The Meeting

Judge Harold Brennan's POV

Judge Brennan slammed his fist on the conference table as another explosion shook the courtroom basement. Through the thick walls, they could hear gunshots echoing from the direction of the Morrison house.

"This is a disaster!" he yelled at the other Circle members huddled around the table. "Phoenix said this would be a simple cleanup operation!"

Mayor Whitfield was walking back and forth, his hands shaking. "Harold, we need to get out of town. Tonight. This whole thing is falling apart."

"We can't run," Brennan snapped. "Phoenix won't let us. You know what happens to people who try to leave the group."

The three business owners sat quietly in the corner, looking like scared children. They'd joined the Circle for easy money, not for this kind of murder.

Brennan's private phone rang, and everyone in the room went silent.

"It's Phoenix," Brennan said, his voice shaking as he answered. "Sir, we have the courthouse secured, but there are complications..."

Phoenix's voice was ice-cold through the speaker. "I'm aware of the difficulties, Judge. My own brother chose to betray us."

"Dale Morrison is dead, sir. We confirmed it ten minutes ago."

"Good. One less dead end. What about the Morrison boy and the Chen girl?"

Brennan paused. "They escaped, sir. But we're tracking them."

The silence on the phone was scary.

"Judge Brennan," Phoenix finally said, "do you know what the difference is between a successful operation and a complete failure?"

"No, sir."

"Planning. I planned for this possibility twenty years ago."

Mayor Whitfield leaned closer to the phone. "What do you mean?"

"I mean Jake Morrison has been useful to me, but now he's served his purpose. And his goal was never to practice law or save those boys."

Brennan felt confused. "I don't understand, sir."

"Jake Morrison's real father hid something very important before I killed him. Something that could reveal our entire network across thirty states. For twenty years, I've been waiting for Jake to lead me to it."

"What kind of something?" one of the business owners asked nervously.

"A master file. Bank records, photographs, recordings, and contact information for every corrupt official in our company. If that file ever gets the FBI, we all go to prison for life."

Brennan felt his stomach drop. "Where is this file?"

"That's what Jake Morrison is going to tell us. Very soon."

The phone crackled with static, then Phoenix's voice came back stronger.

"Gentlemen, I want you to understand something very important. Tonight is not about saving our business in Millbrook. Tonight is about saving our entire network."

"What do you want us to do?" Mayor Whitfield asked.

"Nothing. Stay in that basement and wait for my signal. I'm handling this personally now."

"But sir," Brennan protested, "if Jake Morrison has been planning this for years, what if he's already contacted the FBI?"

Phoenix laughed, and it was the most scary sound Brennan had ever heard.

"Judge, Jake Morrison has no idea what he's really interested in. He thinks this is about two teenage boys and some local crime. He has no idea that his real father was an FBI agent who infiltrated our group."

The room went totally silent.

"An FBI agent?" Brennan whispered.

"Special Agent Thomas Morrison spent three years building a case against us before I found his real identity and eliminated him. But before he died, he hid a copy of all his proof. Insurance, he called it."

"And Jake knows where it is?"

"Jake doesn't know he knows. But he has the key to finding it. A key his real father gave him when he was just a child."

Brennan's mind was racing. "What kind of key?"

"You'll find out soon enough. Right now, I need you to prepare for part two of tonight's operation."

"What's phase two?"

"Complete removal. Everyone who knows about the Circle dies tonight. That includes Jake Morrison, Maya Chen, the Santos family, Tommy Whitfield, and..."

Phoenix paused, and Brennan felt his blood turn cold.

"And what, sir?"

"And everyone in that basement with you."

Mayor Whitfield jumped up from his chair. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you've all become burdens. You know too much, you're too scared, and you can't be trusted to keep quiet if the FBI comes asking questions."

The three business owners started backing toward the door, but Brennan heard it lock from the outside.

They were stuck.

"Phoenix, please," Brennan begged. "We've been loyal for twenty years. We've done everything you asked."

"And I'm grateful for your service. That's why I'm making your deaths quick and painless."

"You can't do this! We had a deal!"

"The deal was that you'd keep this town quiet and under control. Instead, you've made a national incident. There are state police, FBI agents, and news reporters all going to Millbrook as we speak."

Brennan looked around the room at his fellow Circle members. They all looked frightened and hopeless.

"How long do we have?" Mayor Whitfield asked quietly.

"My cleanup expert will arrive within the hour. I suggest you use that time to make peace with whatever gods you believe in."

The phone line went dead.

The six men sat in stunned silence, realizing they were about to be killed by the man they'd served for decades.

"There has to be a way out of this," one of the business owners said desperately.

Brennan shook his head. "Phoenix doesn't leave open ends. Ever."

"What about the tunnel system under the courthouse?" Mayor Whitfield suggested. "We could escape through the old Civil War passages."

"Phoenix knows about those caves. He probably has them watched."

That's when they heard footsteps above their heads. Heavy boots walking across the jail floor.

"Someone's upstairs," Brennan whispered.

The footsteps stopped right above the basement conference room.

Then came the sound of drills.

Someone was making holes in the floor above them.

"Gas," Mayor Whitfield said, his voice full of fear. "They're going to pump gas down here."

Brennan ran to the locked door and started beating on it. "Help! Somebody help us!"

But there was no one left in the hall to hear them scream.

The drilling stopped.

For a moment, everything was quiet.

Then they heard a hissing sound coming from the holes in the ceiling.

White smoke started pouring into the basement.

"Cover your faces!" Brennan shouted, but it was too late.

The gas was already making them dizzy and weak.

As Brennan fell to his knees, he heard one final sound that filled him with total terror.

The basement door opening.

Footsteps coming down the stairs.

And a voice that wasn't Phoenix's voice.

A woman's voice, cold and competent.

"Good evening, guys. Phoenix sends his regards."

Through the smoke, Brennan could see a person in black tactical gear and a gas mask.

"Who... who are you?" he gasped.

The woman removed her gas mask, and Brennan's blood froze.

It was Captain Rodriguez from the state police.

The same Captain Rodriguez that Dale Morrison had told Jake and Maya not to trust.

"I'm Phoenix's cleanup specialist," she said calmly. "And you gentlemen have created quite a mess that needs cleaning."

As the gas pulled him toward unconsciousness, Brennan understood the horrible truth.

Phoenix wasn't just one person.

Phoenix was a full organization, with agents planted in police departments, FBI offices, and government agencies across the country.

They'd never been fighting one crooked judge.

They'd been fighting a conspiracy that reached the top levels of law enforcement.

And now there was no one left to stop them.