Chapter 29 - The Tampered Seal
The rain had turned into a thick, blinding sleet as our car sped north along Interstate 87, trailing fifty yards behind the unmarked black SUV carrying Deputy Marshal Harris and the DOJ lockbox.
Tyler had refused to go home. The moment he spotted Helene's operative in the basement garage, he had demanded Marcus follow the transport vehicle. Marcus had protested, warning that following a federal transport could result in obstruction charges, but when Tyler pointed out a nondescript gray van that pulled onto the highway right behind the Marshal’s SUV, Marcus stepped on the gas without another word.
"They're going to box them in," Tyler said, leaning forward between the front bucket seats, his eyes fixed on the taillights ahead. "The highway narrows near the Catskill interchange due to construction. If that van forces the Marshal's SUV onto the shoulder, they have three minutes before state troopers can respond."
"Tyler, this is insane," I pleaded from the back seat, holding Maeve’s car seat firmly with both hands. "These are federal marshals! Helene wouldn't dare attack federal officers!"
"Helene isn't going to shoot them, Clara," Marcus said grimly, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. "She doesn't need to. All she needs is an staged accident—a fender bender, a medical diversion, anything to create a chain-of-custody breach. If the seal on that box is broken or contested, the court is forced to declare the American test void and defer to the foreign magistrate’s backup jurisdiction."
Just as Marcus finished speaking, the gray van accelerated sharply.
It surged past Marcus’s car on the slush-covered passing lane, swerving aggressively toward the back bumper of the Marshal’s SUV. Through the blinding spray of road salt and slush, we saw the van’s front right fender clip the SUV’s rear quarter panel.
The Marshal’s vehicle spun across the icy asphalt, tires screeching in violent protest before slamming hard into the concrete construction barrier. The gray van swerved across two lanes, skidded to a halt on the shoulder, and two men in black tactical gear burst out from the side doors.
"Tyler, NO!" I screamed as Marcus slammed on the brakes, our car fishtailing before coming to a halt twenty yards behind the crash.
Tyler didn't listen. The door flew open, and he charged into the freezing sleet.
Through the rain-streaked windshield, I watched in pure terror. Deputy Marshal Harris was stumbling out of the driver's side of the crashed SUV, dazed and clutching his bleeding forehead. One of the men from the gray van had already smashed the rear passenger window of the SUV with an emergency glass breaker, reaching inside to snatch the silver lockbox.
"Step away from the vehicle!" Tyler roared, covering the distance in seconds.
He tackled the operative into the frozen guardrail with bone-crushing force. The silver lockbox slipped from the man’s grasp, skittering across the slushy pavement. The second operative lunged at Tyler, but Tyler ducked beneath a wild swing, driving his shoulder into the man’s ribs and sending him crashing into the icy gravel.
Deputy Marshal Harris drew his service weapon, his voice cutting through the storm: "FEDERAL AGENT! ON THE GROUND! BOTH OF YOU, DOWN NOW!"
The two men froze. Seeing the barrel of the Glock aimed directly at them, they slowly raised their hands, backing away into the shadows of the construction zone before sprinting over the embankment and disappearing into the wooded tree line.
Tyler stood in the freezing rain, his chest heaving, his knuckles bruised and bleeding.
He knelt down on the wet asphalt and picked up the silver lockbox.
He inspected the heavy steel clasp. The holographic security seal was intact. The tamper-evident tape hadn't been touched.
Deputy Marshal Harris wiped blood from his brow, staring at Tyler in stunned disbelief. "Who the hell are you, son?"
May you like
Tyler held out the locked container, handing it directly into the officer’s shaking hands. "I'm the father of the girl whose life is inside that box. And we are going to Albany together."
***
