Chapter 16 Under Fire #2
The person raised an arm while carrying the notebook.
The sleeve pulled back.
Nico stared.
There it was.
The same geometric design.
The same negative-space structure.
And beneath it, the small identifying mark.
Nico’s heart began pounding.
“Stop.”
Paul froze the footage.
Nico pointed at the screen.
“Zoom in.”
The image became grainy.
But the tattoo remained visible.
Gideon stared at it.
“That’s the mark.”
Nico nodded.
“The restricted-access mark.”
Elena looked at the screen.
“Then we know the person who entered the studio belongs to the same contractor circle.”
Nico swallowed.
The attack had not been random.
The people connected to South Harbor were still active.
And now they had come looking for the evidence Nico had helped uncover.
Gideon looked at him.
Nico looked back.
Neither man spoke.
They did not need to.
The investigation had just become personal in a way neither could ignore.
But this time, Gideon did not see Nico as someone he needed to send away.
He saw him as the person standing beside him.
The person who had found the clue.
The person who had helped uncover the truth.
The person whose choices mattered as much as his own.
Gideon tightened his grip on Nico’s hand.
“We find out who that is.”
Nico nodded.
“Together.”
Outside, the street had gone quiet.
Inside the damaged studio, the evidence continued to play across the screen.
And for the first time, Gideon understood that the danger he feared had already arrived.
He could not prevent it by running.
He could only face it without losing the man beside him.
Stand With Me
The memory card changed the investigation.
Until that night, Nico had been useful because he had recognized something everyone else had overlooked.
Now he was part of the evidence.
The security footage showed a masked intruder entering Reyes Ink, going directly to the drawer where the warehouse photograph had been kept, and taking the notebook containing Nico’s research.
The tattoo on the intruder’s arm was visible for only a few seconds.
But a few seconds were enough.
Nico stood beside the monitor while Paul enlarged the image.
The design became pixelated.
The geometric frame remained recognizable.
So did the smaller mark beneath it.
Nico crossed his arms.
“That’s the same modification.”
Elena nodded.
“You’re certain?”
“Yes.”
“What does the smaller mark mean again?”
“Restricted access.”
Gideon looked at him.
“Control rooms. Service corridors. Equipment areas.”
Nico nodded.
“At least according to Mara.”
Elena wrote something down.
“Then we need to identify everyone connected to that mark.”
“We already have one name,” Gideon said.
“Elias Voss.”
“Maybe.”
Gideon looked at the screen.
“Voss may be connected to the design, but that doesn’t mean he’s the person who entered the studio.”
Nico appreciated the distinction.
They needed evidence, not assumptions.
Paul opened the contractor records.
“I’ve started cross-referencing former Calder & Voss employees with current companies.”
A list appeared.
Several names were highlighted.
Nico leaned closer.
“What’s that?”
“Former site supervisors.”
“Why are they highlighted?”
“They currently work for Voss Site Solutions or companies associated with it.”
Nico studied the names.
One caught his attention.
Daniel Rusk.
He pointed.
“That name.”
Gideon looked at him.
“You know him?”
“No.”
Nico zoomed in on the company information.
“He appears in a different context.”
Paul looked over.
“Where?”
“I’ve seen this company logo.”
Nico opened a folder of old reference photographs.
He searched through images from industrial tattoo conventions, trade events, and client portfolios.
Then he found it.
A photograph from years earlier showed a group of contractors at a charity event.
The company logo was on a banner behind them.
Nico looked at the people in the photograph.
Rusk stood near the edge.
His sleeve was rolled up.
The tattoo was visible.
Same base design.
Same restricted-access mark.
Gideon leaned closer.
“That’s him.”
Nico nodded.
“The person in the studio?”
“Not enough to say.”
“But the tattoo matches.”
“Yes.”
Elena looked at the photograph.
“What’s Rusk’s role?”
Paul searched the records.
“Former site safety coordinator. Worked for Calder & Voss at South Harbor.”
Gideon’s face tightened.
“Safety coordinator.”
Paul nodded.
“And now?”
“Operations manager for Voss Site Solutions.”
The room went quiet.
Nico felt a chill.
The man who had apparently been responsible for safety coordination at South Harbor now worked for the company connected to Elias Voss.
And someone wearing his tattoo design had broken into Nico’s studio.
Still, Nico knew they needed more.
“Can we prove Rusk was at the warehouse that day?”
Elena answered.
“That’s what we’re looking for.”
Paul opened another file.
“Payroll records show he was assigned to the project.”
Gideon leaned over the table.
“Date?”
“Six weeks before the fire.”
Nico frowned.
“That’s too early.”
Paul nodded.
“We need records closer to the fire.”
Nico looked at the warehouse photograph.
The unidentified man had been there shortly before the fire.
The tattoo was the strongest link.
He studied the image again.
Then he noticed the sleeve.
“Wait.”
Everyone looked at him.
“What?”
Nico pointed to the man’s forearm.
“The tattoo isn’t the only thing.”
Gideon moved closer.
“What do you see?”
“The placement.”
Nico enlarged the photograph.
“Look at where the tattoo sits.”
Paul frowned.
“Why does that matter?”
“Because of the scar.”
Nico pointed to a faint line running across the man’s wrist.
“Old injury.”
Gideon looked at the current photograph of Rusk.
Nico placed the two images side by side.
There was a matching mark.
A small scar near the wrist.
Gideon stared.
“That’s him.”
Nico shook his head.
“Still not enough by itself.”
“But it’s strong.”
“Yes.”
Elena looked between the images.
“Can your professional opinion establish identity?”
“I can establish that the tattoos and physical markers are consistent.”
“That’s useful.”
Nico nodded.
“But the investigators still need independent evidence.”
“We’ll get it.”
Nico looked at Gideon.
Gideon was already watching him.
There was no attempt to send him away.
No argument about keeping him safe by excluding him.
Instead, Gideon asked, “What else can you see?”
The question made Nico smile faintly.
“Now you’re learning.”
Gideon gave him a tired look.
“I’m trying.”
Nico returned to the photograph.
“The tattoo design was modified for people who had restricted access.”
“Right.”
“But look at the direction of the lines.”
Gideon frowned.
“What about them?”
“The original design was symmetrical.”
Nico brought up the older contractor photograph.
“The newer version isn’t.”
He pointed toward the lower section.
“These lines were added around the time the person joined a specific crew.”
Elena looked interested.
“Can that date the tattoo?”
“Not exactly.”
“But?”
“I can compare the artist’s style.”
Nico opened another folder.
He had spent years building a visual archive of tattoo techniques.
The more images he compared, the clearer the pattern became.
“This was probably done by Victor Kane.”
Gideon looked at him.
“The artist Ray mentioned?”
“Yes.”
Nico enlarged the tattoo.
“His line weight. The way he leaves negative space. The shape of the geometric framing.”
Elena nodded.
“Can you find records?”
“Maybe.”
Nico called Ray again.
This time, the older artist sounded less surprised.
“You found another one?”
“We found the same design on Daniel Rusk.”
Ray went quiet.
“Rusk.”
“You remember him?”
“I remember the name.”
“Was he part of the crew?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of access did he have?”
Ray hesitated.
“Rusk was one of the people who could get into places other workers couldn’t.”
Nico looked at Gideon.
“Control systems?”
“Probably.”
“Records?”
“Possibly.”
“Equipment?”
“Yes.”
Nico thanked him.
Before ending the call, Ray said, “There was something strange about those men.”
“What?”
“They kept things.”
“What things?”
“Copies.”
Nico frowned.
“Copies of what?”
“Everything.”
“Why?”
Ray’s voice lowered.
“They didn’t trust management.”
Nico’s attention sharpened.
“Who?”
“The crew.”
“Do you know where those copies went?”