The little girl sat on a squeaky bed, curled into herself. When the door burst open and a tall man in tactical gear came in, she squeezed her eyes shut. She was bracing for one more blow from life.
Mike tore off his black mask and dropped to one knee beside her bed. “Katie, sweetheart. It’s Dad.”
She opened one eye, then the other. For one long second neither of them moved.
“Daddy? Is it really you? Mom said you were in heaven.”
“I’m here, kiddo. I came back for you. We’re going to see Mom right now.”
He lifted her into his arms. She was alarmingly light. He carried her toward the exit, holding her close against his body armor while all around them the operation kept moving.
Federal agents were boxing up files on children who had been shuffled through the system. In another office, handcuffs clicked shut on the crooked notary. By eight that morning, the town’s criminal leadership had been stripped out all at once.
Arrests were made simultaneously at twenty known addresses. The corrupt police inspector was taken at his desk while trying to burn complaints filed by Ellen.
The notary, the bought doctors, the gang members, and the officials who had looked away all ended up in custody. The chain that had seemed untouchable broke under federal pressure.
Victor stood on the steps of the police station smoking a cigarette as detainees were loaded into transport vans. Mike walked up holding Katie’s hand.
“You did good, Sergeant,” Victor said, gripping his hand. “Without your notes and that test stamp page, we’d still be buried in paperwork. Now the case is solid. The boss is already naming names to save himself.”
“I don’t care what happens to him,” Mike said. “What about my apartment?”
“It’s sealed pending final paperwork. Tomorrow we’ll move to void every fraudulent transfer through the court. You should be back in your home in a couple of days.
“But first, take your girl to the military hospital and see your wife. Ellen’s going to need time to come out of that chemical fog.”
Mike nodded and looked over the waking town.
The sun was rising over the factory stacks. The night fog was lifting from rows of gray apartment blocks. The place still looked hard and worn, but not quite as hopeless as it had before.
He knew this wasn’t the end. There would be court dates, paperwork, and maybe threats from whatever small fry had slipped through. And Ellen’s mind would need patient, careful healing.
But one thing was certain now: his family was together again. And that was the mission that mattered most…
