Chapter 13 - The False Cloud
Seattle Center emptied in chaos.
Reports claimed people were coughing.
Someone smelled chemicals.
Social media exploded.
HAZMAT teams rushed in.
No verified exposure.
No Z-3.
Derek had created panic with nothing.
A smoke canister.
Harmless irritant.
Fake warning.
But the result was real.
Police moved.
Hospitals prepared.
Traffic jammed.
Parents pulled children from schools.
News helicopters filled the sky.
Derek’s objective:
Fear.
Again.
Then Maya saw the pattern.
“He’s not trying to use Z-3 yet.”
“What is he doing?”
“Testing response time.”
My stomach dropped.
Every event gave him data.
How quickly buildings evacuated.
Which routes police closed.
Where ambulances staged.
Where media gathered.
Derek wasn’t improvising.
He was rehearsing.
For one final release.
We pulled every location from his prior maps.
One remained untouched.
Northwest Kids Day.
Canceled after the park incident.
Except a replacement event had been created.
Small.
Private.
Indoor.
At Seattle Children’s Museum.
Saturday morning.
Families who had tickets to the original festival were invited.
Limited attendance.
Security high.
And one special guest had been announced publicly.
Titan.
My blood went cold.
The department had planned to honor him there before the shooting.
Event canceled afterward.
But media sites still listed the old schedule.
Derek thought Titan would be there.
That was his ending.
Not random victims.
Titan in a room full of children.
He wanted the dog blamed again.
If hazardous exposure occurred while Titan was present—
Panic.
Footage.
Confusion.
A perfect echo of Centennial Park.
We shut down the museum.
Too late.
Security footage showed a maintenance contractor entering before dawn.
Fake ID.
Caleb Kane.
The sniper.
He was inside.
May you like
With Z-3.
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