For several seconds, he didn’t move.
Then the knocking stopped.
Silence filled the garage.
Only rain remained.
Jake finally stepped forward.
The metal door creaked upward halfway.
A black SUV waited outside.
Its headlights cut through the rain.
Three men stood beside it.
Dark jackets.
Gloves.
No military uniforms.
The man in front removed his hood slowly.
Gray hair.
Scar across his chin.
Cold eyes.
Jake recognized him instantly.
Victor Kane.
The man smiled faintly.
“Well…”
“There’s the ghost.”
Jake said nothing.
Victor glanced around the garage.
“Nice place.”
“Smells worse than prison.”
Still silence.
Victor looked at the armored truck nearby.
“Hell of a show on that bridge.”
“You always did love dangerous exits.”
Jake’s expression hardened slightly.
“What do you want?”
Victor stepped closer beneath the rain.
“Business.”
Jake almost laughed.
“You crossed three states for business?”
Victor shrugged.
“Depends how you define twenty million dollars.”
That finally got Jake’s attention.
Only slightly.
Victor noticed.
“There he is.”
“The old Jake.”
Jake folded his arms.
“I buried that guy.”
“No.”
Victor smiled coldly.
“You put on a uniform and hid him.”
Lightning flashed overhead.
The other two men watched quietly.
Hands near their jackets.
Jake noticed immediately.
Always noticing.
Always calculating.
Victor pulled out an old newspaper clipping.
Same one inside Jake’s bag.
He held it carefully beneath the rain.
Street King Vanishes After Fatal Pursuit.
Jake’s old racing photo covered the front page.
Younger.
Cockier.
Fearless.
Victor looked at the picture fondly.
“Los Angeles loved you.”
“Police hated you.”
“You became a myth overnight.”
Jake stared silently.
Victor folded the newspaper.
“The crew found something.”
Jake’s eyes narrowed.
Victor’s smile disappeared.
“A storage vault.”
That changed everything.
Jake stepped forward instantly.
Victor noticed.
“There’s the reaction I wanted.”
“What’s inside?”
Victor leaned closer.
“Your brother’s money.”
Jake froze.
Rain hammered harder.
For one second, the garage felt smaller.
Colder.
“You’re lying.”
Victor shook his head slowly.
“Ethan hid it before the raid.”
“Twenty million in cash.”
“Nobody found it.”
Jake’s voice lowered dangerously.
“My brother is dead.”
Victor’s eyes darkened.
“Yeah.”
“Because somebody betrayed us.”
The air suddenly felt heavy.
The two men behind Victor shifted slightly.
Uneasy.
Even they knew this conversation mattered.
Jake’s fists tightened slowly.
Years ago, Jake Mercer ruled illegal street racing across California.
Nobody touched him.
Nobody caught him.
He drove like gravity worked differently around him.
Crowds filled streets just to watch him race.
Videos exploded online.
People called him Ghost Driver.
Because nobody ever saw him clearly.
Only taillights.
Smoke.
And impossible turns.
But Jake never raced for fame.
He raced for Ethan.
His older brother.
The only family he had left.
Ethan handled money.
Connections.
Protection.
Jake handled driving.
Together they became untouchable.
Until the night everything collapsed.
The police raid hit too perfectly.
Too fast.
Someone leaked locations.
Routes.
Names.
Gunfire erupted during the escape.
Jake still remembered Ethan pushing him into a car.
“GO!”
Jake escaped.
Ethan didn’t.
The next morning—
Every headline blamed Jake Mercer for the disaster.
Street racer.
Gang associate.
Fugitive.
America hunted him overnight.
Jake disappeared.
Completely.
Until the military gave him another identity.
Another chance.
Victor stepped inside the garage slowly.
“You know why I’m here.”
Jake’s voice remained calm.
“I left that life.”
Victor laughed softly.
“That bridge today says otherwise.”
Jake didn’t respond.
Victor looked around carefully.
“You miss it.”
“No.”
“Liar.”
Victor stepped closer.
“You felt alive again today.”
Jake’s eyes hardened.
“Say what you came to say.”
Victor nodded slowly.
“Fine.”
“The vault opens tomorrow night.”
Jake stayed silent.
“It’s hidden beneath the old Harbor District tunnels.”
“Same place Ethan used years ago.”
Victor studied him carefully.
“We need your driving.”
Jake immediately shook his head.
“No.”
Victor sighed.
“I hoped you’d say yes easier.”
Jake’s tone sharpened.
“I buried friends because of that life.”
Victor suddenly grabbed Jake’s collar violently.
“And I buried YOUR BROTHER!”
The garage exploded with tension.
The other men reached for weapons instantly.
Jake never flinched.
Victor stared directly into his eyes.
“You think I forgot Ethan?”
“You think I don’t wake up hearing gunshots too?”
Jake slowly removed Victor’s hand.
“Then leave.”
Victor’s expression darkened.
“You really think the past lets people leave?”
Silence.
Victor nodded toward the bridge outside.
“Today proved it.”
“You’re still him.”
Jake looked away slightly.
Victor lowered his voice.
“One last job.”
“Then we disappear forever.”
Jake almost answered—
But footsteps suddenly echoed outside.
Military boots.
Several soldiers approached the garage.
Victor instantly stepped backward.
The SUV men reached inside jackets.
Jake whispered sharply.
“Don’t.”
Lieutenant Cole’s voice sounded outside.
“Mercer?”
Jake closed his eyes briefly.
Perfect timing.
The garage door lifted higher.
Cole entered first.
Then two armed soldiers behind him.
They stopped immediately after seeing strangers.
Hands moved toward rifles.
Victor smiled casually.
“Evening, officer.”
Cole looked between them suspiciously.
“Who are they?”
Jake answered instantly.
“Old friends.”
Cole didn’t believe that for one second.
His eyes locked onto Victor.
Victor smiled too comfortably.
Too confident.
Cole stepped closer toward Jake.
“We need to talk.”
Victor interrupted.
