Chapter 49 - The Reckoning
|
My hands tightened around the phone, but I didn't panic. I didn't scream.
I handed the phone directly to Mr. Pendelton.
Pendelton read the message, his smile instantly fading, his eyes sharpening with dark determination.
"They're testing us," Pendelton murmured, handing the phone back. "They want to see if you're afraid."
"I spent my whole life being afraid of shadows, Charles," I said, looking out at the vast ocean. "I'm done running."
I dialed Agent Vance at the FBI headquarters immediately.
"Vance," I said when he answered. "The Crown Syndicate just sent a surveillance photo of my mother's new house."
"Where did the signal originate?" Vance asked, his voice instantly dropping into operational mode.
"An offshore routing server," I replied. "They think they can intimidate us into staying quiet about the remaining offshore accounts."
"Are you safe right now?" Vance asked urgently. "I can deploy a protection detail to La Jolla within fifteen minutes."
"No," I said firmly. "Don't send a detail to the house. Send a tactical team to the shipping terminal at Pier 14."
Silence hung on the line. "Pier 14? Why Pier 14?"
"Because if I learned anything from auditing Arthur's books," I said, a dangerous smile spreading across my lips, "it's that high-level intelligence operatives don't text threats unless they're sitting in a spotter vessel nearby. And Pier 14 is the only private dock with direct satellite uplinks in this quadrant."
May you like
"I'm moving the team now," Vance said. "Sarah, stay where you are!"
"I'm already on my way," I said, hanging up.
