CHAPTER 136
SKYLAR'S POV
The limousine that picked me up from the federal building was exactly what I'd expected from William - black leather interior, tinted windows, and a privacy partition that ensured whatever conversation we had wouldn't be overheard. What I hadn't expected was the manila envelope waiting for me on the seat.
"Your first assignment," William said as I slid into the car beside him. "Consider it a test of your commitment to our new partnership."
I opened the envelope and felt my blood turn to ice. Photographs of a modest house in the suburbs, surveillance shots of a middle-aged woman tending a garden, and a detailed dossier on someone named Dr. Sarah Chen.
"She's a forensic accountant," William explained as the car pulled into traffic. "Very good at her job. Unfortunately, she's been hired by a congressional committee to investigate certain financial irregularities in federal law enforcement contracts."
"And you want me to kill her."
"I want you to convince her that her investigation is not in anyone's best interest. How you accomplish that is entirely up to you."
I studied the photographs more carefully. Dr. Chen looked like someone's favorite aunt - the kind of woman who baked cookies for neighborhood children and volunteered at animal shelters. The kind of person who'd dedicated her life to making sure the truth came to light, no matter how powerful the people trying to hide it.
"What if she refuses to back down?"
"Then you eliminate the threat to our operation." William's voice was matter-of-fact, like he was discussing the weather. "I told you, Skylar - if you want to save those children, if you want to protect the people you love, sometimes difficult choices must be made."
The car turned onto a tree-lined street that looked like something from a Norman Rockwell painting. Kids riding bikes, neighbors chatting over fence lines, the kind of safe, normal life I'd never known was possible until I'd met Harry, Jax, and Lucas.
"You have two hours," William said as the car stopped in front of Dr. Chen's house. "I'll be waiting."
I got out of the limousine and walked up the front path, my mind racing through possibilities. William was testing me, trying to determine whether I could be trusted to do whatever was necessary to advance his agenda. But he was also giving me an opportunity to prove that I was still the same person who'd walked into that warehouse to save innocent children.
The question was whether Dr. Chen would cooperate or if I'd have to make the kind of choice that would change me forever.
I rang the doorbell and waited, checking the small recording device I'd hidden in my jacket pocket. If I was going to work with William, I needed insurance - evidence of his crimes that I could use against him when the time came.
"Can I help you?" Dr. Chen opened the door with a warm smile, flour dusting her apron and the smell of fresh bread wafting from behind her.
"Dr. Chen? My name is Sarah Williams. I'm with the Treasury Department's Internal Security Division. I was hoping we could talk about your recent work for the congressional oversight committee."
Her expression shifted immediately, the warmth replaced by professional caution. "Do you have identification?"
I showed her the fake credentials Lucas had prepared for emergencies like this. She studied them carefully before stepping aside to let me enter.
"I have to say, I'm surprised," she said, leading me into a cozy living room filled with family photos and book-lined shelves. "Treasury doesn't usually send field agents to discuss my work."
"These are unusual circumstances. Your investigation has uncovered some information that touches on ongoing national security operations."
"What kind of operations?"
I sat down across from her, noting the slight tremor in her hands as she poured tea. She was nervous but not afraid - the reaction of someone who'd spent her career dealing with people who preferred that certain truths remain buried.
"The kind that save lives but can't be discussed in congressional hearings," I said carefully. "Dr. Chen, I need you to understand that your investigation, while thoroughly professional, is threatening operations that protect innocent children from human trafficking networks."
Her face went pale. "Are you asking me to suppress evidence of criminal activity?"
"I'm asking you to consider the bigger picture. Sometimes the system has to work outside normal channels to achieve results that matter."
"And sometimes people use that excuse to justify corruption and abuse of power." She set down her teacup with a decisive click. "Ms. Williams, I've spent my career following the money trail wherever it leads, regardless of who gets uncomfortable. I'm not going to stop now."
I'd expected this response, but part of me had hoped she'd be more malleable. Dr. Chen was exactly the kind of person the world needed more of - someone willing to stand up for what was right even when it was dangerous.
She was also exactly the kind of person William would have eliminated without hesitation.
"Dr. Chen," I said quietly, "I need you to understand something. The people you're investigating aren't just corrupt bureaucrats. They're connected to organizations that will kill to protect their secrets. If you continue this investigation, you won't just be risking your career - you'll be risking your life."
"Are you threatening me?"
"I'm trying to save you."
I pulled out my phone and showed her the photographs William had given me earlier - the images of children in the new trafficking facilities that had sprung up after our raids.
"These pictures were taken yesterday," I continued. "Every child you see here is suffering because good people like you insist on following proper procedures instead of accepting that sometimes the only way to fight monsters is to become one yourself."
Dr. Chen studied the photos, her professional composure cracking as she took in the full horror of what she was seeing. "Where... where were these taken?"
"Facilities that were supposed to be shut down. Operations that were supposed to be dismantled. But because the wrong people got arrested, because the wrong evidence came to light, the real players just moved their operations and got more careful about hiding them."
"And you think my investigation will make this worse?"
"I know it will. Because the people you're targeting? They're the only ones with the resources and connections to actually stop this." I leaned forward, letting her see the desperation in my eyes. "Dr. Chen, I'm not asking you to ignore corruption. I'm asking you to help me fix it from the inside."
She was quiet for a long moment, studying my face like she was trying to read my soul. "What exactly are you proposing?"
"Give me access to your files. Let me show you which operations are legitimate anti-trafficking efforts and which ones are just enriching politicians. Help me target the real criminals while protecting the people who are actually trying to make a difference."
"And if I refuse?"
I met her eyes, letting her see the truth of what I'd become. "Then you'll disappear, and your investigation will die with you. And those children in the photographs will suffer while the world congratulates itself on maintaining proper oversight procedures."
Dr. Chen stared at me for a long moment, then walked to her home office and began pulling files from a secured cabinet.
"You have one hour," she said. "After that, I'm calling my contact at the FBI and telling them everything about this conversation."
As I began photographing the documents, I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd just crossed another line I couldn't uncross. But if the information in these files could help me bring down William while saving those children...
The recording device in my pocket felt heavier with each page I copied, evidence of my own corruption mounting with every choice I made.
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