“What,” Brutus demanded.
Ghost’s eyes flicked to me again. “Scout’s burner just pinged.”
The room went dead silent.
I felt the words like a punch.
“What did you say,” I asked.
Ghost turned the laptop so we could see. A small notification. A brief data point. Not a call. Not a full signal. Just a ping.
“It was a burst,” Ghost said. “Two seconds. Like someone turned it on and off.”
Ranger’s voice was tight. “Could be a trap.”
“Could be,” Ghost said. “But it came from somewhere.”
Cap’s face went still. Dangerous.
“Where,” I asked, already moving around the table.
Ghost tapped the screen, pulling up coordinates. “It’s not exact. It bounced. But it triangulated enough to give us an area.”
A circle appeared on the map. Smaller than before. Tighter.
Right over the scrapyard cluster.
My lungs felt too tight.
Brutus let out a slow breath. “That’s not coincidence.”
“It’s not,” Ghost agreed.
Ariel’s hands were shaking in her lap. “He’s alive,” she whispered, like she needed to say it out loud to believe it.
Cap’s gaze swept the room. “He’s alive.”
Hope bubbled up in my chest so hard it hurt.
Cap looked at me. Then at Ranger. Then at Brutus. Then at Ghost.
“We don’t leave one behind,” Cap said.
The words hit something deep in me. Something solid.
Brutus nodded once. “Tell me when.”
Ranger shifted his weight. “We’re going now.”
Ghost held up a hand. “We need a minute. If that was a real ping, it might ping again. If we get a second burst, I can tighten the location.”
Cap’s eyes narrowed. “How long.”
“Ten minutes,” Ghost said. “Maybe less.”
“Do it,” Cap said.
Ghost’s fingers flew. He started setting filters, setting alerts, building a net out of whatever crumbs the signal gave him.
