“We’re heading out,” he said.
Whatever meeting Sage had planned suddenly didn’t matter anymore.
A few minutes later, Sage had his laptop open on his knees, the glow of the screen reflecting faintly in his forest-green eyes as lines of data scrolled past.
Law drove in silence beside him, steady hands on the wheel, whiskey-colored gaze fixed on the road.
Sage’s fingers moved quickly across the keys, cross-checking names against the archived files he’d pulled earlier.
Micah leaned slightly forward from the seat behind him, long dark hair falling over one shoulder as he studied the display.
“You figure out what triggered the network coming back online?” he asked.
Sage’s fingers paused briefly over the keys.
Boston leaned between the seats, restless energy pulling him forward.
“Either someone’s mobilizing them,” Boston said, “or someone wants them dead.”
Sage’s gaze lifted briefly to meet Law’s in the rearview mirror.
“If it’s active,” Sage said quietly, “it’s not random.”
Law didn’t look away from the road, but the slight tightening in his jaw told Sage he’d heard him.
“Then we end it.”
Sage’s mouth twitched faintly.
“Yeah,” he said. “We end it.”
By midmorning, the Nevada sun had burned the cool out of the air. Roughly thirty minutes from the ranch, the truck rolled into a quiet residential complex on the edge of town. Sheriff’s cruisers already lined the curb, red and blue lights flashing against pale stucco walls and trimmed hedges.
The drive had fallen into silence somewhere along the way.
Sage closed his laptop and stepped out with the others, the warm Nevada air carrying the dry scent of dust, sun-heated asphalt, and something darker beneath it.
Yellow tape stretched across the walkway leading to one of the townhomes.
Law stepped forward and flipped open a black credential wallet.
Officer Hayes took the ID the man handed him.
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
GENESIS TASK AUTHORITY
Lawson Steel
Special Operations Clearance
His eyes hit the line Federal Jurisdiction Authorization, and that was enough.
Hayes handed the credential back to the tall, broad-shouldered man and lifted the tape.
Law ducked under first.
Sage followed, senses already mapping the scene—the neighbors watching from shaded windows, the shape beneath the tarp near the entry.
