Chapter 16: The Bait
The sky over Washington, D.C. was a bruised, heavy gray, threatening rain that refused to fall. Laura sat in the back of an armored FBI command vehicle, two blocks away from the First National Bank.
Next to her, Maya was thousands of miles away from the danger, securely tucked in a high-security safehouse with Sarah Jenkins and two armed federal marshals. Laura had kissed her daughter’s forehead that morning, promising her they would go out for ice cream when she got back. It was a promise she intended to keep.
"Mic check, Mrs. Hayes," Special Agent Reynolds said, handing Laura a wireless earpiece no larger than a grain of rice.
Laura slipped it into her right ear. "I hear you."
Reynolds, a sharp-featured woman with intense dark eyes, tapped the tablet in her hands. "We have the wiretaps from the Alexandria detention center. Your bluff worked perfectly. Julian made a panicked phone call to a burner number in Miami at 8:00 PM last night. He told them you had the biometrics and you were going to drain Apex Holdings today at noon. They took the bait."
Miller leaned against the metal wall of the van, his arms crossed. "Do we know who they are?"
"Not yet," Reynolds admitted. "But we have facial recognition cameras covering every entrance to that bank. We have twelve undercover agents inside, playing tellers, loan officers, and customers. Snipers on the rooftops opposite the street. If anyone approaches you with hostile intent, we will have them in cuffs before they can blink."
"They won't come in guns blazing," Laura said, her voice steady. "Fifteen million dollars requires a clean wire transfer. They need me calm. They need me to sign the paperwork. They will try to intimidate me, maybe threaten to walk out with me if I don't comply. But they won't shoot me in a crowded lobby."
Reynolds looked at Laura with a mixture of surprise and respect. "You have ice in your veins, Mrs. Hayes."
"No," Laura replied, looking at the digital clock on the monitor. It was 11:45 AM. "I have a daughter. And I am entirely done being afraid."
Miller handed her a sleek, designer leather handbag. Inside, hidden beneath the lining, was a panic button linked directly to the earpiece. "If you feel like you are losing control of the situation, you press that button. The team moves in instantly. Understood?"
"Understood."
May you like
Laura stepped out of the command vehicle. She was wearing a sharp, tailored white suit—the kind of suit a woman wore when she was in complete control of her life. The kind of suit Julian would have hated.
She walked down the bustling D.C. sidewalk, her heels clicking rhythmically against the concrete. She didn't look over her shoulder. She didn't flinch. She walked straight through the heavy brass doors of First National Bank, stepping directly into the lion's den.
