The Broker

25. No Reason

December 9th, 2019

Roanoke, Virginia

East Side

The warehouse was a large gray building looming over the sky. Amaraya couldn't concentrate on anything but that. Her thoughts hovered around Kaden, and what he had told her. How he killed his father because he thought that the latter was going to kill him. At thirteen years old. Talk about family issues.

But Amaraya couldn't be distracted. She had to focus on the matter at hand. Bouman's phone had the number of his boss on it, which they figured out was a woman. And this woman's phone was triangulating from this location. So something had to be in there. And whatever it was, it needed her full focus. There could be no Kaden family problems, and no fear or anger. She had to find the bastard that killed her parents. If she hadn't found him already.

"No heat signatures. I checked." Zach informed them as Kaden and Amaraya got out of the car. Like Kaden, Zach had a gun strapped to his side. Amaraya's hands itched to get a gun, but she couldn't tell Kaden that she could shoot one. Not only would it complicate things a bit, but it might put Randy under some pressure. She didn't want that for the man who gave her an opportunity to defend herself.

"Who's the signal coming from, then?" Amaraya asked, closing the car door.

"The phone. But there isn't anyone inside. I don't know." Zach shook his head, looking around. Amaraya tilted her head to the left. He was nervous. She could tell, pretty easily. "We need to get in to see what's over there."

Kaden took off his windbreaker, the gun at his hip. Side by side, they looked almost the same, Amaraya thought. It was odd. "Let's go then." She snapped out of her thoughts, and breezed by Zach. He stumbled behind her.

"Wait for us, Mar." Kaden sighed, and they followed her. The warehouse was huge. At least, that's what it looked like from the outside. When she eased open the door, it didn't creak.

Inside, shelves and shelves of boxes were stacked next to each other. So tightly stacked that they had to walk in a line, Zach after Amaraya, Kaden after Zach. After a few minutes, they came to a square of flooring where nothing was standing. "What is this place?" Amaraya hissed, and Kaden shook his head.

"Storage." He replied, looking around. "East Side is Broker HQ. He stores anything from nuclear bombs to cereal in these damn warehouses of his." Somewhere in the distance, a phone started ringing. Without waiting for Zach or Kaden, Amaraya ran toward the sound. The ringing got louder and louder as she approached the phone. Eventually the ringing stopped, but she was grateful that she found the cell before they lost it completely. It was a regular flip phone, laying on one of the boxes. Next to it, was a piece of paper.

Zach stumbled into her vision, followed by Kaden. Both their hands were on their guns. Amaraya handed Zach the phone, her hand steady. She picked up the piece of paper, feeling the thick card stock with the pads of her fingers.

Too slow, Ms. Holt. It said, in a stocky but slightly cursive, neat handwriting. Amaraya let out a frustrated groan. Who else called her Ms. Holt?

She handed the paper to Zach, who handed the phone to Kaden. "The Broker." Zach discerned, and Amaraya leaned her head on one of the shelves. Her heart felt heavy in her chest. They were played this whole time. It was the Broker who had killed her parents. The same man who told her that one day she would understand. The same man who gave her...Amaraya stopped thinking. She couldn't handle this.

"We need to get back to the bunker." Kaden said, giving the note back to her. His fingers lingered on her hand. "You couldn't have known this."