But Briggs had made a fatal mistake. When he confiscated her phone, he triggered its silent fail-safe. It transmitted her coordinates to the FBI command center before powering down.
Now, in Washington—
The situation was escalating fast. In the J. Edgar Hoover Building, Deputy Director Samuel Keaton thundered into the ops room. “Tell me exactly how we lose contact with the Director on a public road!”
An analyst pulled up satellite telemetry. “Her GPS dropped near a rural police station.”
“Rural?” Keaton asked. “Which jurisdiction?”
The screen zoomed in. Riverside County. Keaton froze. Everyone knew Riverside’s reputation—excessive force complaints, civil rights violations, misconduct suits, and a police chief who’d dodged accountability for years.
Keaton turned to the Joint Ops Commander. “Mobilize a rapid response unit. DHS, DOJ, Secret Service—all of them. We treat this like a hostile domestic capture.”
“Sir,” an analyst whispered, “Riverside County just locked its doors and disabled external communications.”
Keaton’s jaw tightened. “They don’t know who they arrested.” He leaned forward. “Find me a direct line. NOW.”
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