Chapter 154

Special Agent Diana Chen’s eyes hurt. They were red and dry from staring at screens all night. Cold coffee cups crowded her desk. She hadn’t slept. She couldn’t sleep. Not until she found what she needed in the videos from the bombed hotel.

“Play it again,” she told the tech guy sitting next to her. Her voice was rough from too much coffee and not enough rest. “Slow it down when it hits 9:42.”

The screen flickered as the video went backward. It showed a hallway near the hotel’s electrical room. This camera had survived when most others got destroyed in the blast. The time at the bottom showed 9:41 PM. Chen leaned in close. Her whole body tense with hope.

A woman walked into view. She wore a hotel worker’s uniform with a cap pulled down to hide her face. She moved like she knew exactly what she was doing. She checked her watch, then looked around to make sure no one saw her. At the electrical panel, she stopped. She took something from her pocket and stuck it to the