“Because I have.”
“Where?”
He did not answer.
Marcus stepped closer.
“You don't get to hint that you have experience with attempted vehicle sabotage and then decide the conversation's over.”
Elias looked at him.
“I used to work around protected vehicle systems.”
“Military?”
“Sometimes.”
“Government?”
“Sometimes.”
“Contractor?”
“Sometimes.”
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
“That isn't an answer.”
“It is three answers.”
Victoria almost smiled again.
Marcus did not.
Elias sighed.
“I was a mechanical reliability engineer.”
That silenced him.
“For?”
“Defense logistics contractor.”
“Doing what?”
“Vehicle survivability. Failure analysis. Convoy support.”
Marcus's expression changed completely.
“You're serious.”
“Yes.”
“You were embedded?”
“Sometimes.”
“How long?”
“Eleven years.”
Victoria stared at the man who had spent the last twenty minutes kneeling in dirty highway water beside her tire.
“You were an engineer.”
“I was.”
“Was?”
Elias looked toward his pickup.
“Different life.”
Marcus took another look at the tools, the jacket, the stained boots.
“This is what you do now?”
“Mostly.”
“Roadside repairs.”
“Repairs, small shop jobs, fleet maintenance when I can get it.”
“Why?”
Elias's eyes hardened.
“That's not relevant.”
Marcus understood the boundary.
He stopped.
One of the guards called from beneath the SUV.
“Marcus.”
Everyone turned.
The guard slid partially out.
“There's another issue.”
Marcus approached.
“What?”
The man showed him an irregularity near the rear assembly.
Marcus's face lost what little color remained.
He looked at Elias.
“Come here.”
Elias crouched.
He examined the area.
“What do you think?”
Marcus asked.
Elias remained quiet for several seconds.
“Same answer.”
“Intentional?”
“It doesn't look natural.”
Victoria moved toward them.
Marcus stopped her with a hand.
“No closer.”
She stared at him.
“I am not standing twenty feet away while people discuss whether someone tried to kill me.”
“You're standing wherever keeps you protected.”
“Marcus.”
“Victoria.”
There was history in the way they said each other's names.
Not romance.
Trust built by arguments neither of them enjoyed having.
She stepped back.
Elias stood.
“Who knew the route?”
Marcus looked at him.
“What?”
“Tonight.”
“Why?”
“Because if this is deliberate, it wasn't done just to inconvenience her.”
Marcus folded his arms.
“The route is controlled.”
“Controlled by how many people?”
“Enough.”
“That isn't an answer.”
Marcus looked irritated.
Elias continued.
“Did she choose the route personally?”
“No.”
“Fixed route?”
“It changes.”
“Tonight's route known ahead of time?”
Marcus hesitated.
Victoria answered.
“Yes.”
He turned.
“Victoria.”
“He's already standing beside evidence someone tried to kill me. I think we're beyond pretending the itinerary is sacred.”
Marcus exhaled.
“Route was finalized this afternoon.”
“Who had it?”
“My operations center. Drivers. Advance team. Executive staff.”
“How many?”