Chapter 13: The Trap at Harbor Point
Chapter 13: The Trap at Harbor Point
The abandoned warehouse at the Port of Blackwood smelled of rust, salt water, and cold diesel fumes. High above the concrete floor, inside a glass-walled office overlooking the empty bay, Adrian Cole sat in front of three high-powered laptop monitors.
Beside him, Vanessa paced nervously, her glamorous exterior completely shattered. She wore a dark hoodie, her hair pulled back into a messy bun, her eyes dark with exhaustion and paranoia.
"He isn't going to show up at Miller's Creek, Adrian!" Vanessa hissed, her voice echoing off the bare walls. "The FBI is involved! We should have taken the cash and left the country yesterday!"
"Shut up, Vanessa," Adrian snapped without taking his eyes off the signal monitor. "Nathan Hale is a prideful man. He thinks with his emotions. He believes if he brings me the drive, he can negotiate for his family's safety. He's at Miller's Creek right now, standing in the rain like a fool."
"And what if he isn't?" a voice spoke from the darkness near the office doorway.
Adrian spun around, his hand reaching for a pistol resting on the desk.
Nathan Hale stepped into the dim light of the office. He was drenched in rain, holding a small metallic briefcase in his left hand. He was completely alone.
Vanessa gasped, taking two steps back. "Nathan... how did you find us?"
"You gave Ethan an old radio, Vanessa," Nathan said, his tone icy cold and steady as granite. "You thought you were being clever, leaving a backdoor into my house. You forgot that my son inherits his mind from people who actually build things, not people who steal them."
Adrian slowly took his hand off the weapon, a arrogant, mocking smirk spreading across his face. "So the boy figured out the relay. Impressive. But you still walked in here alone, Nathan. That makes you brave, or remarkably stupid."
"I brought what you wanted," Nathan said, setting the briefcase on the central table and popping the latches open. Inside lay the black data drive, locked into a specialized interface unit connected to the silver decryption pin.
Adrian’s eyes gleamed with unchecked greed. "The master files. The complete guidance schematics and my private client registry."
"It’s all here," Nathan said. "Every line of code you tried to sell to foreign defense contractors. Every wire transfer you sent to Vanessa’s offshore accounts."
"Give it to me," Adrian demanded, stepping toward the table.
"First, answer one question," Nathan said, standing between Adrian and the briefcase. "Why frame me for an affair? Why try to destroy my marriage when all you wanted was the tech?"
Adrian laughed, a dry, hollow sound. "Because a man who is fighting his wife doesn't notice his server logs being drained. A man who is drowning in personal shame doesn't look closely at his mother's sudden interest in his study. I didn't just want your technology, Nathan. I wanted to break you so completely that when Hale Aerospace fell, everyone would think you burned it down yourself out of moral collapse."
"Thank you," Nathan said quietly.
May you like
Adrian frowned. "For what?"
"For saying that out loud," Nathan replied, pointing to a small, glowing red LED pinned to his lapel. "The federal feed has been live since I walked through the door."
