The Memory Touch

Chapter 13: The Missing Drive

By the time Ethan reached South Station, it was almost noon.

He couldn't stop thinking about the second locker.

Why had Whitmore rented another one?

If the first locker had something to do with Claire, then what was the second one for?

And if Whitmore had rented this one too, what had he been keeping inside?

Ethan quickly found the same station employee from the day before.

“You're here.”

“Where's the other locker?”

The employee didn't ask any questions. He simply led Ethan farther into the station.

This time, they passed the regular locker area and entered a quieter hallway.

The employee stopped in front of a row of old-fashioned lockers.

“This one.”

He pointed at a locker.

Ethan looked at the number.

314.

The employee took out a key and slipped it into the lock.

Click.

The door opened.

There were no file boxes inside. No stacks of old records.

Just two things.

A black USB drive.

And several yellowed envelopes.

Ethan stared at them.

“That's it?”

“Looks like it.”

The employee glanced at the locker.

“This one was rented for a shorter period than 217, but some of the older records aren't complete.”

Ethan nodded.

The employee stepped away.

“Take your time. If you need anything, just let me know.”

“Thanks.”

The employee walked off.

Ethan crouched in front of the locker.

His eyes went to one of the envelopes.

There was no sender's name.

No recipient either.

Just a few numbers and letters that seemed completely meaningless.

523A.M

There was another line underneath.

Ethan frowned.

What the hell did that mean?

He turned the envelope over.

Nothing.

But in the lower-right corner, there was a tiny mark.

A circle.

Inside it was a number.

7.

Ethan stared at it for several seconds.

It didn't look like an ordinary note.

It looked more like some kind of code.

He thought about Whitmore's notes.

All those strange numbers that didn't seem to follow any pattern.

217.

MR-17.

215957.

Could they all be connected somehow?

Ethan put the envelope aside and picked up the USB drive.

If he could open it, maybe some of this would finally make sense.

He slipped the USB drive into his jacket pocket.

After saying goodbye to the station employee, Ethan gathered the papers he'd been given and the envelopes from the locker and headed toward the station exit.

He was almost at the hallway leading outside when he heard hurried footsteps behind him.

Fast.

Getting closer.

Ethan had just started to turn when a man rushed straight at him.

“What—”

A heavy blow slammed into the side of his head.

Ethan staggered, his vision instantly swimming.

Before he could recover, another man came at him from the side and grabbed his arm.

“Give me the stuff!”

Ethan instinctively tried to pull away.

“It's in his jacket pocket!”

The other man shouted.

He twisted Ethan's wrist hard.

Pain shot through Ethan's arm as his body slammed against the wall.

The first man reached into his jacket and quickly snatched the USB drive.

“Got it!”

Ethan finally understood.

They had come for the USB drive.

He shoved the man beside him as hard as he could.

The attacker stumbled backward.

Both men turned and ran.

“Stop!”

Blood was already running down the side of Ethan's head, but he barely noticed.

He chased after them.

The two men tore down the hallway and quickly made it out of the station.

Ethan followed them outside.

One of them was already opening a car door.

The other climbed into the passenger seat.

Ethan pushed himself harder.

“Give it back!”

The driver looked over his shoulder.

Their eyes met through the window.

The next second, the engine roared.

The car shot forward.

Ethan rushed toward it and reached for the door.

Too late.

The car was already speeding away.

“Damn it!”

It headed straight for the intersection.

At that exact moment, a delivery truck came from the opposite direction.

The driver had no time to stop.

CRASH!

The impact shook the entire street.

The car was slammed sideways, its front end crushed. It spun slightly before coming to a stop near the side of the road.

Ethan stood there, frozen for a moment.

Then one of the attackers stumbled out of the wreck.

He was clutching his head and looked badly hurt.

He looked up.

Saw Ethan.

For a few seconds, they stared at each other from across the street.

Then the man turned and ran.

Ethan instinctively went after him.

He had barely taken two steps when a violent wave of dizziness hit him.

He stopped.

The chase, combined with the blood still running from his head, had drained the last of his strength.

He bent over and took a few breaths before slowly making his way toward the wrecked car.

The door was badly bent.

But there was still someone inside.

The man who had been sitting in the passenger seat.

He was slumped against the seat, completely still.

Blood ran down from his forehead.

His right hand was still wrapped tightly around a cell phone.

Ethan stood beside the door and stared at him for several seconds.

There was no response.

By then, people had already started gathering around the scene.

“Someone's hurt!”

“Call the police!”

“Get an ambulance!”

Sirens could be heard in the distance.

Ethan tried to get a better look at the man's face.

But his vision was getting blurrier by the second.

His legs finally gave out.

He slowly sank to the ground.

The sounds around him began to fade.

Police.

An ambulance.

People shouting.

Sirens getting closer.

Ethan leaned against the side of the road and closed his eyes.

There was only one thought left in his mind.

Who the hell were these people, and why did they want the USB drive?

Several hours later, Ethan was in a hospital hallway.

He had just finished getting his head bandaged.

He shifted slightly.

A sharp pain shot through his head.

“You okay?”

A familiar voice came from nearby.

Ethan turned his head.

Maya was walking toward him from the other end of the hallway.

“Still alive.”

Maya looked at him.

“You can still joke. That's a good sign.”

Ethan didn't say anything.

Maya pulled a chair over and sat beside him.

“Tell me what happened.”

She paused.

“Why were you there?”

“Someone said they saw you chasing those guys. Why?”

Ethan told her what had happened.

The locker.

The attack.

The chase.

The crash.

The USB drive.

Maya didn't interrupt him once.

When he finished, she asked,

“Why would they take the USB drive? Do you know what's on it?”

“No. I only got it today.”

Maya was quiet for a few seconds.

“So you have no idea why they wanted it?”

Ethan shook his head.

“No.”

The hallway fell silent.

Maya looked at him.

“You're sure they were after that USB drive?”

“Yes. One of them said, ‘Got it,’ right after they took it.”

“Okay.”

Maya stood up.

Just then, another officer approached.

“The guy from the crash didn't make it. His name was Andre Turner.”

Maya looked at Ethan.

“You know him?”

Ethan shook his head.

Maya turned to the officer.

“What about the other guy?”

“We're still looking for him. But we found a phone on the dead guy.”

The officer handed Maya a plastic evidence bag containing the phone.

“There wasn't much on it. Just one message. It had been typed out but never sent.”

“What did it say?”

“Got the stuff.”