Chapter 2 - Six Missing Minutes
By 4:24 p.m., the Fourth Precinct no longer resembled a police station.
It resembled a command bunker.
Captain Lawson barked orders across the operations floor while dispatchers redirected patrol cars toward Union Terminal. Computer screens filled with maps. Officers who had been joking minutes earlier were now fastening tactical vests and racing toward exits.
In the middle of it all stood Ethan Mercer.
Silent.
Pale.
And suddenly very interested in saying nothing.
Maya retrieved her credential wallet from Lawson and wiped the remaining coffee from its edge.
Then she approached Mercer.
“Sit.”
He didn't move.
Lawson stepped closer.
“You heard her.”
Mercer sat.
Maya placed her phone on the desk.
“Daniel Voss.”
No reaction.
“You know that name?”
“No.”
“Think carefully.”
“I said no.”
Maya watched his eyes.
People could control their mouths.
Their eyes were harder.
She displayed Voss’s photograph.
Mercer looked at it for less than a second.
Then away.
Too fast.
Recognition.
“Never seen him.”
Maya leaned against the desk.
“Then we have a problem.”
“What problem?”
“You knew he was going north.”
“I guessed.”
“You guessed?”
“Union Terminal has northbound trains.”
“And southbound trains. Regional trains. Commuter lines. Buses.”
Mercer said nothing.
Maya lowered her voice.
“Why north?”
“Lucky guess.”
Captain Lawson stepped forward.
“I've known you seven years, Ethan.”
Mercer looked at him.
“Captain—”
“Tell her the truth.”
“I am.”
Lawson’s disappointment seemed to hit Mercer harder than anger would have.
Maya’s phone rang.
“Brooks.”
“Agent, transit cameras picked up Voss entering the service corridor under Platform Nine.”
“When?”
“Forty seconds ago.”
“Seal Platform Nine.”
“We're trying. Somebody used a police override credential to unlock the maintenance gate.”
Maya slowly looked at Mercer.
“What credential?”
There was a pause.
Then the answer came.
“Fourth Precinct.”
Lawson’s face hardened.
Maya put the call on speaker.
“Whose?”
Keyboard tapping.
“Credential number 4172.”
Lawson turned toward Mercer.
Mercer stared at the floor.
Lawson whispered, “Jesus.”
Maya already knew.
“Officer Ethan Mercer?”
“Yes.”
The room went silent again.
Mercer suddenly stood.
“I lost that access card months ago.”
Lawson shook his head.
“You never reported it.”
“I didn't realize it was missing.”
Maya stepped between Mercer and the exit.
“Sit down.”
“I didn't help anybody.”
“Then you'll have no problem explaining why a fugitive just used your credential.”
“I don't know!”
For the first time, Mercer sounded genuinely frightened.
That mattered.
Because Maya had expected defensiveness.
What she heard was panic.
Maybe Mercer had helped Voss.
Or maybe something more complicated was happening.
“Captain,” Maya said, “secure him. Don't arrest him yet.”
Mercer looked surprised.
Lawson did too.
“Why not?”
“Because I want him talking.”
Maya grabbed her phone.
“I'm going to Union Terminal.”
Lawson reached for his radio.
“I'll send officers.”
“No. Send them around the perimeter. If Voss has police credentials, uniforms won't stop him.”
She headed toward the door.
Then Mercer spoke.
“Wait.”
Maya stopped.
Mercer stared at her.
Something was breaking behind his eyes.
“There’s another way out.”
Maya turned.
“What?”
“Platform Nine. The service corridor connects to an old freight tunnel.”
Lawson frowned.
“How do you know?”
Mercer swallowed.
“Because somebody asked me about it.”
Maya walked back.
“Who?”
Mercer hesitated.
That hesitation answered everything.
Maya leaned closer.
“Ethan, whatever you've done, Daniel Voss is leaving right now. This is your last chance to decide which side you're on.”
Mercer closed his eyes.
Then whispered:
“My brother.”
Lawson looked stunned.
“What about your brother?”
Mercer opened his eyes.
“Voss has my brother.”
The entire story changed in six words.
Mercer explained quickly.
His younger brother, Noah, had disappeared two days earlier.
Then Mercer received a photograph.
Noah tied to a chair.
A message followed.
Provide access information.
Delay anyone asking questions.
Say nothing.
Or Noah dies.
Maya listened without interrupting.
“Why didn't you report it?”
Mercer laughed bitterly.
“Because the message included a video of Noah with a gun against his head.”
“You gave Voss your credential?”
“Yes.”
Lawson looked devastated.
“You compromised the precinct.”
“I was trying to keep my brother alive.”
“And throwing my badge away?” Maya asked.
Mercer looked at her.
“I recognized your name.”
Maya went still.
“From where?”
“Voss sent it this morning.”
That chilled her.
“He knew I was coming?”
“He said if Special Agent Maya Brooks appeared, delay her.”
Maya’s pulse quickened.
This operation had been compromised before she ever entered the building.
“Why me?”
“I don't know.”
Maya picked up her phone.
“Where is Noah?”
“I don't know.”
“Where did Voss tell you to send confirmation?”
Mercer gave her a number.
Federal cyber analysts began tracing it immediately.
Maya turned toward Lawson.
“Keep Mercer here.”
Then she looked at Ethan.
“If you're lying, I'll know.”
“Agent Brooks.”
She stopped.
Mercer’s arrogance had vanished completely.
“Please find my brother.”
Maya held his gaze.
“I intend to.”
She raced outside.
Sirens screamed through downtown.
Union Terminal appeared ahead.
Hundreds of commuters were being pushed toward exits.
Maya ran through the main concourse.
“Platform Nine!”
An officer pointed.
“Down there!”
She sprinted.
4:29.
Two minutes before departure.
She reached the maintenance corridor.
The door stood open.
Beyond it was darkness.
Maya drew her weapon.
“FBI!”
No answer.
She moved forward.
Twenty feet.
Thirty.
Then she heard footsteps.
Running.
Maya followed.
The tunnel divided.
Left.
Right.
A train horn echoed overhead.
Her phone buzzed.
TRACE COMPLETE.
The burner phone contacting Mercer wasn't at Union Terminal.
It was somewhere else.
An abandoned warehouse district across town.
Possible location of Noah Mercer.
Maya stared at the map.
Then another sound came from ahead.
A metal door slammed.
Voss was close.
Very close.
She had a choice.
Continue chasing the fugitive carrying classified keys.
Or redirect resources toward a hostage who might have only minutes left.
Then Maya noticed something lying on the tunnel floor.
A photograph.
She picked it up.
It showed Noah Mercer tied to a chair.
On the back, handwritten in black ink, were six words:
YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED AT THE PRECINCT.
Maya’s blood ran cold.
This wasn't merely an escape.
Voss was controlling every move they made.
May you like
And somehow, he had known exactly which tunnel Maya would enter.
---
