"A 7-year-old girl called 911 at 2:17 a.m. because her mother hadn't returned home. When the police entered that dark apartment, the entire neighborhood stopped talking about child abandonment and started talking about terror. Rain hammered the apartment roof hard enough to rattle the dispatch center windows, and the emergency line carried a thin wash of static.

A heavily armored police SUV tore into the railyard, its tires kicking up massive plumes of snow. It skidded to a halt directly between Elena and Thorne’s men.

Elena drew her weapon instinctively, shielding Sarah behind her back. Had David’s federal contact jumped the gun?

The doors of the SUV opened, but it wasn't the FBI. It was Captain Harris, the commanding officer of Elena’s precinct, accompanied by three of his own tactical officers.

Harris stepped out, holding a shotgun. He looked at Elena, then at Thorne.

“Stand down, Rostova,” Captain Harris barked, leveling his weapon at her. “Drop the gun and kick the drive over here. You’re under arrest for corruption and theft of evidence.”

Elena’s heart plummeted. Harris’s name had been at the very top of Thorne’s payroll ledger. Thorne hadn’t just brought mercenaries to the trade; he had called in his highest-ranking lapdog to ensure the police handled the cleanup.

Thorne laughed, a dry, echoing sound. “Did you really think you could outsmart me, little pig? I own this city. Hand the drive to the Captain. He’s going to write a beautiful report about how a rogue officer murdered an innocent mother before being tragically gunned down in a shootout.”

Elena was trapped. Four mercenaries in front of her, four corrupt cops to her right.

“Harris, you can’t do this,” Elena shouted, keeping her gun raised. “The feds have the files! Your name is on them. The moment they go live, you’re looking at twenty years in federal prison.”

Harris sneered. “The feds don't have anything yet. I jam cell signals at all my crime scenes. Your little dead man's switch call? It won’t go through. You’re entirely cut off from the world, Rostova.”

Elena glanced at her phone mounted on the dashboard inside the cruiser. He was right. The screen displayed NO SIGNAL.

She was completely out of options. She looked back at Sarah, who was trembling violently against the car. Elena tightened her grip on her pistol. She wasn't going to surrender. If she was going to die in the snow, she was going to take the Captain down with her.