The Cage of Secrets

The Equipment Cage was the heart of the arena’s underbelly—a claustrophobic maze of wire mesh, stacked stick racks, and the overpowering scent of industrial sanitizer. It was the only place without a security camera, a blind spot in the building’s surveillance grid.

Chloe Vane sat on a crate of pucks, the blue light of her laptop illuminating her pale, focused face. She adjusted her glasses, her fingers flying across the keyboard.

"You're sure about the time frame?" she asked, not looking up.

"I left the ice at 1:00 PM," Dec said. He was pacing the length of the cage, twirling a roll of stick tape in his hands. "I came back at 2:30 PM. The jersey was shredded. The slip was in the skate."

"Okay. I’ve pulled the logs for the main door," Chloe said. She tapped a key and spun the laptop around. "The camera in the hallway was looped. Standard hack, clumsy but effective. Whoever did this knew where the blind spots were. But they forgot about the RFID sensors on the door itself."

Dec leaned in, his shoulder brushing hers. "Who went in?"

"Only two badges accessed the locker room in that window," Chloe said, her voice softening. "Yours... and Miller’s."

Dec felt the air leave his lungs. "Miller?"

"The timestamp matches, Dec. 1:45 PM. He was in there for ten minutes."

Dec closed his eyes, leaning his head against the cold wire mesh. Miller was the rookie Dec had taken under his wing. He had invited the kid to Thanksgiving dinner. He had taught him how to handle the press. Miller worshipped Liam’s legacy.

"He’s a kid," Dec said, his voice hollow. "He’s on a rookie contract. Maybe... maybe he got into debt. Maybe someone got to him."

"Or maybe he’s not the person you think he is," Chloe said gently. "The data doesn't possess sentiment, Dec. It just shows the path."

Dec opened his eyes. The grief was hardening into something colder, sharper. "If he sold us out... if he used Liam’s memory to do it..."

"What are you going to do?"

Dec pushed off the cage wall, his jaw set. "I’m going to ask him. On the ice. Where there’s nowhere to hide."