Quinn sighed and opened a new screen. A few moments later, the call went out. When it connected, Adams didn’t say anything, likely because it was an unknown number.
“This is Ward.”
“Still no news, Colonel.”
“Did you know this order came down from General Graves?”
The only sound on the other end was the heavy tread of boots for a drawn-out minute, until they were muffled by carpet and a door swung shut. There was a familiar burst of quiet static as a privacy spell activated. “Yes, I saw the signature,” Adams finally said.
“Is the Order behind this?”
The silence was telling. “I can’t confirm anything.”
Caius forced out a calming breath while grinding his teeth. “Did you knowingly send Lukas on a bogus mission to die?”
“Of course not,” Adams snapped. “I warned him as best I could and sent someone to help, but I haven’t heard back yet.”
Quinn scoffed but held his tongue.
“Who?”
Adams sighed. “Ghost.”
Fucking hell. Lukas was as likely to end up dead thanks to that maniacal pixie as if he’d been on the plane. “What did you promise her?”
“An unsanctioned mission to take out her creator.”
“And who is that?” There were rumors that the Ghost was decades older than she appeared, but her file wasn’t just top secret; it didn’t seem to actually exist. He knew. He’d looked.
“Helga Fuchs.”
Caius looked at Quinn to find him already typing away. The screen that popped up a few moments later showed an elderly woman well into her eighties or nineties. Her information listed her as one-hundred-one.
“You put a hit out on someone’s grandma?” Quinn muttered, incredulous.
“She was rumored to be a Nazi scientist. When the Order refused to sanction her experiments after the war, she vanished. Popped up again about forty years ago, shortly after Ghost was found.”
“If Lukas is involved in murdering—” Caius started with a growl, but Adams cut him off.
“He won’t be.”
Caius growled again, low in his throat. He knew Adams would do what he could to protect Lukas, but he also knew if there was even a whiff of Lukas being involved, it would be included in a report somewhere, even if it wasn’t official. As much as he believed in serving his country, he knew how deep and dark that service could pull someone, and he wasn’t going to let that happen to anyone in his pack.
But that was something to be dealt with after they found Lukas.
“Does General Rhys Graves have ties to the Order?” he asked, ignoring the sharp look Quinn gave him as he listened to the silence on the other end of the phone.
Finally, Adams said, “I can’t confirm anything.”
Which was all the confirmation Caius needed. “Please keep me apprised.”
“Of course.”
Once Quinn disconnected the call, Caius let out a slow breath, but before he could think of possible next steps, Quinn swiveled his chair towards the stairs and sniffed.
“Something is burning.”
Caius’ heart lurched as he smelled burning bacon. He dashed up the stairs, sure it was another kitchen SNAFU, but when he reached the kitchen, the pan with bacon was charred black, and there was no sign of Max.
