Page 86 of Twist of Fate

“Those facts aren’t mutually exclusive.”

He found an outlet and connected the charger. When he returned to his seat, the laptop powered on normally.

His phone reconnected to the human network a moment later. Notifications filled the screen, most of them from applications Luke didn’t care about. He dismissed them until only his secure messages remained.

Nothing new from Hale.

Luke had vanished after being sent to a compromised location, and his employer had not attempted to contact him once.

That didn’t prove Hale had known about the trap. It did give Luke one more reason to be cautious.

“I have to use the established channel,” Luke said. “If the report comes from an unfamiliar account or device, Hale will know immediately that something is wrong.”

“Can the message be traced here?” Connal asked.

“The device can,” Luke said. “The location is harder.”

Tyson connected a small black unit to the office network. “Any attempt to identify the source should lead through several other locations before reaching this building.”

“Should?” Connal repeated.

“No human protection is absolute.”

Connal did not appear pleased by that reality.

“It doesn’t need to hold forever,” Luke said. “We only need enough time to receive Hale’s response and leave.”

“How much time?”

“That depends on whether he’s waiting to hear from me.”

Luke connected his phone to the protected network and opened the secure channel he used for assignments. The blank message field appeared beneath Hale’s name.

He had written hundreds of reports for his employer. Completed exchange. Delayed in transit. Contact failed to appear. Package secured. Each one had reduced an entire mission to the minimum information Hale required.

This report needed to accomplish something different.

Luke had to sound like the operative Hale expected while revealing as little as possible about what had happened inside the warehouse. No mention of magic. No mention of Connal or his brothers. Nothing that confirmed Luke understood why the location had been prepared.

He typed the message.

Secondary site compromised. Forced off-grid until now. Package remains secure. Awaiting further instruction.

Luke read it twice.

“What did you tell him?” Connal asked.

“That the warehouse was compromised and I still have the drive.”

“You did not ask whether he sent you into the trap.”

“If he was responsible, asking would tell him I know too much. If he wasn’t, accusing him could make him stop cooperating before we learn anything useful.”

Connal nodded once. “Then send it.”

Luke looked at the message one final time before pressing the screen.

The status changed.