“I am coming,” Adrian said, his tone leaving no room for argument. “And so is Emily.”

I looked at him, surprised.

“You need to be there to verify the decryption status if Marcus gets suspicious,” Adrian told me. “We have to play the part of the desperate victims until we are inside.”

He shifted the SUV into reverse.

The tires gripped the concrete as we backed out of the space.

We drove out of the garage and back into the dark, rainy night.

The city lights faded behind us as we headed toward the river.

The rain was coming down harder now, washing over the windshield in heavy sheets.

I gripped the door handle, my eyes fixed on the GPS screen on the dashboard.

The green dot was ten miles away.

Nine miles.

Eight miles.

Adrian drove with a calm intensity that terrified me almost as much as Marcus did.

He was a man who did not lose.

But Marcus was a man who had nothing left to lose.

As we neared the industrial district, the streets grew darker and emptier.