Chapter 16 - THE CIPHER IN THE BLOOD
Using a pocketknife from the tackle box, Daniel carefully unscrewed the microscopic seal of the silver cylinder. A minute black microchip slid out onto the scarred wooden table.
"I need a terminal with an offline hard drive," Daniel said, pacing the room like a caged animal. "If this chip connects to any cellular network, Victoria’s cyber-security team will triangulate our coordinates within sixty seconds."
"Elena," Clara said instantly.
Daniel stopped. "Elena? The librarian?"
"Her brother owns the marine radio station three miles north of here at the old lighthouse," Clara explained, her voice steadying with sudden resolve. "They use closed-circuit, analog satellite arrays for distress beacons. Completely off the commercial grid. And Elena has keys to the entire facility."
Clara pulled out her burner phone, typing a cryptic sequence of numbers they had agreed upon during the gala aftermath. Within thirty seconds, the phone vibrated against her palm.
*Elena:* "Clara? Oh, thank God. Two men in dark suits were questioning people outside the center an hour ago. They're looking for your car."
"We ditched it," Clara whispered into the receiver. "Elena, we need the lighthouse transmitter room. Tonight. Victoria is trying to kill Noah before his birthday on Friday. We have Julian’s files."
A long silence stretched over the static-filled line. When Elena spoke again, her voice was low, taut with suppressed terror. "My brother is on duty at the tower. I’m driving there now. But Clara... be careful. The news just broke an hour ago. Victoria Sterling held a press conference on the steps of City Hall."
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"What did she say?"
"She announced that Daniel kidnapped the missing Sterling heir six years ago. She has put a five-million-dollar private bounty on Daniel’s head—dead or alive. Every dirty cop and bounty hunter from Boston to Manhattan is converging on this coast."
