At 7:45 a.m., the portable X-ray machine was wheeled into the security room. Max lay motionless on the metal table as the doctor positioned the equipment over his neck. The machine hummed softly as it captured the image. When the X-ray appeared on the computer screen, everyone in the room fell silent. “What the hell is that?” Crowford whispered. There, clear as day, was a small rectangular object embedded just beneath Max’s skin.
It wasn’t a normal identification microchip. This device was larger and more complex. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” the doctor said, studying the image. “It’s definitely artificial, but from here I can’t tell what it is.” Crawford immediately ordered a partial evacuation of the building. Code yellow. I want explosive detection specialists here right now. Within minutes, Sergeant Rodriguez, a bomb disposal expert, arrived with his team. He passed a metal detector around Max’s neck and confirmed the object’s location.
“It’s not explosive,” Rodriguez announced after running several tests. “But it’s definitely electronic; it looks like some kind of storage device. Dr. Hees prepared a local anesthetic. I can safely remove it, but I need permission to perform the surgery.” Crawford looked at his watch. It was 8:10 a.m. There were 50 minutes left until Sara’s execution. Rebeca was in a corner crying and confused. “I don’t understand,” he said. “Who would have put something inside Max? And why? Do the surgery,” Crawford ordered.
I need to know what this is. Dr. Ha worked quickly but carefully. The device was small, about the size of a USB flash drive, wrapped in medical-grade plastic to protect it from bodily fluids. When she finally removed it, everyone gathered around to examine it. “It’s a modified microSD card,” Rodriguez said, turning it over in his hands. “Someone went to a lot of trouble to hide this.” Craford felt his heart race. In all his years of working at the prison, he’d never encountered anything like it.
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