Page 28

Rhys

I don’t see Jade again before I leave. She’s probably gone to her studio. It’s getting late. Is that safe? Scott is on the phone with Clear, looking at me anxiously as I debate writing her a note, but I don’t know what to say. I’ll only make things worse at this point. I hope someday she’ll understand that this is what I had to do. Everything feels like a risk right now. I grab my jacket, shove my phone in my pocket, and head out before I lose the strength to step outside.

Adrenaline surges through me as I get in the car, glancing at the trees shrouded in shadows. “I want someone on her all the time,” I tell Scott.

He nods. “Lee and Matt will stay until they’re told otherwise.”

My heart tightens. “Even if she kicks them out, they need to stay outside. If whoever threatened me knows about her, she’s at risk.”

He opens his mouth to say something, but then just nods again.

I resist the urge to lie down on the floor of the backseat as we drive to the airport, and when we arrive, my head swivels constantly, trying to see everywhere at once. I’m whisked onto a private plane, flanked by security, and then the flight into San Francisco is the longest two hours of my life. I swear time has stopped, and I am trapped in this hell of fear and regret permanently. What have I done? What else could I have done? What is going to happen to me? To the life I’ve created for myself?

When we land, there’s a car waiting for Scott and me, and we head straight to the EnergiFusion offices where I’m told I’ll be meeting Jim and his core team.

Traffic is busier than I would have expected for almost two o’clock on a Tuesday morning. I stare out the window from the center of the backseat, which somehow feels more secure. The City looks the same, but also somehow entirely different, foreign to me, as if somehow, I never knew it at all.

Scott gets out first, and when he gives me the signal, I follow him quickly the short distance into the building through the glass doors. The office is a skeleton of itself after hours, lights dimmed and without the white noise that drowns out the busy highway and airport. It feels haunted.

Jim and Gage are waiting for us in the lobby. Jim’s jaw is set tight, his eyes shadowed. “Glad you made it,” he says. “We’ve got a lot to cover.”

“Start talking,” I snap, not bothering with pleasantries as we stride toward the elevator. I’m too pissed. This situation needs to change immediately. I already hate it. I won’t live with this level of fear. I can’t believe someone thinks they can kill me.

Gage presses the button for the top floor. “The breach at EnergiFusion was surgical. Whoever did this knew what they were looking for. They collected schematics for the lithium-sodium integration project, your email archives, and Justin’s classified folder. They were in and out in less than five minutes. And we only caught them because we were in your system doing a routine check.”

Justin’s folder. I grind my teeth, the back of my neck prickling. “What about the dark-net chatter?”

Jim pulls out his phone and scrolls before holding it out for me. “The post was live for twenty minutes before our team flagged it and pulled it down. But not before people started bidding.”

I examine the screen.

Forum: Black Widow Network

Thread: High-Value Target - $10M

Author: Shadow_Operative

Job ID: #7489-T13

Target:

Rhys Smalls, male, early 30s, CEO of EnergiFusion

Location:

Primarily San Francisco, CA, but travels frequently for business

Details:

The target is high-profile but maintains a relatively private personal life. Limited security detail. Precision and discretion are paramount. Payment upon confirmation of completion.

Requirements:

Must appear accidental or natural

Minimal collateral damage

No direct connection to the client

Payment:

$10 million USD in Bitcoin

50% deposit held in escrow, balance released upon verification of job completion

Contact Protocol:

Respond with encrypted credentials and proof of past work. Serious inquiries only.

“This isn’t an amateur,” Jim notes after giving me a moment to read. “Whoever posted this knew exactly what they were doing. It’s buried deep, and without someone flagging it for us, it could’ve been weeks before we stumbled on it—if ever.”

“Ten million?” I breathe, a bitter laugh slipping out. “Who the hell has that kind of money to waste on me, and why?”

Jim doesn’t laugh. “The same people who would pay double to watch EnergiFusion collapse.”

My blood runs cold all over again. “So, you pulled down this contract, but won’t they just try again? Or try another way?”

“We’ll be watching more closely now,” Jim assures me. “And that’s why I wanted you closer to our core resources. We’ll do everything we can to keep you safe.”

I nod as my heart leaves my body and returns to Jade in the mountains. But this only confirms that I made the right call.

The elevator dings as we arrive at our floor. I follow them out into the corridor leading to the secure conference room and try to focus on something other than my personal fears. I have EnergiFusion to worry about as well. “And you feel like it was Justin who accessed the plans and documents at EnergiFusion?”

Jim nods, and his expression darkens. “It was definitely his credentials. We also have some new information since I spoke to you earlier. The message sent to Crystal’s email wasn’t just a note. It had something embedded.”

I stop cold. “Embedded?”

He hesitates. “I know this is a lot,” he tells me. “I’m sorry. The embedded file was surveillance footage, dated two days ago. It shows Justin walking into an old industrial site near the Bayview district.”

My stomach drops. “Is this another fake or are you telling me you have footage of him in San Francisco?”

“We don’t know if it’s real,” Jim says. “Could be doctored. But if so, it’s much better than the photo. We’re running it through analysis, but whoever sent it knew it would get our attention. And it worked.”

“Damn right it worked,” I mutter, following him into the room. On the screen in front of us, the grainy footage plays.

Justin, or someone who looks just like him, walks with purpose through the shadowy remains of an old factory. His face is partially obscured by a hood, but the gait, the height, even the way he moves, it’s unmistakable. My heart pounds harder with every step he takes.

“Where is this site?” I demand.

Jim pulls up a map. “We just got this as your plane was landing. It’s an old fish processing plant, shut down years ago. It’s a dead zone—no cameras, no foot traffic, nothing, until this. All we know right now is that its owner is hidden behind multiple LLCs.”

“Have you sent someone over?” I ask, adrenaline spiking. “What did they see?”

Jim gives me a pointed look. “We’ve sent a team to monitor the area, but there isn’t much to report. All we know right now is that the building is black. There’s no light whatsoever inside, and no heat signatures from any bodies. They haven’t gone inside yet. They’re waiting for my order.”

My mind spins, and I hardly know where to focus my attention. “We need to know if Justin is here. What would have changed to bring him back?”

Jim shakes his head. “We’ve been watching for his aliases to cross into the States. We’ve seen nothing. It may not be him. If this is a trap, we need to be careful not to walk right into it.”

With that, something in me snaps. I’m tired of being toyed with. No one can live like this. What have we done to deserve these attacks? “Let them set the trap,” I say, my blood boiling. “If someone’s out there playing games with us, I want them to regret it. Let’s find out what’s in that building.”

Jim makes a call, and then we return downstairs where a small team from Clear Security has gathered. They’re dressed in black combat wear, and they have Maglites and radios at their hips, and AK-47s strapped over their bodies.

“Here.” Bash hands me a Kevlar vest. “Put this on.”

Wearing the vest makes me feel simultaneously safer and more like I’m at risk. This cannot continue. Whatever we have to do, I’m ready to do it. We walk out to a parade of Escalades, and once we’ve piled in, they drive into the City. We continue until we’ve reached an area I’ve never seen. It’s industrial, tucked beyond the stadium.

We finally stop in front of a dilapidated building on the water. The site is exactly as described—silent, empty, and oppressive in the way only abandoned places can be.

A man comes out of the shadows and greets Jim. “We still have no heat signatures for anyone inside, and there’s been no movement since we got here.”

Jim nods. He’s put on tactical gear on the ride over. “Great. Let’s see what we’ve got.”

We watch as one of Jim’s men pries open a door, and the team files in to begin their search. Jim looks over, and I know he wants to tell me to remain behind, but there’s no way that’s going to happen.

“Stay close to me,” he says instead.

I nod and follow him in. The air stinks of old fish and mildew, and the flashlights slice through the dark to reveal jagged machinery in various stages of decay. The cold seeps into my jacket, but my focus stays sharp. Justin’s alive—he has to be. But if he’s hiding, why leave a trail?

After a few minutes, we’ve scoured the whole ground level, but there isn’t anything here. My heart sinks.

Then one of the men steps up and whispers in Jim’s ear. He nods. “They found something upstairs,” Jim tells me. “Let’s check it out.”

Jim follows close behind one of his men, his handgun drawn. “This place hasn’t been touched in years,” he mutters, his voice echoing against the concrete walls. “If Justin was here, he’s long gone.”

“He was here,” I say with more confidence than I feel, the surveillance footage replaying in my mind. “We just need to figure out why.”

The team fans out, their boots crunching over debris. Every creak of metal, every drip of water echoes like a gunshot. More than once I freeze in place, and only the utter disgustingness of my surroundings stops me from flinging myself to the ground when someone shoves open a metal door, creating a resounding boom. My pulse thrums in my ears as I sweep the flashlight across the space, and my gut twists with the kind of unease I’ve learned to trust over the years. Something isn’t right. But right now, I’m not right, so I’m not sure where that leaves me.

“Over here,” one of the guys calls from deeper in the building. I follow the sound, stepping into a smaller, enclosed space that looks like it used to be an office. A desk sits rotting in the center of the room, its surface scattered with papers that look much cleaner than everything else around here.

I move closer, my flashlight tracing over the mess. Photographs. Of me. Of EnergiFusion. Of the schematics that were stolen.

“What the hell?” Jim mutters, stepping up beside me.

I pick up one of the photos. It’s a grainy shot of me at the board meeting that moved me into the CEO role. I can tell because of my haircut and clothes. Another shows the front of EnergiFusion’s headquarters, taken from across the street. Whoever left these wanted to make it clear—they’ve been watching. I fan through the pictures. There aren’t any of me and Jade together, so at least that’s a small gift.

“Rhys,” Jim says sharply, nodding toward the desk.

There’s a slip of paper wedged under a rusted stapler. I grab it, my heart pounding as I unfold it. The handwriting is unmistakable. Justin’s. Four words stare back at me, jagged and rushed.

Stop. It’s not safe.

Is he warning me? Manipulating me? Or is someone else pulling the strings, using him as bait?

If this is real, Justin’s in San Francisco. And if it’s fake, someone knows exactly how to hit where it hurts.

My breath catches. Someone wants me dead. I have to assume everyone’s playing for keeps. “He was here,” I say, my voice low and tight. “Justin left this.”

Jim glances at the note, then scans the room. “If he left this, he didn’t stick around. Place is clean. We don’t see anyone, and no fingerprints.”

I glance down again, something about the handwriting nagging at me. It’s Justin’s, but it’s different. Rushed, unsteady. Like he was in a hurry or scared. I shove the note into my pocket and keep searching.

“Boss,” another voice calls. “You’re gonna want to see this.”

Jim and I exchange a glance before moving toward the voice. One of the operatives stands by a locked metal cabinet, the kind you’d find in a warehouse or maintenance room. The lock has been cut, and the door hangs slightly ajar. I step forward and pull it open.

Inside are blueprints—old ones, from the looks of them. I rifle through them until I find something that stops me cold. It’s EnergiFusion’s headquarters, every floor mapped out with annotations in red ink. Dates. Times. Entry points. Whoever’s behind this has been planning something for a long time.

“Rhys,” Jim says, his voice low. “This isn’t just a message. It’s a setup.”

“What are you talking about?” I snap, still staring at the blueprints.

He points to the floor beyond the cabinet. There’s a faint outline of a boot print in the dust. A second one, too. And they’re fresh.

“We’re not alone,” Jim says, drawing his weapon.

A loud clang echoes from somewhere deeper in the plant. My heart kicks into overdrive as I spin toward the sound, my flashlight cutting through the dark. Jim signals to the team, and everyone moves silently, weapons raised, flashlights driving away the shadows.

The noise grows louder—footsteps, quick and deliberate, retreating farther into the building.

“Hold!” Jim says sharply, gesturing for the team to stop. “They’re leading us.”

“Let them,” I growl, gripping the blueprint tighter.

“No. Think,” Jim snaps. “We’re exposed. They’re baiting you, Rhys. We need to leave. Now.”

I hesitate, every instinct screaming at me to press on. To find Justin. To end this.

But Jim’s right. This isn’t a rescue mission. It’s a warning. Or a trap. And I can’t risk playing into their hands. “Okay,” I say finally. “But we should take everything with us. I want that blueprint analyzed yesterday.”

Jim nods, signaling the team to retreat. As we make our way back to the entrance, I can’t shake the feeling of eyes on me, watching from the shadows. Whoever was here wanted us to find this. But what are they trying to say?

The note burns in my pocket, the weight of Justin’s handwriting heavier than anything else I’ve carried. Stop. It’s not safe.

He’s alive. I can feel it. But he’s running from something bigger than I thought. And now, so am I.

I barely got any sleep last night after they dropped me at my hotel. I don’t know how to come down from this much adrenaline, and I feel Jade’s absence intensely. She’s been such a soothing presence, a steadying force, and now, that’s gone. And I don’t dare reach out. I can’t. I just need to make peace with the decision I made and its consequences. But there’s no peace to be found anywhere right now.

I rise early and return to Clear Security’s headquarters. Already the office is in full swing, buzzing like a beehive as I stride into the conference room. The team that was with us last night has already gathered, their faces drawn and tired from a night of running diagnostics and digging through the data we pulled from the abandoned factory site.

“What do we have?” I ask.

Gage pushes his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. “The blueprint you found at the site is a near-perfect replica of your headquarters, annotated with dates and times matching major project milestones when you’d be most vulnerable. Whoever drew this knows your operations inside and out.”

I clench my fists under the table. “Any leads on who might have created it?”

“We ran handwriting analysis,” he says. “It’s not Justin’s. The style doesn’t match anything we have on file for him.”

“Then who?” I demand, my voice sharp.

“We’re working on it,” Gage says. “But so far, nothing concrete.”

I glare at the blueprint, the photos, the note in Justin’s handwriting still burning a hole in my pocket. “What about the footage of Justin? Any confirmation of its authenticity?”

Gage shakes his head. “Still inconclusive. If it’s doctored, it’s damn convincing. But there’s still a chance someone planted that footage to throw us off.”

I nod. I want to get off this merry-go-round. “What better way to make us second-guess everything than to dangle Justin in front of us?”

I want to believe this will all be clear in time, but I don’t know how long I can live this way, jumping at every shadow, worried day and night, not able to live my life. Even as we focus on the threat to the business, I can’t forget that whoever’s behind this isn’t just coming for EnergiFusion. They’re coming for me.