"Don't move."
Miller looked around.
"Where's Price?"
"Alive."
Miller closed his eyes.
"Good."
After a moment, he spoke again.
"Agent, there's something I need to tell you."
Daniel leaned closer.
"What?"
"When Kane grabbed me at the detention facility, he said something."
"What?"
"He said Thomas Reed wasn't the first person they buried."
Daniel stared at him.
"What does that mean?"
Miller swallowed.
"He said they had a place where they kept the people who were supposed to be dead."
Daniel looked toward the windshield.
A terrible possibility entered his mind.
Michael Lawson.
Thomas Reed's other witnesses.
Perhaps even people whose cases had been closed years earlier.
He turned toward Robert.
"Change our destination."
"Where?"
"The old industrial complex near the river."
Robert frowned.
"That's where Kane operates."
Daniel nodded.
"Exactly."
The abandoned industrial complex stood beside the Blackwood River, surrounded by rusted fences and thick vegetation.
The facility had once been used for manufacturing equipment.
It had closed more than a decade earlier after the company declared bankruptcy.
Officially, the property was abandoned.
But Daniel knew better.
The documents recovered from Thomas Reed's files suggested that Blackwood Security Solutions had been using the complex as an unofficial detention facility.
He parked several hundred yards away.
Robert remained with Miller and Price.
Daniel examined the building through binoculars.
There were at least four vehicles inside the fenced area.
Two security cameras covered the main entrance.
A third camera was positioned near the loading dock.
"How many people are inside?" Robert asked.
"At least six."
"You're not going in alone."
Daniel lowered the binoculars.
"I know."
Robert pointed toward a narrow service road.
"There used to be a drainage tunnel beneath the eastern wall. It connected to the old maintenance building."
Daniel studied the area.
"Can we get through?"
"Possibly."
Daniel contacted Olivia using an encrypted device.
He explained the location and asked her to verify the property records.
After several minutes, she called back.
"The industrial complex is registered to a company called Blackwood Industrial Holdings. The company has received no legitimate operating permits in eight years."
"Who owns it?"
"Victor Kane."
Daniel looked toward the facility.
"Can you send federal agents?"
"Not without authorization."
"Then get authorization."
"Daniel, Collins controls the regional response."
"Find another route."
Olivia hesitated.
"I'll try."
Daniel ended the call.
He knew time was running out.
He and Robert approached the eastern side of the complex.
The drainage tunnel was partially blocked by debris, but they managed to enter.
Inside, the air was damp and unpleasant.
They moved slowly until they reached a metal staircase.
The staircase led into a maintenance room.
Daniel listened.
Voices could be heard somewhere above.
He approached the door.
A man was speaking on the other side.
"Hayes wants everything transferred before midnight."
Another voice answered.
"What about the remaining witnesses?"
"Move them to the northern facility."
Daniel looked at Robert.
They had found the right place.
He carefully opened the door.
The corridor beyond was empty.
They moved toward a control room.
Several computer monitors displayed security camera feeds from different sections of the complex.
Daniel recognized a hallway from the abandoned detention facility.
Then he saw something that made him stop.
A man was sitting inside a small room.
His face was bruised.
His hair was longer than Daniel remembered.
But there was no mistaking him.
Michael Lawson.
Daniel stared at the monitor.
For ten years, he had believed his partner was dead.
Now he was looking at him through a security camera.
"Robert," he whispered.
"What?"
"Look."
Robert examined the screen.
"Is that him?"
Daniel nodded.
"Michael Lawson."
He moved toward the room immediately.
Robert caught his arm.
"Wait. We don't know how many guards are inside."
Daniel looked at him.
"I've been waiting ten years."
"I understand. But if you rush in, you could lose him again."
Daniel took a breath.
Robert was right.
They needed to be careful.
They moved through the corridor and reached a locked door.
Daniel used a small tool to open it.
Inside was a narrow room containing several filing cabinets and a computer terminal.
He checked the documents.
There were names.
Photographs.
Medical records.
Transfer schedules.
And a list of people classified as deceased.
Daniel recognized several individuals from missing-person reports.
Some had disappeared years earlier.
Others were recent witnesses.
Then he found a file marked:
SUBJECT 017 β MICHAEL LAWSON.
He opened it.
The first page contained a photograph of Lawson taken shortly after his disappearance.
The second page listed several dates of interrogation.
The third page contained a transfer authorization signed by Margaret Collins.
Daniel felt anger rising inside him.
Collins had known.
She had known Lawson was alive.
And she had allowed him to remain imprisoned for ten years.
Robert looked over his shoulder.
"Daniel, we need to move."
Daniel nodded.
He copied the files onto an encrypted drive.
Then he noticed another document.
It was an operational schedule.
At midnight, the remaining witnesses would be transferred out of Blackwood.
Among them was Sarah Mitchell.
Daniel checked the time.
11:24 p.m.
They had thirty-six minutes.
He contacted Olivia.
"We found them. Michael Lawson is alive. Sarah Mitchell is here too."
Olivia sounded shocked.
"Are you certain?"
"Absolutely."
"Daniel, listen to me. I've managed to secure limited federal assistance, but the team is still forty minutes away."
"That's too late."
"Do not attempt to move the witnesses alone."
Daniel looked toward the corridor.
He could hear footsteps approaching.
"Then I guess we'll have to improvise."
He ended the call.
Robert examined the facility map.
"There are three detention rooms on the lower level."
Daniel nodded.
"Let's find Lawson first."
They moved down the staircase.
The corridor was colder than the upper floor.
Several doors lined the walls.
Behind one, someone was coughing.
Behind another, there was complete silence.
Daniel checked the first room.
Empty.
The second contained two frightened men.
He showed them his badge.
"FBI. We're getting you out."