Victor looked toward the door.
It was a small movement, barely noticeable, but I saw it.
Rachel saw it too.
"You should stay," she said.
Victor stopped.
"I wasn't going anywhere."
"Good."
The security officer remained beside the door. Rebecca began gathering the folders from the desk, but Rachel kept one open in front of her.
"The weather restrictions," she said. "Let's start there."
Victor folded his arms.
"I don't know what you're implying."
"I'm not implying anything."
Rachel slid a printed dispatch record across the desk.
"I'm asking you to explain it."
Victor glanced down.
The page showed a series of route assignments from the previous month. Several had been issued during severe-weather advisories.
He shrugged.
"Drivers have to make judgment calls."
"Correct."
"So what's the problem?"
Rachel pointed to a column.
"These drivers reported conditions that made the routes unsafe."
Victor said nothing.
"Then their assignments were marked as refused."
He looked at her.
"Because they refused."
I spoke before I could stop myself.
"They didn't refuse. They reported unsafe conditions."
Victor turned toward me.
"You weren't there."
"No."
I looked at the page.
"But I've been driving long enough to know the difference."
Rachel raised her hand.
"Let me finish."
She opened another file.
"This driver was sent through a mountain route during an ice warning."
She opened another.
"This one was instructed to continue after reporting zero visibility."
Another.
"This one was told that refusing the route would affect future assignments."
Victor shook his head.
"Those are interpretations."
Rachel looked at him.
"They're written in the drivers' own statements."
"Statements aren't evidence."
"They are when we compare them to the dispatch logs."
She placed three pages side by side.
The same pattern appeared on all of them.
Driver reports dangerous conditions.
Dispatcher acknowledges.
Driver asks for alternate route or delay.
Dispatcher threatens loss of hours.
Driver continues.
Or receives fewer assignments afterward.
I felt a chill that had nothing to do with the weather outside.
I remembered my own conversation with Victor.
Miss that delivery, and you may have cost yourself your job.
At the time, I had thought it was anger.
Now I wondered whether it was routine.
Rachel looked at me.
"Marcus, did Victor ever tell you that stopping would affect your future assignments?"
"Not in those words."
"But he threatened my job."
Rachel nodded.
"That's consistent with the other complaints."
Victor stepped forward.
"You're building a case out of ordinary management conversations."
Rachel turned toward him.
"No."
She closed one folder.
"We're building a record out of repeated behavior."
Victor stared at her.
The security officer finally spoke.
"Mr. Vance, your laptop."
Victor looked at him.
"I'll give it to you."
He reached toward the desk.
The officer stepped closer.
"I need it now."
Victor hesitated.
Then he picked up the laptop.
Before handing it over, he looked at the screen.
I saw something flash across his face.
Fear.
Not anger.
Fear.
He handed it over.
The officer immediately placed it inside a padded case.
Victor watched the case close.
Rachel sat down.
"Marcus, you can leave if you want."
I looked at her.
"Am I still expected to work today?"
"Not under Victor."
"Then what happens to my route?"
"We'll assign someone else to dispatch it."
I nodded.
I should have felt relieved.
Instead, I felt unsettled.
Julian touched my shoulder.
"Come on."
We walked outside.
The rain had stopped.
The pavement still shone beneath the afternoon light.
For the first time in two weeks, I didn't feel like I had to look over my shoulder before walking into the building.
Julian followed me toward my truck.
"You all right?"
"I'm not sure."
"Understandable."
I opened the driver's door.
"Why didn't you tell me who you were that night?"
He smiled.
"I didn't know who you were either."
"Fair."
He leaned against the side of the truck.
"Lily asks about you."
I smiled.
"What does she say?"
"She thinks your truck is the biggest vehicle in the world."
"It isn't."
"Don't tell her that."
I laughed.
It was the first genuine laugh I'd had in days.
Then Julian became serious.
"Marcus, I need you to understand something."
"What?"
"I didn't come here because I felt sorry for you."
"I know."
"I came because what happened to my family showed me something."
I waited.
"People reveal themselves when nobody important is watching."
I looked back at the company building.
"Victor was watching."
Julian shook his head.
"No. He was watching the schedule."
That stayed with me.
Julian straightened.
"I have another meeting."
"With corporate?"
"Yes."
"About the contract?"
"Partly."
I frowned.
"What else?"
He smiled slightly.
"You'll hear about it soon enough."
Then he walked toward his car.
I climbed into my truck.
Before starting the engine, I looked at Lily's drawing tucked into the visor.
The little blue truck.
The crooked yellow headlights.
The words written in uneven letters.
I touched the edge of the paper.
Then I started the engine.
That evening, Rachel called.
"Marcus?"
"Yes."
"We found something else."
I sat at the kitchen table.
Sarah was making tea nearby.
"What?"
"There were several disciplinary actions that appear to have been modified after the employees signed them."
My stomach tightened.
"How many?"
"We're still counting."
Sarah stopped moving.
She looked at me.
I covered the phone.
"Work."
She nodded.
I returned to the call.
"Does Victor have access to those records?"
"He did."
"Did?"
"We're changing access permissions."
I rubbed my forehead.
"Rachel, what does this mean for the drivers?"
"It means we're reviewing every case."
"And Victor?"
A pause.
"He's been placed on administrative leave."
Sarah came closer.
I put the phone on speaker.
"Is he fired?"
"Not yet."
"Will he be?"
"I can't predict that."
I understood.
"All right."
Rachel continued.
"There is one more thing."
"What?"
"The altered version of your warning wasn't created after you left the office."
I frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"The system shows the document was edited while you were still in the building."
I looked at Sarah.
"That's impossible."
"You left at approximately 9:18."
"Yes."
"The altered file was created at 9:41."
I thought back.
Victor had been in his office.
I had been in the hallway.
Rachel continued.
"The edit was made from the dispatch terminal."
I sat back.
"So Victor did it."
"We don't know that yet."
"But someone at his terminal did."
"Yes."
I looked toward the kitchen.
Sarah was staring at me.
"Then what else is there?"
Rachel hesitated.
"We found a message thread."
"Between who?"
"Victor and someone at another transportation company."
My expression changed.
"Another company?"
"Yes."
"What kind of messages?"
"We're reviewing them."
"Why?"
"Because several employees who left Apex later received unusually negative references."
Sarah sat down beside me.
I listened.
"Marcus, I'm asking you not to discuss this with anyone at work."
"Understood."
"Especially Victor."
"I won't."
Rachel ended the call.
For several minutes, neither Sarah nor I spoke.
Finally she said, "This is bigger than your warning."
"I know."
"Are you worried?"
"Yes."
"About your job?"
I thought about it.
"No."
She looked surprised.
"I'm worried about what happens if all those drivers were telling the truth."
Sarah reached across the table.
"You did the right thing."
I nodded.
"But doing the right thing doesn't guarantee things turn out well."
"No."
She squeezed my hand.
"But it means you don't have to hate yourself when they don't."
I looked at her.
That was exactly what I needed to hear.
The next morning, I returned to Apex.
My schedule had been restored.
A new dispatcher named Angela gave me my route.
She was polite.
"First run is local."
"Okay."
"Second is afternoon."
"Fine."
She smiled.
"If anything changes, I'll call."
I thanked her.
As I walked toward my truck, I passed the dispatch office.
Victor's chair was empty.
His nameplate was gone.
The room looked strangely ordinary.
I climbed into my cab.
For the first time since the storm, I pulled away without wondering whether every mile was being counted against me.
I thought that might be the end.
Then, just before noon, my phone rang.
Julian.
I answered.
"Hey."
"Marcus, I need you to listen carefully."
His voice was different.
"What happened?"
"I've received the preliminary report."
"About Apex?"
"Yes."
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel.
"And?"
"There are problems."
"How serious?"
A pause.
"Serious enough that Hayes Tech is suspending new shipments through Apex until the investigation is complete."
I exhaled.
"Wow."
"There's more."
"What?"
"They found that the night your delivery was delayed, the shipment was actually scheduled with enough buffer time to arrive safely."
I frowned.
"So I wasn't even putting the delivery at risk."
"Exactly."
I thought about Victor's warning.
Then Julian said something that made my stomach drop.
"Someone changed the internal delivery priority after you stopped."
"Who?"
"We don't know yet."
I looked through the windshield.
The road stretched ahead.
"What does that mean?"
"It means the record you were punished under may have been manipulated before your warning was even written."
Click here to continue reading: PART 6: Someone Had Changed the Delivery Priority Before I Ever Returned to the Highway, Turning a Safe Delay Into a Reason to Punish Me
The Storm Was Already Closing Around Me When a Little Girl’s Flashlight Appeared Beside the Highway
Part 5 of 12
