Chapter 7 - The Main Street Attorney
The lawyer who agreed to see them secretly worked in a cramped second-story office above the corner pharmacy on Main Street in Willow Ridge. Her name was Mara Whitlow, a sharp-tongued, red-headed woman in her mid-forties who had spent a decade fighting corporate pollution suits against local logging companies.
Mara didn't look up from her paperwork when Evelyn and a heavily disguised Daniel walked in through the back fire escape.
"Evelyn," Mara said dryly. "You usually only come down the mountain when someone dies or when you need legal deeds."
"This is Daniel Pierce," Evelyn said, closing the blinds behind her.
Mara stopped writing. Her eyes darted from Daniel's bruised face to the worn satchel under his arm. "The fugitive engineer from Helix Aeronautics?" Mara asked, leaning back in her chair. "The man the FBI has been looking for since December?"
"I'm not a fugitive from justice," Daniel said firmly, stepping forward. "I'm a fugitive from a corporate hit squad."
"Every criminal has a colorful story, Mr. Pierce," Mara said coldly. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't press the silent panic button under my desk right now."
Daniel took the metal flash drive and the waterproof engineering notebook from his bag and laid them flat on her desk. "Because inside those files is the real source code for Helix’s automated navigation software," Daniel said. "Along with email chains showing that Chief Operating Officer Owen Mercer deliberately bypassed safety protocols on civilian passenger drones to secure a fifty-million-dollar defense contract."
Mara looked at the notebook, then at Daniel's eyes. "And why did you come to a small-town lawyer instead of the U.S. Attorney in Seattle?"
"Because the U.S. Attorney in Seattle is married to Helix’s chief legal advisor," Daniel replied smoothly.
May you like
Mara raised an eyebrow. She picked up the notebook, flipped through three pages of meticulous technical entries and bank dates, and let out a long, slow whistle.
"Well, damn," Mara murmured. "It's not dramatic evidence. It's better. It's disciplined."
