Chapter 16 Under Fire #3
“No.”
Ray paused.
“But one of them used to talk about an old storage place near the docks.”
Nico leaned forward.
“Where?”
“I don’t remember the address.”
“Anything else?”
“An abandoned maintenance building.”
Nico’s pulse increased.
“South Harbor?”
“Could be.”
The call ended.
Nico immediately told Elena.
Paul searched property records.
After several minutes, he found a match.
An old maintenance facility sat behind the South Harbor industrial district.
The building had been owned by a company that had once been associated with Calder & Voss.
It had been listed as vacant after the warehouse fire.
Gideon looked at the map.
“How far from the warehouse?”
“Less than half a mile.”
Nico stared at the screen.
“If they kept copies of records there...”
Elena finished the thought.
“Then the physical evidence might still exist.”
Paul opened the property history.
“There’s a problem.”
“What?”
“The building changed ownership two years after the fire.”
“To whom?”
Paul searched.
“Voss Site Solutions.”
Gideon swore under his breath.
Nico looked at him.
“The network didn’t just survive.”
“They acquired the place.”
Gideon nodded.
“And they may still have the evidence.”
Elena stood.
“We’ll get a warrant.”
Nico looked at Gideon.
“We?”
Gideon met his eyes.
“You stay here.”
Nico raised an eyebrow.
Gideon sighed.
“With the investigators.”
“Better.”
“I meant it.”
“I know.”
Gideon stepped closer.
For a moment, they stood quietly.
Then Gideon said, “I want you safe.”
“I know.”
“But I also know I can’t decide everything for you.”
Nico smiled.
“Good.”
Gideon looked toward the map.
“Standing in front of you isn’t the same as standing beside you.”
Nico’s expression softened.
“Exactly.”
Gideon took his hand.
“Then stand beside me.”
Nico squeezed his fingers.
“Always.”
The search warrant was approved that evening.
The investigators moved quickly.
Nico remained at the station with Gideon, Elena, and Paul while officers searched the maintenance building.
For nearly an hour, there was nothing.
Then Elena’s phone rang.
She listened.
Her expression changed.
“What did they find?” Gideon asked.
Elena looked at them.
“Boxes.”
“How many?”
“Several.”
“What are they?”
“Construction records. Inspection copies. Contractor communications.”
Nico’s heart jumped.
“Originals?”
“Some appear to be.”
Gideon looked at him.
Nico felt the significance immediately.
The fire had destroyed much of the warehouse.
But not everything.
Someone had kept copies.
Someone had hidden them.
And someone had gone into Nico’s studio because they were afraid those records might finally be found.
Elena continued.
“There’s more.”
She put the phone on speaker.
An officer described a locked metal cabinet inside the building.
It contained old maintenance logs and a series of photographs.
One photograph showed the warehouse control room on the afternoon of the fire.
A contractor stood beside the emergency system panel.
His face was clear.
His sleeve was rolled up.
The tattoo was visible.
Gideon closed his eyes.
“Rusk.”
The officer confirmed it.
Nico looked at the photograph.
The man was no longer unidentified.
The tattoo had done what Nico believed it could do.
It had placed a specific person at a specific location at a specific time.
And the records could prove that Rusk had access to the system that had been placed in maintenance bypass.
But there was another detail.
A handwritten note appeared on the back of the photograph.
Move the originals before inspection.
Nico’s stomach tightened.
“That’s why they were so afraid.”
Gideon looked at him.
“The records.”
“And the people who knew where they were.”
Nico glanced toward the broken front window of the studio.
Someone had attacked his business to stop this discovery.
Someone had been watching him.
Someone had known the tattoo mattered.
Gideon squeezed his hand.
Nico looked at him.
“I’m okay.”
“I know.”
“And you’re not going to tell me to stay away.”
“No.”
“Good.”
Gideon smiled faintly.
“I’ve learned.”
Nico leaned closer.
“Then remember this.”
“What?”
“Standing beside me doesn’t mean you stop protecting me.”
Gideon looked confused.
“It means you protect me without taking away my choice.”
Gideon nodded.
“I can do that.”
Nico believed him.
The evidence from the maintenance building would have to be verified. The investigators still needed to establish exactly what Rusk had done, who had ordered it, and whether Elias Voss was directly involved.
But they finally had something solid.
A person.
A location.
A record.
A connection between the old warehouse and the current network.
And the knowledge that the same people who had hidden the truth six years ago were still willing to protect it.
Gideon looked at the photograph one more time.
Then he turned to Nico.
“You found the thread.”
Nico shook his head.
“We found it.”
Gideon smiled.
“Together.”
Nico held his gaze.
“Together.”
For once, Gideon did not feel like the man standing between danger and the person he loved.
He felt like the man standing beside him.
And that difference changed everything.
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