Chapter 15 - Back to the Oak Tree
The park had been closed all day.
No public event.
No reason to go there.
That was exactly why Derek chose it.
He didn’t need a crowd anymore.
He needed cameras.
Media had gathered outside the perimeter after rumors connected the park to the case again.
Derek knew they would.
He always understood attention.
We entered from the north.
Titan beside me.
Maya behind.
Ramirez coordinating teams.
The oak tree appeared ahead.
Same grass.
Same roots.
Same place Sophie nearly died.
Derek stood beneath it.
No weapon visible.
A camera on tripod streamed live.
On the ground beside him:
The original yellow frisbee.
Recovered from evidence.
How had he gotten it?
Someone inside evidence again?
Or Hall before arrest?
Derek smiled.
“Perfect.”
“Where’s the vial?”
“Safe.”
“Caleb lost his.”
“Caleb was disposable.”
“You’re out of people.”
“Not quite.”
He looked at Titan.
“You brought him.”
“I did.”
“Good.”
Derek lifted a remote.
My stomach tightened.
“What does that trigger?”
He pointed downward.
“Look.”
Beneath the grass around the oak were small ventilation tubes.
Buried containers.
My blood went cold.
“How many?”
“Enough.”
Snakes?
Compound?
Both?
Maya whispered:
“Ethan, don’t move.”
Derek smiled.
“Now the world gets the ending.”
His live stream count climbed.
Thousands.
Then tens of thousands.
He had pushed the link everywhere.
He wanted people watching when Titan “failed.”
I looked at the tubes.
“Number Zero?”
“One chamber.”
“Snakes?”
“Three.”
“Number One?”
“Already gone.”
He sounded disappointed.
“Your dog ruined that too.”
Titan growled.
Derek raised the remote.
“One button opens all four.”
“Why?”
“Because everyone saw the hero story.”
His eyes hardened.
“I want them to see what heroes really are.”
“Animals?”
“Accidents.”
“No.”
I looked at Titan.
“He chose.”
Derek laughed.
“He reacted.”
“He chose.”
“You anthropomorphize him because you need meaning.”
“And you build disasters because you need control.”
That stopped him.
“You lost your father’s business.”
“State destroyed it.”
“No.”
“You did.”
His thumb moved.
I took one step.
Maya whispered:
“Don’t.”
Derek pressed the remote.
Nothing happened.
He frowned.
Pressed again.
Nothing.
Ramirez’s voice came through my earpiece.
“Signal jammer active.”
Derek looked toward the tree line.
Too late.
Titan launched.
Not at Derek.
At the ground.
He dug beside one ventilation tube.
“Titan!”
Maya ran forward.
“Wait!”
Titan scratched.
Exposed a wire.
Remote backup line.
Mechanical trigger.
Derek had redundancy.
Titan had smelled disturbed soil.
Again.
The dog saw first.
Derek ran.
I chased.
He crossed the drainage channel.
Into the same tunnel where this began.
Titan followed.
May you like
This time, I didn’t call him back.
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