Then a voice, deep, calm, and familiar as my own heartbeat.
“Report.” The single word carries a demand for everything—health, location, and status of the package.
The sound of Ghost’s voice settles my pulse instantly. The tension in my shoulders drops an inch.
“Compromised.” I look at Talia, then back at the phone. “I need the pack.”
Silence on the line.
“Explain.”
“Talia found something. It’s not corporate corruption.” I look at her. She watches me, eyes sharp, listening. “It’s Phoenix.”
A pause. Long and heavy. Ghost knows Phoenix. We all do. We’ve been hunting it. Or it’s been hunting us.
“Copy that.” Ghost’s voice drops an octave.
“Talia’s source verified it, and we’ve since connected it to a conglomerate called Nexus Holdings. It’s protecting Phoenix.”
“What’s your status?”
“I’m with Vargas.”
“Vargas?” Ghost recognizes the name. “I thought he retired to a cabin in Montana.”
“He didn’t. He’s here. He has hardware. A Root Seed from the original build. It’s a kill switch. We can burn the program down.”
“If you can deliver it.”
“I can’t.” I admit the weakness. It tastes bitter, but it’s the truth. “Not alone. I’m wounded. Vargas is combat ineffective. We’re cornered in a bolt-hole in Pilsen. They have numbers, tech, and they’re scrubbing the board.”
“Are you safe?”
“For the moment.”
“Hold position. We were monitoring chatter. We knew something blew in Chicago. We’re already wheels up.”
“ETA?”
“Soon. Torque is flying like a maniac. Send your location and keep your head down.”
“Roger that.”
The line goes dead.
I lower the phone. The green light fades.
“Was that Ghost?” Vargas watches me from his crate, a shark-like grin spreading across his dusty face.
“Yeah.”
“Good.” He stands, testing his weight on his bad leg. “Because I’m too old to die in a basement.”
I turn back to Talia. She’s standing now, the fear in her eyes replaced by calculation. She understands what I’ve just done. I’ve brought my world into hers.
“Your team?” she asks.
“My team.” I move back to her, my hand finding the back of her neck again. “We’re done running. Now we hunt.”
