Marcus looked at her. "The board meeting tomorrow?" Victoria didn't respond, but Elias noticed the subtle tension that crossed her face. "That meeting important?" he asked.
Victoria answered simply, "Very." Marcus looked toward the repaired SUV again. "If someone wanted to stop that meeting from happening, they might start by removing the person running it." Elias finished. Victoria exhaled slowly.
That narrows the list of suspects considerably. Marcus nodded grimly. "Corporate rivals, political enemies, anyone affected by tomorrow's vote." Elias didn't ask what the vote involved. He didn't need to.
Power always created enemies. The convoy engines idled patiently around them. Marcus turned to the security driver nearest the repaired SUV. "Bring the flatbed truck." The driver nodded and moved toward the rear of the convoy.
Elias raised a hand slightly. "Wait." Marcus looked back at him. What? "Flatbed might trigger the pressure shift, too."
Marcus frowned. "You said it would hold for slow driving." Victoria glanced between them. "So, we drive it?" Elias nodded.
"Carefully." Marcus rubbed his temples. "That's a million-dollar armored vehicle." "Then treat it gently." Elias said.
Victoria almost laughed. Marcus looked at him again. "You're coming with us." Elias sighed quietly. "I figured."
Marcus gestured toward the front passenger seat of the damaged SUV. "You ride there." Elias blinked. "You trust me that much already?" Marcus shook his head.
"I trust you more than a mechanical failure I don't understand." Victoria smiled faintly. "That's practically a compliment." Elias looked toward his pickup truck parked a few yards away. His old truck sat alone in the rain, headlights off, tools scattered in the bed from the tire job.
Inside the cab was his phone. And on that phone were two missed calls from home. He imagined Lena staring at the clock again. Marcus followed his gaze. "You got somewhere to be?"
Elias hesitated. "My daughter." Victoria's voice softened slightly. "How old?" "Nine."
Marcus glanced at the convoy. "This won't take long." Elias wasn't convinced. But he also knew something else. Someone had just tried to kill this woman.
And whoever had done it was still out there. If the trap had worked, he would have driven away never knowing. Instead, he had seen it. And once you saw something like that, you couldn't pretend you hadn't. He grabbed his tool bag and tossed it into the back seat of the SUV.
Marcus opened the driver's door. "All right," he said. "Let's get this moving." Elias slid into the passenger seat. Victoria stepped into the rear seat behind them.