Chapter 9 The Thin Blue Line

Alex floated into obviousness, and Sarah Harding removed the mask of her medical aid at a softly lit safe house across town. Her heart skipped, adrenaline literally syphoning through her blood from the thinking for even a second to save she'd just pulled off. Her newborn twins' cries cut through the air, a sobering reminder of the danger she had taken. Removing the kids from their homemade cribs and saying, "Shh, it's okay," she consoled them. "Mom's here at right now."

Sarah's brain whirled with the events of the last few of days as she watched her children. Everything felt like a terrible dream was unable to awaken from: the attack on the fortified house, Richard's death, James' disappearance. She also had just drugged and kidnapped her own husband from federal government prison. She strained at a little thump at the door. A familiar voice called. "I am it." Elena Vasquez came in, looking tired but alert as Sarah eased just a little. "Is it completed?" Turning to study the twins, Elena questioned. Sarah made a gestural motion. "She is safe. The drug makes him asleep for a few hours.

Did you obtain what I asked for?" Elena turned over a USB drive. "All that we could save from Alex's computers. Monetary records, connections, all around. Sarah, are you sure of this though? Once we begin down this road, going forward is the only true choice we have. Sarah laughed empty-headed. Returning? Elena, look about. I'm an outlaw; my father by marriage is missing; my significant other is a pharmaceutical master; back is not an option."

Sarah shook hands as Elena left to get ready, then turned on her laptop and put the drive in. Her trained specialist's eye picked designs and associations she had missed before when she stared at the papers. Not only Alex and James engaged with this lure of debasement; the ringlets ventured into each degree of policing, and business in New York. Her phone hummed with a message from Criminal Investigator Mike Ramirez, her old partner. "Sarah, where would you be? The federal leaders are going crazy. Kindly send right away.

We can solve this." Sarah's finger floated over the button reacting. Mike had been her rock all through her career, the one person she knew she could depend on always. Still, looking at the facts before her, she had no idea who to believe any more. Still another communication from some unidentified source emerged. "Harding, Agent," says We ought to look at a lot. The peace of your family depends on your participation. Meet at the regular spot, 12 PM. Sarah stopped her heart. The "typical spot" was a dead drop she had used for covert operations, a place reserved just for a select handful in the division. Whoever gave this message either approached data they shouldn't or was really high in policing.

Sarah worked over the papers, building an insane plan as the hours passed. She found proof of political assassinations, weapon trafficking, and a scheme to overhaul New York City's energy system, thus her concerns went beyond merely drugs. At 11:30 p.m., Sarah decided. She said her farewells to her sleeping babies and left Elena in charge. Then she headed into the darkness. Once so identifiable, New York's roads now seemed alien and demoralizing.

Every shadow may hide a foe, every moving car a possible threat. Ten minutes ahead of time she arrived at the meeting point, an abandoned jungle gym in a once-over area of town. She looked at her ambient elements and a form emerged from the clouds. James Harding murmured, his once-commanding voice now tired and strained, " hello, Sarah." Sarah's hand went to her weapon automatically. James?" Your use of this place is interesting. Where have you lately?" James waved his hands. "I'm not here to hurt you specifically. Here I am to provide you choices. More people appeared from the shadows as James spoke, arranging things such that Sarah's ethical compass turned.

From Alex's records, she saw faces of degenerate government officials, dirty cops, and corporate pioneers who had built domains on blood money. "You see, Sarah, this goes far beyond Alex or me," James said. Here we are talking about the real source of force. Besides, my darling, you are the unique instance not even one of us expected. Sarah's brain ran away. On one side was her pledge to uphold, her duty as a cop.

Conversely, her family's safety and the alluring possibility of finding solutions to issues she had been asking all along her career. "Exactly what would you say you are advertising?" Sarah asked, her voice more steady than she felt. A fresh voice entered and Sarah's blood boiled. "Immunity, for starters," her direct DEA boss, Captain David Foster, counseled her. "For the kids, Alex, and you, full security. Another personality, a fresh start. James went on, "All you have to do is help us to tie off a few loose ends." Use your testimony to add some... problematic people to the scene. Remove the study from its framework in view with the bigger picture. Sarah laughed loudly.

You think I ought to lie? To protect the very hoodlums I have been working on reducing?" "We like to consider it... rebuilding," Chief Cultivate said perfectly. "Sarah, the world isn't really different. Sometimes we have to work in dark tones in order to help everyone." Sarah considered her choices; her phone hummed once more. Elena sent a note saying, "Bundle safe. Anticipating your sign. Sarah let out a long breath. At that moment she made a decision that would permanently alter her life. She said, "Okay," her voice steady. "I'm here listening in. That being said, I have conditions." Sarah started to sketch her words and noticed a small movement. James' chest showed a red dot from a nearby building, a sniper's laser sight.

As a shot fired, Sarah softly brought James to the ground. The playground broke out in chaos. Skipper Cultivate out his handgun and blindly pointed into the darkness. Various figures scattered, their devocations failed to remember despite risk. Heart pounding, Sarah pulled James behind a big obstacle. "Who else is aware of this gathering?" she said quietly. James shook his head very gently. None anybody. This seems not to be real. Another shot zipped above. Sarah looked around the barrier in search of the shooter. She saw her old companion, Mike Ramirez, lurking at the edge of the playground in the pandemonium while he was rapidly speaking into a radio. Sarah felt double-crossing and grabbing in equal measure. There were plenty of deceit and the puzzle stretched much beyond what she had imagined.

Alarms screaming someplace far off, Sarah made a quick choice. She helped James get to his feet and pushed him toward the exit of the park. She said, "Run." "I'll wait off holding them." James paused. " Sarah, I - " She cried out, "Go!" Look for Elena. She will know where to go next. James vanished into the twilight, and Sarah inhaled fully to get ready for what was immediately ahead. She came out from behind the barrier raising her hands. She yelled out, "Mike!" "It's finished. I am giving myself over. Mike's rifle directed at Sarah as he came out of cover. "Savvy move, accomplice," he whispered, however his voice lacked the usual warmth.

"You must do a lot of explaining." Sarah's mind kicked in as Mike got closer to sleeve her. She knew that once she was in custody her chances of keeping her family intact and learning the truth would drop. She needed a single second to reply. "Absolutely without doubt," she answered softly. "I definitely have a lot to make sense of. Started with this. Sarah rendered Mike unconscious in one fluid motion, drawing on a move she had learned from Alex rather some years ago. As her old partner stared at her in amazement, Sarah pointed the revolver at him. "Please accept my apologies, Mike," she murmured, sounding certifiable sorrow. "But I cannot let it end this way. One questions a lot of things. Sarah stopped before Mike could reply, not at him but rather at a close by transformer.

The recreation area fell into darkness when the related flash went off. Sarah vanished into the evening, abandoning a daily life she would always avoid amid the upheaval that followed. Her mind whirled with possible results and dangers as she ran. She possessed proof that might destroy an empire, a husband running a criminal underground, and two innocent children relying on her for safety. When a beautiful DEA expert, Sarah Harding was an outlaw right now. In any case, she was also a wife, a mother, and maybe the only person able to free New York City from the web of lies.

Sarah let herself smile inausiciously as she slipped into the shadows. The game had evolved, the players were fumbling, and she carried cards none of which anyone knew about. "Let them come," she thought. I've got ready. Little did Sarah know, as she melted into the bottom of the city, her actions had set off a series of events that would fundamentally rock New York. The Phantom's better half is moving, whispers starting in boardrooms, back alleyways, precinct homes, and penthouses. She also is aware of everything.