Chapter 4 - BAY ZERO
Victor blocked the service-hall entrance.
“That area contains private customer property.”
Nathan held up his phone.
“The property belongs to a company I control.”
“You need a warrant.”
“No.”
“I need the master access code.”
Victor did not move.
Nathan looked toward the security chief.
“Open Bay Zero.”
The man hesitated.
Victor signed his paychecks.
Nathan owned the company.
For several seconds, fear and authority stood on opposite sides of the hallway.
Then the security chief entered the code.
The metal door opened.
A narrow ramp descended beneath the service building.
The air smelled of oil and rubber.
Rows of luxury wheels lined the walls.
Some still carried factory shipping labels.
Others had customer identification tags.
Nathan walked slowly between them.
The original silver-marked Ares brakes rested on a workbench.
Beside them were dozens of genuine performance parts removed from customer vehicles.
Brake systems.
Navigation units.
Airbags.
Electronic control modules.
The parts had been replaced with cheaper imitations.
Customers had paid for premium components.
Victor had sold the originals through private brokers.
Grant leaned against the wall.
“This is why we were told not to let people inspect the cars closely.”
Nathan looked at him.
“You knew.”
“I knew parts were being moved.”
“Did you report it?”
Grant shook his head.
“Why?”
“Victor paid bonuses.”
“How much?”
“Enough to stop asking.”
Nathan looked toward the shelves.
Grant’s shame did not restore the safety of the vehicles.
But it separated him from Victor, who was still trying to control the room.
Victor spoke sharply.
“These are temporary substitutions.”
“The genuine parts are sold during supply shortages.”
“Customers receive equivalent equipment.”
Nathan picked up a counterfeit brake caliper.
The metal felt too light.
“This is not equivalent.”
“You are not an engineer.”
“No.”
“My father was.”
The ethics investigators arrived with outside counsel.
They photographed every shelf.
One technician scanned the inventory labels.
More than four hundred vehicles were connected to swapped components.
Some had already been sold.
Nathan felt his stomach tighten.
“How many are on the road?”
The technician looked at the screen.
“Three hundred and seventeen.”
“Contact every owner.”
“Tell them not to drive.”
Victor laughed in disbelief.
“That recall will cost millions.”
Nathan turned toward him.
“A crash will cost lives.”
“Your uncle will never approve this.”
“My uncle is not here.”
Nathan ordered the immediate recall.
Victor demanded to call Marcus.
Outside counsel took his phone as evidence.
The service technicians opened another locked cabinet.
Inside were license plates, duplicate keys, and customer identity records.
Victor’s operation extended beyond stolen parts.
Cars had been registered under false names.
Financing applications had been altered.
Vehicles had been sold to shell companies and resold at inflated prices.
A mechanic named Rosa Delgado approached Nathan.
She had grease across her hands.
“I tried to report this.”
“To whom?”
“Derek Sloan.”
“What happened?”
“He suspended me.”
“Why are you working today?”
“Victor brought me back because they needed someone who understood the Ares system.”
Rosa looked toward the prototype.
“They forced me to install the red-marked brakes.”
Nathan’s voice became quiet.
“When?”
“Three days ago.”
“Why?”
“They were moving the car tonight.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
Nathan showed her his father’s notebook.
“Have you ever seen the data module?”
Rosa stared at the final page.
“Yes.”
“Your father gave it to another mechanic.”
“Her name was Maya Ortiz.”
“Where is she?”
Rosa’s expression became frightened.
“She disappeared after Daniel Sterling’s crash.”
A sound came from the far end of Bay Zero.
A metal cabinet door moved.
Security officers approached.
May you like
Inside the cabinet, they found a woman tied at the wrists.
Her work shirt carried the stitched name Maya.
