Chapter 6 - The Bullet That Missed His Heart
The veterinary surgeon came through the double doors at 11:42 that morning.
I had been staring at those doors for nearly two hours.
Claire sat beside me.
Noah sat on the other side of her, knees bouncing uncontrollably.
He had been moved from the compromised safe house under federal escort.
The department no longer trusted local locations.
Not after somebody managed to photograph my son from inside one.
Ramirez stood by the window.
Maya had not sat down once.
When the surgeon finally appeared, every person in the waiting room stood.
“Officer Cole?”
“Yes.”
“Titan is alive.”
My knees nearly gave out.
The surgeon continued.
“The round entered through the upper shoulder, missed the scapula, passed through muscle, and exited near the back of the vest line.”
“Lung?”
“Missed.”
“Major vessels?”
“Missed.”
“How?”
The surgeon gave a tired smile.
“Luck.”
I looked through the small glass panel toward recovery.
“No.”
“What?”
“That dog has been surviving things people call luck his entire career.”
The surgeon nodded.
“He’ll need time.”
“How much?”
“Several weeks before I’d even consider high-impact work.”
My answer came immediately.
“He’s done.”
Claire looked at me.
“What?”
I stared through the glass.
Titan lay beneath a warming blanket.
One shoulder shaved.
IV line in his leg.
For the first time in eight years, he looked small.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Like somebody had removed the armor I had built around the idea of him.
“He’s done.”
Noah shook his head.
“Dad.”
“No.”
“You can’t retire him now.”
“That is exactly when I retire him.”
“But Derek shot him because he’s scared of him.”
“That’s not a reason to send him back.”
Noah stood.
“It is if Titan wants to go.”
The words hit me harder than I expected.
I looked at my son.
“You think this is a movie?”
“No.”
His voice cracked.
“I think he saved Sophie.”
“I know.”
“He found Walter’s evidence.”
“I know.”
“He found the cobra.”
“I know.”
“And that guy shot him.”
Claire touched Noah’s arm.
He pulled away.
“If Titan quits because of Derek, then Derek wins.”
I almost snapped at him.
Almost.
Then Titan moved inside the recovery room.
His head lifted.
Slowly.
He looked toward the glass.
Toward us.
His tail moved once.
Noah whispered:
“See?”
I had no answer.
Ramirez’s phone rang.
His expression changed as he listened.
“What?”
He ended the call.
“The safe house.”
My stomach tightened.
“What about it?”
“They found the camera.”
“Inside?”
“Yes.”
“Who put it there?”
“Unknown.”
“How long?”
“At least twelve hours.”
Claire went pale.
Noah stopped bouncing his leg.
Ramirez continued.
“The camera wasn’t hidden by Derek’s people after your family arrived.”
“What?”
“It was already there.”
I stared at him.
“Then the location was compromised before we used it.”
“Yes.”
“Who knew that property?”
“Very few people.”
“How few?”
Ramirez didn’t answer immediately.
That was answer enough.
Police command.
Protective detail supervisors.
A handful of senior administrators.
Someone inside the department had provided Derek Vale access.
Walter’s note came back to me.
Do not trust the first official who offers to take control of the investigation.
“Who authorized the safe house?”
Ramirez’s jaw tightened.
“Deputy Chief Marcus Hall.”
The room went silent.
Claire whispered:
“Oh my God.”
Hall had personally called me after the Centennial Park incident.
He had praised Titan.
Promised the department would protect my family.
Offered resources.
And approved the exact location where somebody later photographed Noah.
“Where is Hall?”
“Headquarters.”
“Does he know we found the camera?”
“No.”
“Keep it that way.”
Ramirez gave me a look.
“I’m already ahead of you.”
Maya stepped closer.
“What about Derek?”
“Still missing.”
“Number One?”
“Still missing.”
“Other florist boxes?”
“Teams found six more.”
My pulse tightened.
“What was inside?”
“Four empty.”
“One had reptile bedding.”
“And the last?”
Ramirez looked at me.
“A tracking beacon.”
“For who?”
“For Titan.”
The room changed.
Maya stared at him.
“What kind?”
“Commercial GPS tag modified for long-range burst transmission.”
“Where was it?”
“Inside the bottom layer of Titan’s transport sample case.”
My blood went cold.
“Someone placed a tracker in our evidence?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“We don’t know.”
“That case was inside command.”
“Yes.”
The implication was worse than the safe house.
Derek hadn’t just been watching from outside.
Somebody with direct access to police evidence had been helping him.
I turned toward the recovery room.
Titan had been shot because we unknowingly brought Derek’s tracker straight to the Civic Center.
Ramirez said quietly:
“We’re locking this investigation down.”
“To who?”
“Federal task force only.”
“No local command?”
“Not until we know how high this goes.”
“What about Hall?”
“We watch him.”
I looked at Titan.
Noah was right about one thing.
Retiring Titan would protect him.
But it would not stop Derek.
Derek had already entered my home life.
My family.
My department.
My partner.
This wasn’t simply about snakes anymore.
It was about control.
Derek wanted us afraid of the places we trusted.
The park.
The police.
Our own homes.
And now I knew something he did not know.
Titan had survived.
That mattered.
Not because I wanted revenge.
Because Derek believed he had removed the one thing that kept finding what he hid.
He hadn’t.
At 3:26 p.m., Walter Pike regained consciousness long enough to speak.
I stood beside his bed.
No recorder.
No uniformed officer.
Only Ramirez and me.
Walter’s voice was barely audible.
“Dog?”
“Alive.”
His eyes closed with relief.
“Good.”
“Walter.”
He looked at me.
“You said Number One isn’t the worst thing Derek brought back.”
His face tightened.
“What did you mean?”
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then:
“Number Zero.”
Ramirez frowned.
“There was no Number Zero on the inventory.”
“Not Rainier inventory.”
“Then what?”
Walter swallowed.
“Private shipment.”
“What species?”
“I never saw the label.”
“Where is it?”
“I don’t know.”
“What do you know?”
Walter’s fingers tightened around the sheet.
“Derek said Number One makes people afraid.”
He stared at me.
“Number Zero makes people die before they know they were exposed.”
The room went completely still.
“Snake?”
“I don’t know.”
“Venom?”
“I don’t know.”
“What kind of animal?”
“I never saw it.”
I leaned closer.
“Then what did you see?”
Walter’s breathing quickened.
“A silver medical transport case.”
“Who gave it to Derek?”
He looked toward the closed door.
May you like
“Marcus Hall.”
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