Hilltop Warrant

And in the hall, the first alert came through: North Ridge had just triggered a data purge.

The convoy rolled through Fairmont with its lights dark.

Three unmarked Suburbans and a federal van took the hill road in a tight line, tires hissing over damp pavement. Claire sat in the second SUV with a warrant folder on her lap and the radio dead except for the encrypted line in her ear. Marcus rode up front, one hand on the dash, the other near his vest.

“Last block,” he said.

At the top of North Ridge, the mayor’s house sat behind a brick wall and clipped hedges, lit from below like a display. Down the slope, the town broke into narrow streets and narrow yards, roofs patched in old tar and mismatched shingles. The difference was plain from the gate to the valley.

Marcus killed the engine. Two agents moved to the side entrances. No sirens. No shouting. They were late enough already.

The front door opened before they reached it.

Arthur Albright stood there in a navy robe over pressed slacks, silver hair combed back, smile in place like he’d been rehearsing for cameras. Behind him, a house light burned in the hall and made the polished floor shine.

“Agent Bennett,” he said. “You could have called.”

Claire held up the warrant. “We did. Twice.”

His smile stayed on, but his eyes moved past her to the vehicles on the drive. “This is a misunderstanding. Let’s not make a scene in front of my neighbors.”

“Your neighbors are asleep.”

He looked at the paper, then at her face. “Then let’s do this in my study.”

“No.”

She stepped inside anyway. The house smelled like lemon oil and cold coffee. On the left, a side table held a crystal bowl full of keys. On the right, a hallway camera blinked red.

A deputy from the county tech team came in with a portable drive case. “Workstation’s live,” he said. “Someone’s already in the file tree.”

Claire’s gaze went to the study door. “How long.”

“Maybe ten minutes before the cache flush finishes.”

Albright’s smile tightened. “That machine is private property.”

“It’s evidence now.”