“Because we embarrassed them,” Ghost said. “Because we took Scout. Because we took Amanda back. They’re not going to retreat. They’re going to punish.”
My hands clenched at my sides.
“Punish who,” Brutus asked.
Ghost didn’t answer. He clicked again.
A new screen appeared. A photo taken from a distance. A street view. It looked like any city block. A parking lot. A building entrance. People walking.
Then Ghost zoomed.
On a woman leaving a building, keys in hand, bag over her shoulder.
Jasmine.
Cap’s voice stayed steady. “They’re watching her.”
Ghost’s fingers curled around the mouse. “Yes.”
“How do you know the ring took this,” Cap asked.
Ghost’s voice went clipped. “Because the timestamp matches a known ring comm window, and the angle is from a camera we traced to their infrastructure.”
Brutus’s knife stopped moving. “So they’re using her.”
Ranger’s eyes sharpened. “Or they’re going to.”
Ghost stared at the screen. The mask didn’t show emotion, but his body did. Tension in his shoulders. Jaw locked. That stillness again, except now it was sharper. Dangerous.
Cap straightened. “We don’t make assumptions. But we act like that’s real until proven otherwise. We do not leave one behind.”
He looked at me then. “Wrecker.”
“Yes,” I said.
“You and Ranger start mapping approaches,” Cap said. “If we need eyes on that building, we get eyes. Quiet. No bikes. No colors.”
Ranger nodded. “Got it.”
Cap turned back to Ghost. “You keep digging. I want everything on that firm. Everyone who walks in and out. Every late night. Every delivery.”
Ghost nodded. “Already doing it.”
Brutus wiped his blade and slipped it back into its sheath. “And if it’s as bad as it looks.”
Cap’s gaze turned hard. “Then we hit them where it hurts.”
The room held that promise for a beat.
Then Ranger moved first, whistling for Smoke. The dog stood and followed without hesitation.
I stepped closer to Ghost’s station, lowering my voice. “You okay.”
Ghost didn’t look up. “Fine.”
It was a lie. A small one. The kind men told when they didn’t want anyone to see the crack.
I didn’t push him. Not here. Not now.
