Destination Confirmed
608 Words
I had been driving for nearly twenty minutes when my phone vibrated.
I answered without taking my eyes off the road.
“Report.”
“The surveillance review is complete.”
I waited.
“We picked up the target leaving the Morgan residence shortly after sunrise.”
“Continue.”
“We lost her for approximately forty minutes.”
Expected.
“Then a traffic camera near the east junction captured her heading toward the central bus terminal.”
I listened without interrupting.
“We requested footage from the terminal.”
“And?”
“We confirmed the target entered the station.”
A brief pause.
“Several minutes later, she boarded a northbound bus.”
“What about payment?”
“Cash.”
“No identification?”
“None.”
That ruled out passenger records.
“We’ve identified the driver.”
My grip tightened slightly.
“I’m sending you his employee profile now.”
My phone vibrated with the incoming file.
“Vehicle twenty-seven. He’s still on duty.”
“I’ll take it from here.”
The call ended.
Before I reached the terminal, my phone rang again.
My supervisor.
I answered immediately.
“Sir.”
“Where are you?”
The bus terminal sign appeared in the distance.
...
“I’m following up on one of the target’s known contacts.”
A brief silence.
“Which one?”
“Amara.”
“Anything?”
“Not yet.”
“Keep me informed.”
“I will.”
The line disconnected.
Silence settled inside the car.
The terminal grew larger through the windshield.
...
I’d lied.
Not omitted.
Not delayed.
Lied.
I had spent years learning how to eliminate targets.
Not how to deceive my own supervisor.
Reports were meant to be factual.
Objective.
Complete.
I should have stayed closer to the truth.
My fingers found the silver ring on my right index finger.
It turned once.
The bus terminal came into view.
Rows of buses lined the platforms.
Passengers hurried in every direction.
I ignored all of them.
Vehicle 27.
There.
The driver matched the employee photograph exactly.
He was preparing to leave.
I crossed the terminal and stopped beside the bus.
He looked up.
“Can I help you?”
I placed Morgan’s photograph in front of him.
His expression tightened slightly.
“...Who are you?”
Without a word, I opened the leather wallet inside my jacket just enough for the identification card to catch the light.
I closed it again.
The driver’s shoulders straightened.
“I understand.”
“This is an active investigation.”
He looked once more at the photograph.
“...What do you need to know?”
“When did she board?”
“This morning.”
“Where did she get off?”
“The final stop.”
“You’re certain?”
He nodded.
“She stayed on the bus after everyone else got off.”
I waited.
“I had to tell her we’d reached the last stop.”
“What happened then?”
“She apologized... then got off.”
Nothing more.
He pointed toward the route map mounted beside the platform.
“She paid the full fare.”
I memorized the town.
“Thank you.”
I turned and walked back to my car.
Outside, I entered the town into the navigation system.
One result.
Thirty-two minutes away.
I started the engine.
If she had nowhere permanent to go...
She wouldn’t travel far from the terminal.
She’d need somewhere inexpensive.
Somewhere anonymous.
Somewhere she could pay in cash.
The navigation began speaking.
I pulled out of the terminal.
Toward the town.
Toward the only lead I had.
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