Chapter 8 - THE SENATOR’S DEBTRebecca did not deny it.
At 8:16 p.m., his Gulfstream sat on a private runway outside Richmond with engines running.
His attorneys had already departed in separate vehicles.
His wife was reportedly in Switzerland.
His son Preston remained in federal custody.
Richard intended to leave without him.
That told me everything I needed to know about Richard Vale.
Rebecca called the Justice Department.
The response was immediate and useless.
“We need additional review.”
Rebecca nearly crushed her phone.
“He’s fleeing the country.”
“They’re worried about jurisdiction.”
“They’re worried about donors.”
Crane glanced from the back seat.
“Welcome back to Section Nine.”
We were twelve minutes away.
Richard’s plane had clearance in nine.
Rebecca contacted the Federal Aviation Administration.
Someone had already overridden a restriction.
“Shaw,” I said.
Crane shook his head.
“Not Shaw. He wants Vale trapped.”
“Then who?”
Rebecca looked at the archive summary on her tablet.
“Someone inside Transportation.”
The Circle had roots everywhere.
I studied the airfield map.
“Service road.”
Rebecca’s driver turned.
We reached the gate as the jet began taxiing.
Security blocked us.
Rebecca stepped from the vehicle.
“I’m Senator Rebecca Sloan.”
The guard looked miserable.
“Ma’am, I have orders.”
“From whom?”
“I can’t—”
“Then tell whoever gave them that tomorrow morning I will hold a televised Senate hearing asking why you assisted the escape of a federal kidnapping suspect’s co-conspirator.”
The gate opened.
Money is powerful.
Public embarrassment occasionally works faster.
Richard’s jet accelerated.
We drove onto the tarmac.
“Daniel,” Rebecca said, “please tell me you aren’t thinking what I think.”
“Probably.”
I opened the door.
“Don’t.”
I jumped.
The plane was moving perhaps twenty miles per hour.
I ran diagonally.
Richard’s pilot saw me and accelerated.
I reached a baggage tractor parked near the hangar, climbed aboard, and drove directly into the taxi lane.
The pilot braked.
The jet stopped thirty yards away.
Airport security vehicles arrived behind us.
Richard Vale emerged from the aircraft furious.
He was sixty, silver-haired, broad-shouldered, wearing the expression of a man who had spent forty years confusing obedience with respect.
“You.”
He recognized me immediately.
“Richard.”
He laughed.
“So the Ghost really crawled out of his grave.”
“You remember me.”
“I remember the pest who almost ruined several productive relationships.”
“Your son broke my daughter’s face.”
Richard shrugged.
“Children make mistakes.”
I walked toward him.
Crane stepped between us.
“Daniel.”
Richard smiled.
“You still need someone to hold your leash?”
I stopped.
“You’re leaving your son behind.”
That hit harder than a threat.
Richard’s smile changed.
“My son is an idiot.”
“He learned from somebody.”
Rebecca approached with federal officers who had finally received temporary detention authority.
Richard saw her.
“Senator. This is disappointing.”
“Get used to it.”
Richard handed his passport to an officer.
“You have nothing on me.”
Rebecca held up a copy of the archive ledger.
“We’re learning otherwise.”
For the first time, his confidence slipped.
Only slightly.
But enough.
Then Richard looked at Crane.
“You think they’ll forgive you?”
Crane said nothing.
“Tell Daniel about Atlanta.”
Crane went pale.
I turned.
“What happened in Atlanta?”
Richard laughed as federal officers escorted him away.
“Ask your old friend why Lucas Reed was driving on that highway.”
I grabbed Crane.
“What does he mean?”
Crane looked toward Rebecca.
“Not here.”
“Now.”
Twenty years of anger sat between us.
Finally he spoke.
“Lucas found out I was meeting Sarah.”
“Why were you meeting my wife?”
“She had evidence.”
“You said she found you after Section Nine collapsed.”
“She found me before.”
“You lied.”
“Yes.”
I shoved him backward.
Rebecca moved closer.
“Daniel.”
I ignored her.
“What happened to Lucas?”
“He followed me.”
“To Atlanta?”
“Yes.”
“And Vale killed him?”
“Vale arranged the crash.”
“Because Lucas followed you?”
“No.”
Crane’s voice broke.
“Because I told Vale Lucas had the files.”
I stared at him.
“You gave Vale my partner?”
“I was undercover.”
“You gave him Lucas.”
“I thought they’d interrogate him.”
“You gave him Lucas.”
Crane finally shouted.
“Yes!”
Silence swept over the hangar.
Crane looked twenty years older.
“I made a calculation. It was wrong. He died because of me.”
I wanted to break every bone in his body.
Then Emma’s voice echoed in my head.
Don’t become him.
I stepped back.
Crane exhaled.
“You should hit me.”
“That would make you feel better.”
He looked at me.
“You don’t deserve to feel better.”
Rebecca’s phone rang.
She answered.
Her face changed.
“What?”
She listened.
Then looked at me.
“Preston Vale was attacked in federal custody.”
“Dead?”
“No.”
“Who?”
“We don’t know.”
Her phone buzzed again.
Another message.
This one from Cole’s protection unit.
Cole Harrington had disappeared.
Two federal agents were injured.
I looked toward Richard Vale being placed in an armored vehicle.
The old man smiled at me.
He already knew.
“This isn’t him,” I said.
Rebecca nodded.
“Someone is cleaning up the heirs.”
Tyler dead.
Preston attacked.
Cole missing.
The assault on Emma had started something larger.
Then Richard called across the tarmac.
“Ghost!”
I turned.
“You want to know who’s killing the boys?”
Federal officers pushed him forward.
Richard laughed.
“Ask the senator who financed her first campaign.”
Rebecca froze.
May you like
Richard’s smile widened.
“Ask her about Malcolm Shaw.”
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