Page 104 of Brass

But something has changed. Something Phoenix’s calculations can’t account for.

Two ghosts move in that same darkness. Two people, officially dead but very much alive, with unique knowledge of the system hunting them, and nothing left to lose.

Ryan shifts in his sleep, arm tightening around my waist as if he’s determined to keep me safe even while sleeping. I place my hand over his, feeling the strength in his fingers, the warmth of his palm against my skin.

Outside, snow continues to fall, blanketing our hidden sanctuary in pristine white. Inside, plans take shape, purposes align, a future neither of us could have imagined begins to form.

Celeste Hart is dead, but the hunt continues.

In a secured serverroom deep beneath a nondescript office building in northern Virginia, a system completes its 90-day verification protocol.

TARGET: HART, CELESTE

STATUS: ELIMINATED

VERIFICATION: COMPLETE

THREAT LEVEL: NEUTRALIZED

RESOURCES: REALLOCATED

TARGET:ELLIS, RYAN

STATUS: ELIMINATED

VERIFICATION: COMPLETE

THREAT LEVEL: NEUTRALIZED

RESOURCES: REALLOCATED

Across multiple screens, data flows in elegant patterns—surveillance feeds, intercepted communications, financial transactions, and geolocation markers. The algorithm processes all the information, identifying patterns, calculating probabilities, and assessing threats.

In a separate window, new targets emerge:

Journalist, San Francisco Chronicle, researching defense contractors

Systems analyst, Pentagon, accessing classified project files

Forensic linguist who works on encryption algorithms for DoD contractors

Congressional staffer, requesting budget information on black projects