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Lark

T he red dots on the map pulsed like tiny heartbeats—one for Marley, one for Axel.

Both too far. Both fading.

I stared at them like I could will the signals to stay strong. My hands were clenched so tightly around my coffee mug that the ceramic threatened to crack.

“Okay,” Eloise said, her fingers dancing over her keyboard. “This is what we know: Marley’s last transmission was sent from outside a coastal checkpoint near the Jordan-Israel border. Not a safe zone. The area’s flagged for black-market activity and deep surveillance overlap.”

“And Axel?” I asked.

She looked at me. “His signal died at a known extraction staging area—half a mile north of Marley’s ping. Lena says Bishop confirmed the drop. But after that, nothing. Radio silence.”

“So what’s the plan?” I asked.

“Jack’s got a contact with transport access,” Eloise said. “Military-adjacent, friendly. They can get us within twenty miles. After that, we hike.”

I blinked. “ We? ”

“Okay, sweetheart, you know you are not going anywhere,” Jack said.

He looked at me. “I talked to Fraiser. He’s ready to strangle Marley.

He knows where Axel is, but he has to wait until it calms down over there before he can get to him.

Marley is going crazy because she said you will kill her for getting Axel involved. ”

“She’s right about that,” I said. At least I feel a little better, knowing Fraiser knows where he is. “Here is your phone, Grandma Shirley. I won’t need it after all.”

“Where did you get that phone, Grandma?”

“Lena gave it to me when she visited. It’s for emergencies.”

“Lena is going to get a lecture when she gets back here.”

“Does Lena live here?” I asked.

“Yes, she is one of Fraser's cousins. He has loads of them.”

“I would love to meet everyone. When Axel gets home, we’ll have a big party and invite everyone.”

“That does sound like fun, we’ll help,” Eloise said.

“We’ll talk to you tomorrow and let you know what's going on,” Jack said.

That’s when I noticed the sleeping baby in the car seat. “Oh, she’s beautiful,” I said.

“Thank you. We are so blessed to have our daughter. now we need to get her to bed,” Jack said.