"Stryker. We have a problem." Kane's voice is tight with the kind of controlled urgency that means he's found something bad. "Tommy ran the murder victim's biometrics through our databases. The man Lucas saw killed wasn't random. His name was David Hernandez. Former security contractor. Worked black site operations for the Committee three years ago."
My stomach drops. "Which operation?"
"Protocol Seven. Hernandez was a guard at the facility in Nevada where they were testing chemical weapons on human subjects. He went dark eight months ago."
"They found him."
"Yeah. And they eliminated him using an operative with a distinctive snake-and-dagger tattoo." Kane pauses, and I can hear him typing in the background. "It's Kessler."
Name hits like a fist to the gut. James Kessler. Operative who captured Mercer. Former Delta operator with a personal vendetta against Kane. Committee asset who doesn't deploy for routine cleanup operations.
If Kessler's involved, this isn't just bad. It's catastrophic.
"Christ." My hand tightens on the phone. "They sent Kessler for a Protocol Seven witness?"
"This wasn't random, Stryker. Lucas didn't just witness a murder. He witnessed Kessler severing a Protocol Seven connection. A loose end from one of the Committee's blackestoperations." Kane's voice goes flat in the way it does when he's compartmentalizing. "And Lucas can identify him."
Implications stack up fast and brutal. Protocol Seven is the operation that almost got Dylan killed. Chemical weapons program that targeted innocent civilians. Conspiracy that goes all the way to the top of the military-industrial complex. And now a six-year-old kid can put Kessler—one of their most dangerous operatives—at a murder scene that connects directly to it.
"If Lucas testifies, if he picks Kessler out of a lineup, it exposes everything," I say. "Not just Protocol Seven. It ties the Committee's most visible enforcer to their dirtiest operation."
"Exactly. And that's why they're hunting him with everything they have. Lucas isn't just a witness anymore. He's the key that unlocks the whole conspiracy." Kane's voice drops. "Kessler doesn't leave witnesses, Stryker. You know that. The fact that he killed Hernandez in broad daylight where a kid could see means either he got sloppy—which Kessler never does—or he didn't know Lucas was there. Either way, the Committee will do anything to silence that kid before he talks. You need to fortify that position and prepare for the possibility that they're already closer than we think."
"Understood. What's the timeline for permanent relocation?"
"Working on it. Tommy's setting up new identities now, but it takes time to make them bulletproof. Days, not weeks, but I can't give you an exact timeline yet. Can you hold until we're ready?"
I look at Rachel, standing in her living room with her arms crossed and her jaw set. Look at the photos on the fridge and the drawings on the wall and the life she built from the wreckage I left behind.
"Yeah," I say. "I can hold."
Kane disconnects, and I lower the phone. Rachel is watching me with the kind of attention that misses nothing.
"What was that about?" she asks.
I could lie. Could tell her it's nothing urgent. Could maintain the distance and professional boundaries I promised to keep.
But she deserves the truth. Deserves to know exactly how bad this is.
"The man Lucas saw murdered wasn't a random victim," I say. "He was a guard from a Committee black site operation called Protocol Seven. The operative who killed him is James Kessler."
Her face drains of color, but she doesn't understand yet. Not really.
"Kessler is—" I stop, choosing my words carefully. "He's former Delta. One of the Committee's most dangerous enforcers. He captured one of our team members a few months back. Tortured him for intel. Has a personal vendetta against our team lead." I meet her eyes, making sure she understands the full weight of what I'm saying. "The Committee doesn't send Kessler for routine cleanup jobs, Rachel. They send him when failure isn't an option."
"What does that mean for Lucas?"
"It means your son didn't just witness a murder. He witnessed Kessler eliminating a connection to one of the Committee's blackest operations. If Lucas testifies, if he identifies Kessler in a lineup, it exposes secrets the Committee has killed dozens of people to protect." My jaw tightens. "They won't stop hunting him. They can't afford to let him live."
She goes very still. For a moment, the steel facade cracks and I see the fear underneath. Mother terrified for her son. Survivor realizing the danger is worse than she imagined.
Then the steel slams back into place. "How long until your team can relocate us?"
"They're working on it now. New identities take time to make bulletproof."
"How much time?"
"Days. Not weeks, but I can't give you an exact number yet."
