Page 154 of What We Become

Sage sits beside me with the Waldock and Ayre files stacked beneath one palm. Knox is on her other side, half hanging off the couch, but positioned close enough that his thigh touches hers. Eli has a notebook open beside Milo, and Micah sits next to him.

Across from us, Thor studies the image with his massive arms folded over his chest. Loki leans back in his seat, turning a silver pen through his fingers while Odin waits for someone to give him an answer worth using.

I continue walking the Norse gods through what we know—the cash purchase, the unidentified buyer, the near-five hours he spent inside a two-street radius without appearing on any camera near our house, and the network probe carrying the same Kennel-linked routing signature as the earlier knock. Milo supplies the technical details and one unnecessary comparison involving someone tapping Frank’s tank, which earns him the first hint of a smile Sage has managed since we sat down.

Loki taps his pen against the table. “The flowers already told us what they were meant to. Someone can enter your home whenever they choose, and they wanted all of you to know it. What they haven’t told us is who wanted that message delivered.”

“Stephen,” Eli says.

“Possibly. Or someone he hired. Or someone else within the Kennel’s architecture reminding us that Stephen isn’t the only one watching.” Loki points his pen toward the florist’s image. “Until we know which, that man is the only visible link between the message and whoever ordered it.”

I study the still again. “Then we pick him up and make him tell us.”

“Too soon.”

“He was inside my house.”

“And if he’s a contractor, he may not know who hired him.” Loki lowers the pen. “Take him now and you learn whatever little he currently knows. Leave him on the board and he may lead us to the person who paid him, the account they used, or the next job they want him to perform.”

Knox shifts beside Sage, the couch giving a low complaint beneath his weight. “No. We followed that advice last time. Leave him and he gets another chance at Fury.”

“This isn’t another Tyler situation. He won’t get near her or the house again,” Odin says. “That’s what the additional surveillance is for.”

Thor leans forward. “We identify him, establish his routine, and determine whether he’s a courier, a hired professional, or part of the Kennel itself. Once we understand his role, we’ll know whether to follow him, turn him or take him.”

“And which questions he’s capable of answering,” I add.

“Exactly.” Odin turns toward Milo. “Fenrir continues the identification work. Holden, use your departmental access where it won’t create a visible inquiry. We want him to stay useful.”

I don’t like leaving a man who entered my home free to breathe, but dragging him into a back room now could buy us nothing except one frightened operative and a warning sent straight to whoever stands above him. Or even worse, a kidnapping charge from an innocent civilian.

So we watch him until he gives us someone better to hurt. I’d honestly rather kill the guy.

“Speaking of being useful,” Odin says. “Which targets did you select for your next operation?” Finished with the security-breach discussion, he gestures to the two folders in front of Sage.

“Waldock and Ayre.” She slides them across the table and presents Waldock first. Swim coach. Seven girls whose accounts we can substantiate, although the gaps in his employment suggest more. He lives alone, has a predictable routine, and the kind of confidence men acquire when every adult around them has spent years protecting the institution instead of the children inside it.

Then she presents Raymond Ayre. Former youth pastor. Multiple accusations across several congregations, each followed by a quiet resignation and a move. He didn’t escape the pattern. The pattern carried him somewhere new and handed him another room full of children.

She speaks clearly, without looking to Eli or me for confirmation. The first time Sage sat in this room, she had to fight for the right to hear what happened behind the door. Now she’s choosing targets and laying out evidence while Odin listens.

“The teams?” Thor asks when she finishes.

“Knox, Eli, and me on Waldock,” Sage says. “Holden, Milo, and Micah take Ayre.”

“Both operations at the same time?”

“Ayre’s window opens earlier,” I say. “Our team should be clear before Waldock is secured. We keep scheduled communication points between teams and use the same emergency channel.”

Thor’s attention shifts to me. “You’re protecting the house, but that isn’t the only vulnerability. If whoever is watching follows you tomorrow night, both operations could be compromised before they begin.”

“You’re right,” I say. “And we can’t sweep for a tail we’ve never once managed to see.”

“Or wait until you divide into two teams and strike whichever one appears weaker,” Thor adds.

Knox leans forward. “Then we make it look like we’re doing something else.”

Loki’s pen begins turning between his fingers again. “You make it look like you’re spending the night here.”