“ETA forty minutes,” Aaron said from the cockpit.
Julia leaned back, rubbing a hand over her eyes. “Feels longer.”
“Everything does before the fight,” I said.
“Still not tired of those yet?”
“Fights or flights?”
She smiled faintly. “Both.”
Miles stiffened suddenly,one hand pressing to his earpiece.
“Talk to me,” Aaron called.
“Picking up something on a closed frequency. Military encryption—but not ours.”
My gut tightened. “Could be chatter from the facility.”
“Negative,” Miles said slowly, fingers flying. “This is directed atus.It’s piggybacking on our comm relay.”
Julia straightened. “Someone’s calling us?”
He nodded once. “Or watching.”
Static hissed through the cabin speakers. A few clipped bursts of sound, then a voice—smooth, calm, and unmistakable.
“You shouldn’t have followed the breadcrumbs, Jensen.”
Every head in the transport turned toward the speaker.
Reese. Alive.
Miles muted his mic, eyes wide. “How the hell—”
“Patch him through,” I ordered.
Miles hesitated. “He’s not requesting permission—he’s already in our system.”
“I expected Markham to keep you longer,” the voice continued, unhurried. “But then, you never did play by the rules.”
“Where are you?” I asked.
A dry chuckle. “Close enough to see the storm I started. Far enough that you can’t stop it.”
Julia leaned forward, voice sharp. “You killed people who trusted you. You think hiding behind code makes you untouchable?”
“You misunderstand, Detective. I didn’t kill them. Irepurposedthem. Everyone becomes useful in the right system.”
I felt my grip tighten on the armrest. “What do you want?”
“I want you to understand what Veridian really is. You keep chasing the pieces like it’s a puzzle, but you haven’t asked the only question that matters: who ordered it?”
Aaron’s voice crackled from the cockpit. “He’s triangulating us.”
Miles cursed under his breath, typing furiously. “I’m trying to block it—he’s moving through six proxy nodes—he’sgood.”
“You won’t stop me by cutting lines,” Reese said. “By the time you reach Missouri, you’ll see what I’ve built. Then you’ll have to decide which of you is willing to shut it down.”
