The handle turned another inch.
Captain Reyes stood beside me, staring at the door as though he were looking at a photograph of a dead man. His face had lost every trace of color. Tyler noticed it too.
“Captain,” he whispered.
Reyes raised one hand.
Nobody moved.
The voice came again from the hallway.
“Amanda, open the door.”
It sounded exactly like Reyes.
Same low pitch.
Same clipped rhythm.
Even the slight rasp he had developed after years of smoke exposure was there.
Michael Voss stepped backward.
“That's the voice.”
Reyes looked at him.
“You've heard it before?”
Michael nodded.
“Many times.”
Mercer kept his weapon trained toward the door.
“Then tell us who is outside.”
Michael shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Reyes stared at him.
“You expect us to believe that?”
“I expect you to understand that whoever is outside has access to more than voices.”
The handle stopped moving.
Then came three soft knocks.
Reyes looked at me.
“Whatever happens, don't open that door.”
I nodded.
The knocking stopped.
For several seconds, there was only the sound of Tyler's breathing.
Then the hallway speaker crackled.
A recorded announcement began playing.
“Emergency personnel are requested on the fourth floor.”
Mercer frowned.
“That isn't a normal hospital announcement.”
Reyes looked toward the ceiling.
“No.”
Michael whispered, “They're clearing the floor.”
The lights flickered.
Again.
Then the fire alarm began screaming.
Red emergency lights flashed through the room.
Patients and staff rushed into the corridor.
The door opened suddenly.
A hospital orderly appeared.
“Everyone needs to evacuate.”
Reyes blocked him.
“Who authorized it?”
The orderly held up a radio.
“Command.”
“Which command?”
The orderly hesitated.
That was enough.
Mercer grabbed him and pulled him inside.
“Who sent you?”
“I don't know.”
“Try again.”
“I was told to clear the fourth floor.”
“By whom?”
The man swallowed.
“Captain Reyes.”
Reyes stared at him.
“I didn't authorize anything.”
The orderly looked at him.
Then at Michael.
Then at me.
He seemed confused.
“How many Captain Reyeses are there?”
Michael gave a humorless smile.
“Apparently enough.”
Tyler suddenly pointed toward the hallway.
“Look.”
A figure stood at the far end.
Captain Reyes.
Same uniform.
Same build.
Same face.
The man looked directly at us.
Then smiled.
Reyes beside me whispered, “Don't let him see the computer.”
The duplicate raised a hand.
“Captain,” he called.
Reyes stepped forward.
“Who are you?”
The man smiled.
“You know.”
“No.”
“You've known for years.”
The fire alarm continued.
Smoke began drifting beneath the ceiling.
Tyler coughed.
Claire pulled Lily closer.
Mercer moved toward the computer.
The duplicate spoke again.
“Amanda.”
I looked at him.
“Don't.”
“Your husband is in danger.”
“He's right here.”
The man's smile disappeared.
“Not for long.”
A loud bang came from the stairwell.
Then another.
Security officers appeared at the end of the corridor, weapons raised.
The duplicate turned.
“Tell them to stand down.”
The officers looked at him.
Then at Reyes.
Both men were identical.
For one terrifying second, nobody knew which one was real.
One security officer raised his weapon toward Reyes.
“Captain, identify yourself.”
Reyes slowly lifted both hands.
“I am Captain Javier Reyes.”
The duplicate laughed.
“I am Captain Javier Reyes.”
The officer looked between them.
Mercer stepped forward.
“Ask something only the real captain would know.”
The security officer shouted, “What's the station code?”
Reyes answered immediately.
“Seven-four-one.”
The duplicate answered at the same time.
“Seven-four-one.”
Reyes's jaw tightened.
The security officer looked helpless.
I suddenly remembered something.
“Ask him about Tyler.”
Both men looked at me.
I pointed toward the duplicate.
“What did Tyler call you after his first shift?”
Reyes stared at me.
The duplicate remained silent.
The real Reyes smiled faintly.
“Old Man Reyes.”
Tyler laughed despite the tension.
“He hated that.”
The duplicate didn't answer.
The security officer lowered his weapon toward the stranger.
The man's expression changed.
He turned and ran.
Mercer chased him.
Reyes followed.
I stayed with Tyler.
Seconds later, we heard a crash.
Then silence.
Mercer returned alone.
“He escaped.”
“How?”
“Service stairwell.”
Reyes came behind him.
“He left this.”
He held up a small electronic device.
Michael looked at it.
“A voice modulator.”
“So the voice wasn't natural.”
“No.”
Michael turned it over.
“Neither was the face.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“Look closely.”
The device contained a tiny camera.
Michael removed the back panel.
Inside was a photograph.
The same photograph from the hospital.
But this version had been altered.
The scar beneath the duplicate's eye was gone.
Michael stared at it.
“That's impossible.”
“What?”
“The original photograph showed a scar.”
Mercer frowned.
“So?”
“The scar belonged to the person who was pretending to be David.”
I looked at Michael.
“Then this man is someone else.”
He nodded.
“Exactly.”
Reyes took the photograph.
“Someone is using different identities.”
“Why?”
Michael looked toward the computer.
“To keep you from knowing how many people are involved.”
I turned back to the screen.
The document remained open.
Tyler's mother's signature.
Then the authorization beneath it.
The final name was still partially hidden.
I clicked the field.
The document expanded.
A full name appeared.
JONATHAN MORGAN.
Tyler stared.
“My grandfather?”
I looked at him.
“Your grandfather died twenty years ago.”
“I know.”
Michael shook his head.
“That's not the name.”
Mercer zoomed in.
The signature had been overlaid.
Underneath it was another signature.
A living person's.
The letters slowly became clear.
Tyler whispered, “No.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
He stared at the screen.
“That isn't a signature.”
“Whose is it?”
“It's mine.”
The room went silent.
“That doesn't make sense,” I said.
Tyler shook his head.
“It isn't my signature now.”
“But it is your handwriting.”
“I know.”
He stared at the screen.
“I wrote that.”
“When?”
“I don't remember.”
Claire closed her eyes.
“Daniel did this.”
“What?”
“He made Tyler sign something years ago.”
Tyler looked at her.
“What?”
“A document.”
“What document?”
Claire shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Reyes looked at Michael.
“You said Daniel prepared contingencies.”
“He did.”
“Then where is the original?”
Michael pointed toward Tyler.
“Inside his old fireman's locker.”
Tyler frowned.
“My locker?”
“At Station 19.”
The alarm continued.
Mercer looked at his watch.
“We have to leave.”
Reyes nodded.
He turned to Tyler.
“Can you move?”
Tyler looked at me.
“With help.”
I took his good arm.
Claire carried Lily.
Michael stayed behind us.
As we reached the elevator, the lights suddenly stopped flashing.
The alarm went silent.
Too silent.
The hospital returned to normal.
A nurse stepped into the corridor.
“Everything is fine.”
Reyes stared at her.
“Who canceled the alarm?”
She looked confused.
“Nobody.”
Mercer checked the alarm panel.
“It never activated.”
I looked at the hallway.
The duplicate had never been part of a real evacuation.
The entire thing had been staged.
A distraction.
While we watched the false Reyes, someone had been inside Tyler's room.
The bed had been moved.
The mattress was open.
Tyler's hospital bag was missing.
I froze.
“Tyler.”
He looked.
“What?”
“Your father's key.”
His face changed.
“My key was in the bag.”
Reyes immediately understood.
“The old house key.”
Tyler nodded.
“The one my father gave me.”
Michael looked toward the exit.
“They have what they need.”
“What?”
“The key opens the second compartment.”
My heart sank.
“The wall.”
Michael nodded.
“And if the locker contains what Daniel left behind, whoever has the key can reach it first.”
Reyes looked at me.
“We're going to the station.”
Tyler stared.
“Then let's go.”
Click here to continue reading: PART 26: Station 19
I Arrived With Balloons and Cake, Expecting My Husband to Laugh—Instead His Entire Crew Went Silent When They Saw Me
Part 25 of 40
