Prologue

Adam McMurrey walked out of his apartment at 7:15 A.M, his briefcase clutched in one hand and the morning newspaper in the other, just as he did every morning. He scraped the frost from the windshield of his beloved 1962 Chevy Camaro, got inside, and took a moment to get comfortable and buckle his seat belt before he started the powerful engine of his car. Without having to think about it, he automatically turned on the heater and switched the car radio to his favorite early morning news station. As was his custom, he gave his hair and teeth a quick check in the rearview mirror before he shifted the car in reverse and backed out of his parking space. He drove down the street towards a small coffee shop where, once he arrived, he would purchase a medium cup of a coffee, with cream and sugar, and two glazed donuts for his customary breakfast. He would take his time, spending about thirty minutes inside the coffee shop, eating his breakfast, sipping his coffee, and reading the newspaper. At precisely 7:45, he would fold the newspaper, tuck it in his arm, and leave the coffee shop, tossing the remains of his breakfast in the trashcan by the door as he left. He would make the ten minute drive to work and arrive a few minutes before 8:00 A.M., giving him adequate time to jog up the three flights of stairs to his office. This was his normal weekday morning routine.

Adam McMurrey was a creature of habit.

However, this morning was different than every other morning of Adam's life. Though his morning ritual had so far been uninterrupted, this morning was not as his mornings should be.

This morning, Adam McMurrey left his apartment burdened with knowledge that he knew he shouldn't have.

As he drove towards the coffee shop, his fingers drummed anxiously against the steering wheel of his car. The morning news crackled out of his speakers, but he wasn't paying attention to it. Adam did not have the usual craving for breakfast that he normally would have as he pulled into the lot of the coffee shop and parked his car. He quickly went inside, paid for his food and sat down at his usual booth. He didn't even bother to open his morning paper.

The donuts forgotten on his paper plate, Adam sipped his coffee and fidgeted anxiously in his chair. This is what happens when you break routine, he thought miserably to himself. He usually went straight home after work, but last night he had offered to stay a few hours later to help out one of his co-workers. They had finished working around 8:00 P.M. and Adam had been frustrated with his co-worker and more than ready to call it a night. He bid his co-worker farewell and walked down the hallway towards the stairwell, not wanting to endure the awkward silence of a slow elevator ride. After all, they had already said goodnight to each other. Adam shook his head and took another sip of his coffee.

If only he had taken the elevator.

Seeing light coming from a closed door, Adam had departed from his path to check on it. Nobody else was around and it must have been left on by mistake. He decided to turn it off. Everybody likes a hero, right?

The room hadn't been empty however. Adam's eyes widened in surprise as he found himself interrupting what looked to be some sort of secret meeting. The four men froze and stared back at him, too surprised to react to his unexpected presence. Adam quickly stammered an apology and hurried out of the room. He ran down the stairwell, out of the building and to the safety of his car. He had nervously glanced behind him his entire trip home, halfway expecting someone to follow. He tossed and turned all night in bed, too paranoid to let himself close his eyes more than a few moments.

What he had seen was definitely illegal and could quite possibly be the reason his company was on the verge of bankruptcy. He knew the men in the room and they knew him. What was going to happen? Adam took another halfhearted sip of his coffee, not tasting the hot beverage that he usually enjoyed so much. Documents had been disappearing and reappearing around the office for months now. Important documents. And now he had a feeling he knew why. He leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath.

Inside his own office was a document that he had been working on in private for the past few weeks. One that would expose what he had just seen. Only a handful of people knew about it, and none of them were in the room that he had barged in on. Adam sighed in nervous frustration. It was obvious what his course of action should be. He needed to bring this to light and his project would help him do that.

Feeling slightly better, he stood up, tucked the newspaper in the crook of his arm and began making his way out of the shop. It was 7:45. He paused by the trashcan for a moment and frowned. The donuts were still untouched. He studied them uncertainly for a moment. He had no appetite and they would be stale by the time lunch time rolled around.

He threw them away.

Adam walked outside into the brisk December morning. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and turned to walk towards his car, dreading the task that was before him. A tall, heavyset man brushed past him as he walked, but Adam paid him no attention.

He should have.

As he keyed open the door to his Camaro, he suddenly became aware of someone's presence. He turned his head and was surprised to see the tall, heavyset man standing directly behind him.

"Can I help you?" Adam asked, mild annoyance in his tone.

"Yes, you can." the man said quietly, pulling the car door open wide. "Get in your car."

Adam furrowed his brow in confusion. "What the hell are you do-?" His eyes went wide as he noticed a silver glint in the man's hand. He was holding a gun, Adam realized in horror. His eyes instinctively darted around the parking lot, looking for some means of assistance. The gun suddenly pressed into his abdomen, the car door obstructing the view of anyone looking on in the coffee shop.

"Don't do that, Adam." the man said pleasantly. For the benefit of any witnesses, he smiled and gestured freely with his other hand as if the two were engaged in friendly conversation. "Just get in the car and slide over to the passenger seat."

Adam hesitated for a few seconds, before realizing that he had no choice but to do as he was told. He got inside and slid to the passenger seat, his gun wielding kidnapper right behind him.

"Who are you?" he demanded angrily as the man settled himself down in the driver's seat and closed the door.

"Keys." the man said, holding out his hand and ignoring Adam's question.

"Tell me who you are!"

The gunman pressed the gun into Adam's ribcage.

"Keys." he repeated wearily. Adam shuddered and handed him the keys.

The man started the engine and pulled out onto the busy street using one hand to drive and the other to keep the gun pressed to Adam's ribs.

"Where are you taking me?" Adam asked. The initial shock and outrage of being kidnapped wearing off, Adam began to feel a sickening fear of the unknown. His heartbeat quickened and despite the chilly weather, he started to sweat.

His kidnapper reached into his jacket pocket and held out his fist to Adam. "Eat this." he ordered.

Adam hesitantly opened his palm and the man dropped a small red pill into his hand. Adam looked up in outrage and scoffed.

"I'm not taking that." he spat defiantly.

The man sighed and jammed the gun harder into his ribs. "Take it. Now."

"It's poison." Adam accused heatedly.

"If you take it and it's poison, you'll die. If it isn't poison you won't die." the gunman reasoned calmly. He turned to give Adam a bored look. "But, if you don't take it, I'll kill you right now and there won't be any chance at all for you."

Adam swallowed hard. He was a smart man. Taking the pill seemed to be the only choice where surviving was an option. Deciding that fifty percent was more than generous odds, he popped the pill into his mouth and discreetly held it under his tongue.

"And I'll know within five minutes whether you swallowed it or not, so don't try to play me."

Cursing inwardly, Adam swallowed the pill.

The two men drove in silence. Adam looked out the window as they drove farther and farther from the main roads, hoping desperately for a chance to escape. A few minutes later, he began to get very drowsy. His head suddenly felt overwhelmingly heavy and he leaned it against the back of the seat. He began to panic.

"What did you give me?" he demanded, his words slurred together. It was getting hard to think, and much more difficult to move his mouth.

The man ignored him.

His entire body felt like it was made of lead, and he found that he could no longer move. Adam's head lolled against the window, his eyelids drooping. He fought the powerful drug as much as he could, but there wasn't much he could do.

He didn't know his kidnapper. But someone had sent him. And he was sure that whoever had was involved in what he had seen. This couldn't have been random.

As his mind fogged, he thought back to earlier that day. Had he been followed from his apartment? It wasn't likely. But how had the man known that he would be at the coffee shop?

Though he was barely conscious, he mentally answered his own question before sleep overtook him.

He was a creature of habit, and today that had been his downfall.