Every morning, my neighbor Evelyn dragged three, four, sometimes five enormous trash bags to the curb of our quiet Oak Park street. One day, I finally looked inside. I really wish I hadn’t.

"We can't go to the police," I said, grabbing my tactical flashlight from the garage tool drawer. "If Aegis controls the medical center and has handlers watching our house, local law enforcement could be compromised."

"Mark, we can't fight a pharmaceutical corporation!" Sarah cried, tears streaming down her face. "We should take the car and just drive! Out of the state, out of the country!"

"If they tracked us inside our own living room, fleeing won't stop them," I said, looking her straight in the eyes. "They have our home, our profiles, and a date set for next Tuesday. The only way we survive this is by grabbing that ledger and taking away their leverage before Tuesday arrives."

Ten minutes later, we pulled into the concrete structure of the 5th Street Parking Garage. The gloom of the subterranean levels was thick, illuminated only by flickering yellow fluorescent bulbs.

On Level 3, the scene was horrific.

Evelyn’s luxury SUV was smashed against a massive concrete pillar, its front bumper completely caved in. Smoke poured from the crumpled hood.

I parked our car near the stairwell, pulled out a tire iron from the trunk, and approached the wreck cautiously while Sarah kept watch from the passenger seat.

The driver’s side door of Evelyn’s car was torn off its hinges. The seat was empty, splattered with fresh crimson drops that trailed off toward the dark utility door at the rear of the parking level.

On the passenger floorboard sat a heavy leather briefcase, covered in soot, its mechanical lock jammed open.

I reached inside and pulled out the briefcase. Inside was a thick, black leather-bound ledger labeled Aegis Clinical Trial Phase IV: Subject Roster. Page after page contained names, addresses, blood types, and handwritten notes written in red ink: Terminated, Transferred, Awaiting Extraction.

Right beneath Sarah’s name was another entry that made my throat go completely dry:

Mark Miller: Secondary Collateral. Termination authorized upon extraction of Primary Subject.