“Because Travis doesn’t leave his house. Ever.” He started the upload sequence. “Some kind of trauma from his CIA days. Built himself a compound that makes this place look amateur. Everything delivered, all meetings virtual. Like Batman, if Batman never left the cave.”
The device beeped softly. A progress bar appeared—uploading.
“I’m letting him know I have you with me. Need him working on extraction options, just in case.” Coop glanced at it, then started typing something one-handed. “Keep watch. Anyone comes from any direction, let me know.”
I positioned myself at the blind’s opening, scanning the woods while he worked behind me. The compound spread out below us—scattered lights marking buildings, the occasional flare of a cigarette showing guard positions.
From up here, Oliver’s impressive fortress looked smaller, less imposing. Just buildings in the woods where bad men played at revolution. Somehow that gave me a little bit of comfort.
“It’s going. Weapons inventory, financial records, personnel files,” he murmured. “All the data I pulled from Oliver’s system. Enough to?—”
Something caught my attention below. I grabbed Coop’s shoulder, cutting him off. He went silent instantly, both of us straining to listen.
Voices carried through the night air, getting closer. Two men from the sound of it, their words becoming clearer with each step.
“—told you this was the wrong trail.” That was Tommy’s voice, young and complaining. “Nothing out here but trees and probably bears.”
“Oliver wants the perimeter checked.” The second voice was older, gravelly. Not familiar. “All of it. New people showing up means we keep our eyes peeled.”
My blood turned to slush in my veins. They were headed straight for our tree.
Coop killed the device’s screen, plunging us into blackness. His hand found mine, squeezing once.Stay calm. Stay quiet.
The footsteps got closer. Closer. They were directly under us now, Tommy still complaining about the cold, about the pointlessness of checking trees in the middle of the night.
“What’s that?” The older guard’s voice sharpened. “Up there.”
My lungs seized. They’d seen the blind.
“Old deer stand,” Tommy said after a pause. “Been here forever, according to Snake. Probably full of wasps.”
“We should check it.”
“You want to climb up there in the dark? Be my guest. I’m not getting stung just because Oliver’s paranoid.”
They stood there for what felt like hours but was probably thirty seconds. I didn’t breathe. Didn’t blink. Coop’s hand in mine was the only thing keeping me anchored, keeping the panic at bay.
Finally, footsteps moved away, Tommy’s voice fading as he convinced the older guard to check the next section instead.
We stayed motionless for another full minute before Coop powered the device back on. The upload had continued in sleep mode—87% complete.
“Almost there,” he breathed.
The progress bar crept higher. 91%. 94%. 97%.
More voices, distant but carrying. Multiple guards now, spread out through the woods. They were doing a full sweep.
99%.
“They’re coming back,” I whispered, my throat tight. The voices were getting louder again, more organized. They’d finished their sectors and were converging.
100%.
The device chirped softly—transmission complete. Coop collapsed the antenna, shoving the device into his jacket just as flashlight beams cut through the trees below.
“Can’t go down,” he said, already moving. “Follow me.”
He climbed out onto a thick branch that reached toward a neighboring pine. My stomach plummeted as I realized what he intended.
