“I don’t know.”
The honesty is brutal. But I appreciate it more than false hope.
“Tell me about the ones who didn’t survive.” My voice comes out steadier than I expected. “The five.”
“Why?”
“Because I need to know what not to do.”
Diego is quiet. His gaze drifts toward the window, then back. Something shifts behind his expression—a wall going up.
“First one panicked,” he says. Clipped. Precise. “Ran without waiting for backup. Phoenix tracked her to a bus station in Philadelphia. She lasted thirty-six hours.”
“And the second?”
“Tried to negotiate. Thought he could reason with Phoenix’s handlers. Offered to drop his testimony in exchange for safety.” A muscle works in his jaw. “Phoenix killed him anyway.”
“Third?”
“Went to the police. Filed a report. Phoenix had access to the police database. Eliminated him before he left the station.”
Bile rises in my throat.
“Fourth and fifth?”
“Ignored protocols.” He stands. Moves to the window again. Puts distance between us. “One tried to contact family. Phoenix used the call to triangulate. The other thought he could hide in plain sight. Maintained his routine. Phoenix found him in four days.”
“So the pattern is?—”
“The pattern is they didn’t listen.” He turns, his face hard. “That’s the common denominator, Cassie. The ones who died? They didn’t do as I said. They made emotional decisions instead of tactical ones. They couldn’t accept that the old rules don’t apply.”
His gaze holds mine. Steady. Unblinking.
“You need to accept this. Right now. Or you’ll be number thirteen.”
The number hits like ice water.
“Thirteen?”
“Twelve extractions before you. Seven survived.” He pauses. “Eight if you listen.”
The weight of it settles over me. I’m just a number. A statistic. Another person Phoenix wants dead.
But I’m alive. Because he got to me first.
“What happened in 2019?”
The question lands before I can stop it.
Diego goes still. Completely, utterly still—like a predator who’s spotted a threat.
“Why?”
“You said you became Halo in 2019. That Diego Martinez died.” I lean forward. “What happened?”
“Nothing that matters now.”
“It matters to me.”
