Aaron nodded once. “Hawk, take point. Julia, on your six.”
As if she’d be anywhere else.
We moved in formation across the grass, boots silent, weapons ready. The building loomed larger with every step—cold, patient, empty in a way that made the skin between my shoulder blades tighten.
Halfway there, the wind carried something new: the faint hum of powered machinery, buried deep, deeper than a place like this should run.
“Underground levels,” Miles murmured behind us. “More than one.”
“Reese always liked layers,” I said.
Julia glanced at me. “He liked secrets.”
She wasn’t wrong.
We reached the access door. Matte steel. No keypad. No biometric panel.
Only a small, palm-sized black square embedded in the frame.
Boone frowned. “What am I looking at?”
Miles cursed. “Adaptive ID reader. It’s not activated by codes—it recognizes patterns.”
Aaron stepped closer. “Patterns of what?”
Miles hesitated for too long. “…neural signatures. The system scans the brain wave imprint of whoever walks through. Top-tier clearance tech.”
“Meaning?” Julia asked.
Miles swallowed. “Meaning it will only open for someone it was programmed to recognize.”
The team went silent.
And then every head turned to me.
My stomach dropped.
“No,” I said flatly. “He didn’t.”
“He did,” Julia said quietly. “Hawk—he built it around you.”
Miles nodded slowly. “Reese didn’t just anticipate you coming. He engineered this entire facility so only you could walk him out of his own cage.”
The chill that swept through me wasn’t from the wind.
“He wants you inside,” Julia said. “Alone.”
“Not happening,” I snapped.
“Hawk.” Aaron’s voice was steady, but the weight behind it was steel. “If that door only reads you…”
I stepped back. “I’m not walking into his trap.”
Julia touched my arm. “We’re not asking you to walk in alone. We’re asking you to get us inside.”
I looked at her. She didn’t blink. Didn’t sway. Didn’t break.
“I don’t like this,” I whispered.
