands. Surrounding Sarah.
"FBI!" Ellis was shouting, badge held high. "Stand down! This woman is in my custody!"
The cops hesitated. Ellis reached Sarah and Park, helped Sarah secure Park with zip ties someone handed him.
Marcus started to move toward them, then stopped. Ellis caught his eye across the chaos and gave a tiny shake of his head. 'No. Stay back.'
He was right. The moment Marcus got close, someone would recognize him. He'd be arrested, and everything they'd accomplished would be for nothing.
He backed away slowly, melting into the confused crowd still evacuating. Nobody noticed him. Just another shocked civilian in the chaos.
Sarah met his eyes for just a second before Ellis led her away. She mouthed something. Marcus couldn't tell what, but he understood the meaning.
'Go. Run. I'll be fine.'
Marcus turned and walked away, every instinct screaming at him to stay, to fight, to not abandon Sarah to face this alone.
But she wasn't alone. She had Ellis. She had evidence. She had Park as proof that the activations were real and ongoing.
What she didn't have was Marcus dragging her down.
He reached the corner and risked one last look back. Sarah was talking to Ellis rapidly, gesturing, explaining. Ellis was listening, nodding. Park sat on the ground, zip-tied and empty-eyed, while EMTs approached.
Marcus turned away and kept walking. He had the address for the Lincoln Park safe house. He'd go there. Wait for Ellis to call. And hope that Sarah's sacrifice; because that's what this was, a sacrifice, wouldn't be in vain.
His phone buzzed. Not the burner; that was in a storm drain. His actual phone, the one that had been in evidence, the one he'd somehow grabbed during the escape but hadn't used because it was obviously compromised.
He pulled it out. One text message from an unknown number.
'Well played, Detective Kane. But the game isn't over. Not even close. Final activation in 6 hours. I hope you're ready.'
Marcus stared at the message. Six hours.
Devereaux was moving. Right now. And Marcus was alone, on foot, with no weapon and no backup.
He looked back one more time. Sarah was being led into a police car; protective custody, hopefully, not arrest. Ellis was talking into his phone, probably calling for more agents.
They'd figure it out. They had to.
Because Marcus had six hours to stop a final activation that would kill everyone he'd tried to save.
And he had no idea how he was going to do it.