Chapter 5 - The Ghost of Marcus
Richard turned the radio off and stared through the rain-streaked windshield.
Claire looked at him, her mind struggling to process the flood of impossible information.
She had just seen Daniel leading the assault on the bunker ten minutes ago.
Richard gripped the steering wheel and explained that Daniel was manipulating the narrative.
By faking his own death at the gala, Daniel could operate in the shadows without police scrutiny.
It also meant that Evelyn and Daniel had powerful connections within the media and law enforcement.
Claire realized they were entirely alone, hunted by both the government and a private army.
She asked Richard what they were supposed to do next.
Richard shifted the truck into gear and drove toward the dark highway.
He said there was only one person left in the world he could trust.
They drove for three hours in silence, crossing the state line just before dawn.
They pulled into a desolate truck stop diner sitting on the edge of the desert.
The neon sign above the diner flickered with a buzzing, electrical hum.
Richard told Claire to keep her head down and her hand on the pistol.
They walked inside, greeted by the smell of stale coffee and frying grease.
An older man with a scarred face was wiping down the counter.
He looked up, his eyes widening in surprise when he saw Richard.
The man quickly locked the front door and flipped the sign to closed.
He pulled the window blinds down and embraced Richard tightly.
Richard introduced the man as Marcus, his former brother-in-arms from the old guard.
Marcus looked at Claire with a sad, knowing smile.
He said she looked exactly like her mother.
Marcus led them into a secure back office filled with communication equipment.
He handed Richard a medical kit to patch up a deep cut on his arm.
Then Marcus walked over to a safe and pulled out a small, silver USB drive.
He handed it to Claire, telling her he had held onto it for twenty-one years.
He plugged the drive into a laptop on the desk and pressed play.
The screen flickered to life, showing a beautiful woman sitting in a dimly lit room.
Claire gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.
It was the mother she had been told died in a tragic car accident.
The woman on the screen looked directly into the camera with tears in her eyes.
She spoke Claire's real name and told her she loved her.
But then she issued a terrifying warning that made the hair on Claire's arms stand up.
May you like
She said the man who would eventually try to kill her would not be a stranger.
The woman on the screen warned Claire to never trust a man named Marcus.
