"That's clean work," he muttered.
Elias nodded once.
"Too clean for highway debris."
Marcus straightened slowly, water running off the brim of his collar.
"Full inspection," he ordered his team, "engine compartment, undercarriage, electronics, everything."
Two guards moved immediately, sliding under the SUV with portable lights while another opened the hood. Victoria Hale watched the operation unfold with quiet intensity.
The CEO's calm exterior hid a mind that was already running through possibilities. Someone had sabotaged her vehicle.
Someone had done it precisely enough that her own security detail missed it. And the only reason she knew now was because a single dad with grease on his hands had decided to stop and help.
Her gaze shifted to Elias again. He wasn't watching her.
He was watching the road. Not the convoy.
The road. Traffic blurred past in long streaks of white and red light.
Rain hammered against the asphalt in steady waves. Elias finally spoke.
"How long was the car parked before the tire blew?"
Victoria answered without hesitation.
"10 minutes."
Marcus glanced at her.
"At the gas station."
She clarified.
"I stepped inside to take a call."
Elias nodded slowly.
"That's enough time."
Marcus crossed his arms.
"Enough time for what?"
"For someone to weaken the tire and prep the brake line."
One of the guards slid out from under the SUV wiping rain from his face.
"Marcus."
He said quietly. The security chief turned.
"There's another issue."
"What kind?"
The guard held up a small piece of metal he had found lodged near the suspension. Marcus took it and examined it in the flashlight beam.
It was a small tampering device that did not belong there.
Marcus's expression hardened. "Tampering device," he muttered.
Victoria stepped closer.
"Meaning?"
Elias answered before Marcus could.
"It's designed to finish tearing the tire after the cut weakens it."
Victoria's eyes narrowed.
"So whoever did this expected the tire to fail at speed?"
"Yeah," Elias said. Marcus looked between the two of them.
That's still only half the problem. Elias nodded.
The brake line, Marcus held up the steel wedge, and this. The rain intensified, pounding against the convoy vehicles.
One of the security drivers approached Marcus quickly. Sir, we may have something else.
Marcus turned sharply. What?
The driver pointed toward the rear of the SUV. Look at the tread pattern.
Marcus crouched again. Elias followed his gaze.