Chapter 24
Chapter
Twenty-Four
The Manhattan skyline appeared in the distance, hazy through the smog rising above the marshlands. It grew slowly as they crawled through Newark, past the port cranes, container yards, and the oil refineries with their burning stacks.
The slow line of cars fed into the Holland Tunnel like blood flowing through an artery. Concrete walls closed in on either side. They came out of the tunnel into lower Manhattan.
There were six-story brick buildings and delivery trucks double parked on the narrow streets. A guy with a dolly full of boxes crossed in front of them without looking. A taxi laid on its horn when Siren screeched to a stop.
She navigated through the mess. Stop and go. Red lights every block. Pedestrians weaving between cars like crosswalks were a suggestion. It took twenty minutes to go ten blocks.
The buildings grew taller, blocking the sky. The federal building was forty-one stories of brown concrete and narrow windows. Brutalist architecture at its ugliest.
They found a parking garage and tidied themselves up before gathering their documents. Siren didn’t bother with her cover. She was back in jeans and leather, but she left her gun in the car.
Reed had healed up slightly in the hours they’d sped across Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Siren had driven the whole way, drinking gallons of coffee to keep herself alert. She’d called Kate from the road. She was expecting them.
Siren and Reed walked into the federal building through security. “We have an appointment with Special Agent Kate Brennan at 3 PM,” she told the security guard as they passed through the metal detectors.
They took the elevator up to the seventh floor. Kate was waiting when the elevator doors opened. She looked the same as the last time Siren had seen her, the years barely noticeable.
She was tall with dark hair tied back in a low ponytail. They shook hands, exchanged a brief greeting before Kate led them into her office.
It was a roomy space with one of those narrow ugly windows looking down on the street.
Bookshelves lined the wall behind her tidy desk.
Siren saw titles on history, Soviet intelligence, and psychology.
There was a large, framed photo of the Berlin Wall coming down over the filing cabinets on the other side of the room.
Kate invited them to sit on the chairs opposite her desk as she sat down.
“Tell me you brought me something good, Reaper. I’ve been chasing white-collar assholes for six months, and I’m dying for something with teeth.”
Siren unpacked her documents and gave Kate the summary of her case.
Starting with the Crown Mountain conspiracy, the recording of Carl Unger’s murder, and the ambush on the way to the safehouse.
She told her about how they’d been on the road for weeks, chasing down leads.
She told her about how that had led her to Ashcroft and Draven.
Siren spread the evidence across Kate’s desk and then played the recording of Carl’s murder.
Siren showed Kate the photos from Carl’s insurance package. “He sent this evidence to a friend before he died.”
She picked up the photo of Ashcroft, Draven, and Peters in front of Fate Mountain Lodge. “This was taken in October of last year.” She then showed her the handwritten note from Carl to Greg, backing up the dates and locations.
She showed her Diana’s financial records. The connection between Ashcroft’s Delaware shell companies and Teton Resource Group. How Teton Resource Group funded Vanguard Security International.
Kate studied the documents, her eyebrows rising as she realized the depth of the evidence.
“This is solid work.”
Finally, she handed over the phone she’d taken off the operative at the gas station. “If you take this to digital forensics, I’m sure you’ll find kill orders on me and Reed.”
Kate paused, taking the phone. “That’s everything,” she said. “We’ve got multiple angles to prove Ashcroft and Draven are guilty of fraud, conspiracy, and murder.”
Kate sat back in her chair, the mass of documentation spread across her desk.
“These are powerful people,” Kate said.
“People died for this evidence,” Siren said through gritted teeth.
“I know.” Kate’s jaw tightened. “Let’s make it count.”