Chapter 12 - The City Watches
We had less than eighteen hours.
Canceling the parade seemed obvious.
Voss disagreed.
“He wants cancellation.”
“Why?”
“Because evacuation gives him movement.”
Same strategy.
Derek needed crowds redirected.
Police resources concentrated.
Routes predictable.
So we changed everything.
Parade officially continued.
Secretly, crowd limits reduced.
Undercover officers replaced uniformed presence.
Emergency zones moved.
Media told nothing.
Derek would believe the city was behaving normally.
We wanted him close.
Titan should have stayed home.
The veterinarian said absolutely not.
Claire said absolutely not.
Noah said nothing.
That silence was worse.
I knelt in front of Titan at dawn.
“You don’t have to do this.”
His ears moved.
“I mean it.”
He looked toward his leash.
“Of course.”
I clipped it on.
Claire watched.
“If he gets hurt again—”
“I know.”
“No.”
Her voice broke.
“You keep saying that.”
I walked over.
She pressed her forehead against mine.
“Bring him home.”
“I will.”
“Both of you.”
I nodded.
At the waterfront, Titan wore no police markings.
Plain harness.
Low profile.
We moved among workers.
Titan searched.
Nothing.
10:17.
Nothing.
10:41.
Then he stopped near a portable media platform.
Sniffed one support column.
Sat.
Maya examined it.
RFID tag.
Same type as florist packaging.
FERRY-06.
Derek had marked his staging points.
We followed the signal.
Second tag near a generator.
Third near a ventilation intake for the media tent.
My stomach turned.
There.
That was the target.
Hundreds of reporters.
Live feeds.
Politicians.
Children’s charity representatives.
Perfect place to create a nationally televised disaster.
We evacuated quietly.
Then Titan pulled away from the intake.
Toward the water.
“Titan.”
He kept going.
Dock.
Service ramp.
Maintenance boat.
Inside the boat, we found aerosol equipment.
Empty.
The compound wasn’t loaded.
Derek had moved it.
A radio crackled inside the cabin.
His voice.
“Good boy.”
I froze.
He was watching.
“You always find the thing I want you to find.”
The truth hit me.
Decoy.
Again.
“What’s the real target?”
Derek laughed.
“You’ll see.”
Then every phone around us buzzed.
Emergency alert.
UNCONFIRMED HAZARDOUS MATERIAL INCIDENT - SEATTLE CENTER.
Seattle Center.
Miles away.
Thousands of people.
Derek had used the waterfront to pull us away.
I looked at Titan.
May you like
“Move.”
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