Marcus smiled.
"Which mistake?"
"Staying."
Marcus's expression hardened.
"Tell me what I'm staying in the way of."
The caller laughed.
"You'll find out."
The line went dead.
Marcus looked toward the window.
A dark blue sedan sat at the end of Cedar Lane.
The engine was running.
He grabbed his notebook.
He wrote down the license plate.
Then the car moved.
Marcus watched it disappear.
He didn't know who was inside.
But he knew one thing.
The problem wasn't over.
It had just introduced itself.
Marcus had always believed that information was more valuable than courage.
Courage without information was often just recklessness.
So he didn't confront the person in the blue sedan.
He watched.
He recorded.
He waited.
At 11:43 p.m., the sedan passed his house.
At 11:47, it returned.
At 11:52, it stopped.
A man stepped out.
Marcus zoomed the security footage.
He recognized him immediately.
Nolan Pike.
Officer Pike's brother.
Marcus leaned back.
"So that's how."
He saved the footage.
Then he called General Cross.
Cross answered on the third ring.
"What happened?"
"Nolan Pike is outside my house."
Cross became silent.
"Are you sure?"
"I have footage."
"Don't confront him."
"I'm not."
"Where are you?"
"Inside."
"Stay inside."
Marcus smiled.
"You sound like my commander."
"I am your commander."
"Retired."
"That doesn't matter."
"It matters to me."
Cross sighed.
"I'll send someone."
Marcus looked at the camera.
Nolan was still standing outside.
"Too late."
"What?"
"Nolan is leaving."
Marcus watched the sedan disappear.
Cross asked:
"Did you get the plate?"
"Yes."
"Good."
There was a pause.
Then Cross said:
"Marcus."
"Yes?"
"Do you trust your security system?"
Marcus frowned.
"Why?"
"Because if they know where your cameras are, they may know what you're recording."
Marcus looked around.
"You think they could access it?"
"I think we should assume everything is compromised."
That night, Marcus disconnected his home system from the internet.
Then he checked every camera manually.
He found nothing.
But he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.
The next morning, Chief Whitmore called.
"Nolan Pike has a consulting company."
"What kind?"
"Security."
Marcus laughed.
"Of course."
"He's received payments from three companies connected to Victor Lang."
"How much?"
"About eighty thousand dollars."
Marcus stared at the coffee in his hand.
"Why?"
"We don't know yet."
"Find out."
Whitmore paused.
"We're trying."
Marcus understood.
She was under pressure too.
The investigation had already attracted attention.
But Marcus had another question.
"Why did Officer Pike respond to the call?"
Whitmore said:
"Because he was assigned to that zone."
"Coincidence?"
"I don't know."
Marcus looked at the street.
"Find out."
Later that afternoon, Evelyn knocked on his door.
Marcus opened it.
She was holding another folder.
"I found more."
Marcus stepped aside.
"Come in."
Evelyn entered.
She looked nervous.
"Victor contacted me again."
"When?"
"Yesterday."
"What did he say?"
"He asked whether you were still refusing to sell."
Marcus smiled.
"Of course he did."
"He told me that if I convinced you to leave, he would pay me."
Marcus looked at her.
"How much?"
"One hundred thousand."
Marcus stared.
"And you told him?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I finally understand what he was doing."
Marcus nodded.
"Good."
She handed him the folder.
"These are all the emails."
Marcus opened them.
There were messages about the neighborhood.
Property values.
Acquisition schedules.
And one sentence that made him stop.
Reed must be removed before phase two.
Marcus read it twice.
Then a third time.
"Evelyn."
"Yes?"
"Did you know about this?"
"No."
"Who sent it?"
"Victor."
Marcus showed her.
Her face went pale.
"Removed."
Marcus nodded.
"Yes."
Evelyn sat down.
"They wanted you gone."
Marcus closed the folder.
"Apparently."
She looked at him.
"Are you scared?"
Marcus considered the question.
"Yes."
Evelyn seemed surprised.
"You are?"
"Of course."
"But you're a soldier."
"Former soldier."
"Still."
Marcus smiled sadly.
"Being trained doesn't make fear disappear."
"What does it do?"
"It teaches you what to do while you're afraid."
Evelyn nodded.
"I wish I'd understood that."
Marcus looked at her.
"You can start now."
She smiled faintly.
That afternoon, General Cross arrived.
He had changed into civilian clothes.
Marcus poured coffee.
Cross looked at the folder.
"You have more evidence."
"Yes."
Cross read the email.
His expression became serious.
"Phase two."
"What does that mean?"
"We don't know."
Marcus looked at him.
"You know something."
Cross sighed.
"The government has been monitoring interest in that corridor for over a year."
"Why?"
"Because several contractors believe the old infrastructure could be repurposed."
"Into what?"
"Secure communications."
Marcus frowned.
"Military?"
"Potentially."
"So Victor wants the land before the government buys it."
"Yes."
"Then he could make hundreds of millions."
"Potentially more."
Marcus shook his head.
"All this for money."
Cross looked at him.
"Not only money."
Marcus waited.
"Control."
That word changed the room.
"Explain."
Cross pointed to the map.
"If someone controls the entire corridor, they control access."
"Access to what?"
"That's what we need to determine."
Marcus leaned back.
"Then this isn't a real estate scam."
"No."
"What is it?"
"A national security concern."
Silence.
Marcus looked at his home.
The house suddenly felt very different.
Cross stood.
"We need you to leave."
Marcus looked at him.
"No."
"Marcus."
"No."
"This is dangerous."
"I know."
"Then why?"
Marcus stared at him.
"Because I've spent too much of my life being told to leave."
Cross said nothing.
"This is my home."
"I understand."
"No, you don't."
Marcus stood.
"When I was in the Army, I went wherever I was ordered. When they told me to deploy, I deployed. When they told me to move, I moved."
His voice became quieter.
"When I came back, I promised myself that one day I would have a place nobody could order me away from."
Cross looked at him.
"And now someone is trying."
"Yes."
Marcus nodded.
"Then I'm staying."
Cross stared at him.