Chapter 11 - Number One
For one impossible second, history repeated itself.
Sophie on the ground.
Titan above her.
Danger inches away.
Only this time, no one misunderstood him.
The king cobra rose.
Hood spread.
Titan growled.
Sophie pressed herself against the wall.
“Don’t move!”
My voice came from across the room.
Titan didn’t look at me.
Good.
I didn’t need him listening to me.
I needed him reading the snake.
Voss shouted:
“Do not let it strike!”
Maya and tactical officers stormed through the rear entrance.
Derek had escaped through a loading corridor.
But nobody followed.
Not yet.
Sophie came first.
Maya approached with a shield.
Another specialist carried a hook.
Titan shifted left.
The cobra tracked him.
He shifted right.
It tracked again.
He was drawing its attention away from Sophie.
Maya whispered:
“Good boy.”
The cobra struck.
Titan jumped back.
His injured shoulder almost collapsed.
He recovered.
My heart stopped.
Maya moved.
Hook under body.
Shield forward.
Second handler secured head direction.
Thirty seconds.
Maybe forty.
It felt like an hour.
Then Number One was inside a reinforced containment tube.
Sophie ran straight to Titan.
Wrapped both arms around his neck.
He nearly fell.
I caught both of them.
“Easy.”
Sophie sobbed.
“He came in.”
“I know.”
“He came in for me.”
“I know.”
Titan licked her cheek.
Voss stood under guard.
Her face had lost all professional calm.
“Derek took Z-3.”
“What is Z-3?”
“Concentrated research compound.”
“How dangerous?”
“In sealed form?”
“Yes.”
“Stable.”
“Unsealed?”
She hesitated.
“How dangerous?”
“Potentially lethal in high concentration.”
Ramirez grabbed her arm.
“Where will he use it?”
“I don’t know.”
“You worked with him for years.”
“He stopped telling me everything after the park.”
“Why?”
Voss looked at Titan.
“Because of him.”
Titan again.
Always Titan.
Voss continued.
“Derek became obsessed.”
“With killing him?”
“With proving he could control the narrative.”
“He thinks if Titan dies publicly, people will remember the dog failed.”
I stared at her.
“That’s insane.”
“Yes.”
For the first time, she sounded almost afraid.
“He is.”
Then her phone vibrated.
Unknown sender.
A video.
Derek standing somewhere outdoors.
Behind him:
Seattle skyline.
Water.
Crowds in the distance.
He held the missing vial.
“Tomorrow,” he said.
“The city gets its ending.”
Then he raised the camera.
Behind him was the waterfront charity parade.
Preparations already underway.
Friday.
He smiled.
May you like
“And this time, bring the dog.”
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