Chapter 12: The First Shipment

The thermos arrived on a Tuesday.

Marcus found it on the front step of the storage unit at 6:15 AM, sitting in the geometric center of the concrete apron with the precise placement of something left by a person who understood that objects communicate. Matte black, thirty-two ounces, the same model as the one he'd used for the sample — which he had purchased at a Target in Rio Rancho specifically because it was the most common vacuum-insulated container sold in the Southwest, a thing that meant nothing by itself. Dario had matched it exactly. That required either the same Target on the same reasoning, or a man who paid close attention to detail and wanted Marcus to know it.

Marcus stood in the early cold and looked at it for a moment. The facility was quiet. The manager's truck wasn't in yet. The camera covered the drive. He picked it up.