Chapter 3 - The Bridge
At 6:10 the next morning, Declan found Saoirse standing at the warehouse window.
“You're supposed to be sleeping.”
“You're becoming repetitive.”
“You're becoming annoying.”
“Good morning to you too.”
He handed her coffee.
She examined it.
“You remembered.”
“Black. One sugar.”
Saoirse looked at him.
“That’s unsettling.”
“I remember useful information.”
“I'm useful information?”
Declan held her gaze.
“You're something like that.”
Her expression shifted.
Before she could answer, Remy entered.
“We found the source.”
Declan turned.
“Who?”
“Daniel Mercer.”
Saoirse went still.
“No.”
“You know him?”
“My supervisor.”
Remy put photographs on the table.
Mercer meeting a Castain executive.
Mercer entering a private bank.
Mercer beside the parking structure where Saoirse had been attacked.
Saoirse stared.
“He hired me.”
Declan said nothing.
“He approved my bridge review.”
“Maybe because Castain wanted to know what you'd find.”
Saoirse shook her head.
“Daniel taught me half of what I know.”
Declan’s voice remained quiet.
“People can teach you and betray you.”
She looked at him.
“That sounds personal.”
“It is.”
Remy interrupted.
“We have something worse.”
He handed Declan a phone.
A city alert had appeared.
PORT MERCER BRIDGE — INSPECTION COMPLETED. STRUCTURE SAFE.
Saoirse snatched the phone.
“What?”
She read it twice.
“No.”
“What's wrong?”
“I never approved this.”
Her name appeared beneath the inspection certification.
SAOIRSE VAN, SENIOR STRUCTURAL ENGINEER.
Her face drained.
“They forged my authorization.”
Declan took the phone.
“Can they open the bridge without you?”
“They already have.”
Saoirse grabbed her coat.
Declan blocked her.
“Where are you going?”
“City Hall.”
“No.”
“Declan—”
“Someone tried to kill you.”
“And thousands of people are about to drive across a bridge that should be restricted.”
“Then call the police.”
“Mercer controls the inspection office.”
“Federal authorities.”
“By the time anyone verifies this, morning freight will already be crossing.”
Declan stared at her.
“You can stop it?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Emergency structural authority. But I need access to the municipal control center.”
Declan took out his phone.
“Remy.”
“Yeah?”
“Get the cars.”
Saoirse blinked.
“You're coming?”
Declan looked at her as if the question offended him.
“You can barely walk.”
“I can walk.”
“You collapsed twice.”
“Once.”
“Stairs count.”
“They absolutely do not.”
Ten minutes later, three black vehicles left the warehouse.
At the municipal control center, two security officers blocked the entrance.
“Ms. Van, your credentials have been suspended.”
“By whom?”
“Director Mercer.”
Saoirse held up her city badge.
“I have emergency engineering authority.”
“Not anymore.”
Declan stepped forward.
The guards recognized him.
Their expressions changed.
Saoirse immediately put an arm across his chest.
“No.”
Declan looked down at it.
“No what?”
“You're not intimidating city employees.”
“I haven't said anything.”
“You have a face that says things.”
Behind them, Remy coughed to hide a laugh.
Saoirse faced the guards.
“Call the transportation commissioner. Tell her I am formally declaring an immediate structural risk on Port Mercer.”
One guard hesitated.
Then the lobby doors opened.
Daniel Mercer emerged.
Gray suit.
Calm smile.
“Saoirse.”
She stared at him.
“You forged my signature.”
Mercer sighed.
“You're injured. You're confused.”
“Don't.”
“You should be resting.”
“Why did you sell the inspections?”
Mercer glanced at Declan.
“This is who you're trusting now?”
Saoirse answered immediately.
“Yes.”
Declan looked at her.
Mercer noticed.
That tiny moment told him something.
He smiled.
“Then you've made a serious mistake.”
Saoirse stepped closer.
“No, Daniel.”
Her voice was steady.
“I made that mistake when I trusted you.”
She lifted her phone.
On its screen was the complete structural report.
“And I just sent the original calculations to the transportation commissioner, the state engineering board, three newspapers, and federal infrastructure investigators.”
Mercer’s smile disappeared.
Saoirse looked at the guards.
“You might want to close that bridge.”
One of them reached for his radio.
Mercer turned toward the exit.
Declan blocked his path.
No threat.
No weapon.
Just Declan Marr standing there.
Mercer stopped.
Declan smiled faintly.
May you like
“Traffic.”
---
