Chapter 6 Pursuit #2
On the counter rested the note Eli had left before departing.
Stay inside the perimeter. Call if anything changes.
Finn read it twice.
Then looked back at his phone.
“If you’re really alive...”
He quietly folded the note and slipped it into his pocket.
“I can’t ignore you.”
Five minutes later he was walking through the forest carrying only a flashlight, his phone, and a small backpack.
He deliberately avoided taking the truck.
The ranger station wasn’t far.
He would be back before Eli returned.
At least, that was the plan.
The forest felt different without Eli.
Every snapping twig seemed louder.
Every gust of wind sounded suspicious.
He found himself remembering all the tiny details Eli constantly noticed.
Footprints.
Broken branches.
Changes in birdsong.
Finn smiled to himself.
“I’m starting to sound like him.”
The narrow trail climbed steadily uphill.
Twenty minutes became thirty.
The ranger station still hadn’t appeared.
He checked the map on his phone.
No signal.
Of course.
The mountains swallowed cell reception almost completely.
He continued walking.
Something suddenly felt...
Wrong.
The forest had become unusually quiet.
No birds.
No insects.
Only the wind.
Finn stopped.
He slowly turned around.
Nothing.
Just trees.
He took another step.
A branch snapped behind him.
Before he could react, a voice echoed through the trees.
“Don’t move.”
Three men stepped out from between the pines.
Dark tactical clothing.
Assault rifles.
Faces hidden behind black masks.
Professionals.
Finn’s stomach dropped.
“You’ve got the wrong person.”
One of the men laughed.
“We don’t think so.”
Another stepped forward.
“Mr. Harlow.”
“Hand over the flash drive.”
Finn’s expression remained calm despite the panic rising inside him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The man raised his rifle slightly.
“We’ll ask one more time.”
Finn slowly backed away.
“There isn’t a flash drive.”
The third man circled toward his left.
“No.”
“But there is a journalist.”
“And journalists eventually become honest.”
Finn realized there was no escaping.
Three trained gunmen.
Open ground.
No cover.
No signal.
No Eli.
The thought had barely crossed his mind when another voice shattered the silence.
“Down.”
Finn recognized it instantly.
Eli.
He dropped without hesitation.
A flash grenade exploded between the attackers, filling the forest with blinding white light and deafening noise.
Chaos erupted.
One gunman shouted.
Another fired wildly into the trees.
Before Finn could recover, Eli appeared from the forest like he had materialized from the shadows themselves.
Precise.
Controlled.
Every movement economical.
He disarmed the nearest attacker with astonishing speed, driving him into the ground before turning toward the second.
Another Aegis operative emerged from behind a fallen log.
Then another.
The forest suddenly belonged to Aegis.
Not the ambushers.
The firefight lasted less than a minute.
When the smoke cleared, two attackers were restrained while the third disappeared deeper into the mountains.
Eli immediately crossed the clearing.
“Finn.”
“I’m here.”
“You hurt?”
“I...”
Finn looked down.
A deep cut crossed his left forearm where a bullet had grazed him while he dropped to the ground.
“I’ve had better afternoons.”
Eli’s expression hardened.
The relief in his eyes lasted only a fraction of a second before professionalism returned.
“We’re leaving.”
“I can walk.”
“You’ll walk later.”
Before Finn could protest, Eli slipped one arm around his back and guided him toward the waiting Aegis vehicle hidden among the trees.
Halfway there, Finn’s legs suddenly weakened.
Adrenaline disappeared almost instantly.
The world tilted.
Without hesitation, Eli caught him.
“You stubborn...”
Finn muttered weakly.
“...I told you I could walk.”
“You lied.”
“I was optimistic.”
“You were bleeding.”
Eli lifted him with surprising ease.
Finn blinked.
“You know...”
“What?”
“This is going to be embarrassing later.”
“I’ll survive.”
“I might not.”
“You will.”
The certainty in Eli’s voice left no room for argument.
He carried Finn through the forest as though the extra weight meant nothing.
Only when they reached the vehicle did Finn notice something unusual.
Eli’s normally steady breathing had become uneven.
His hands tightened slightly as he carefully lowered Finn onto the back seat.
The other Aegis operatives quietly secured the area, giving them privacy.
Finn looked up.
“You found me pretty quickly.”
Eli didn’t answer immediately.
He opened the first-aid kit and began cleaning the wound with practiced hands.
“I tracked your phone.”
“You ignored my note.”
“I know.”
Finn winced as antiseptic touched the cut.
“You’re angry.”
“Yes.”
“You can yell.”
“I don’t yell.”
“I’ve noticed.”
Silence settled between them again.
Eli finished wrapping the bandage before finally looking into Finn’s eyes.
For the first time since they’d met, the calm mask slipped.
Only slightly.
Just enough.
“I was terrified.”
Finn stared at him.
Eli drew a slow breath.
“I thought I was too late.”
The words were spoken so quietly they were almost lost beneath the wind moving through the trees.
Finn had never heard fear in Eli’s voice before.
Not even once.
There were no dramatic declarations.
No speeches.
Just one simple confession from a man who rarely admitted anything about himself.
Finn reached out instinctively.
His uninjured hand rested gently against Eli’s forearm.
“I’m here.”
Eli closed his eyes for the briefest moment.
Then he nodded once.
“So you are.”
Neither of them mentioned the way Eli’s hand remained wrapped around Finn’s wrist for several seconds longer than necessary.
Neither admitted that something between them had quietly changed.
But as the Aegis vehicle turned back toward the safehouse, both men understood one thing with absolute certainty.
This was no longer just a mission to protect a witness.
Somewhere along the way, protecting Finn had become deeply personal.