27. Blake
TWENTY-SEVEN
Blake
The shrill ring of Ethan’s phone cuts through the tense silence of the ready room. His brow furrows as he checks the caller ID.
“It’s Rebel.” Ethan’s voice is tight with anticipation as he puts the call on speaker.
“Ethan, you need to get to The Guardian Grind. Now.” Rebel’s voice crackles through the speaker, urgent and breathless. “We found something.”
Ethan’s eyes lock with mine.
“We’re on our way.” Ethan’s already moving toward the door, and I’m right on his heels.
The short walk to The Guardian Grind feels like an eternity. The crisp autumn air bites at my skin, carrying the scent of fallen leaves and wood smoke. My mind races with possibilities, each step bringing us closer to… What? Answers? More questions? My stomach churns with anticipation.
The bell above the door chimes as we enter, and the familiar aroma of coffee and freshly baked pastries washes over us. For a moment, I’m transported back to happier times—Sophia behind the counter, her smile bright as she greets me. The memory fades as quickly as it came, leaving a hollow ache in its wake.
Rebel stands by the counter, her posture tense. Jenna and Malia hover nearby, their faces etched with concern—and barely concealed excitement?
“What did you find?” The words tumble out of me before I can stop them.
Rebel exchanges a glance with Jenna before leading us to the back room. The air grows thick with tension as we follow, my pulse quickening with each step.
“We were doing inventory,” Jenna begins, her voice hushed as if sharing a secret. “And we found these.”
She gestures to a small pile of objects on the table. My breath catches as I recognize them.
“Those are Guardian HQ issue.” I pick up one of the small listening devices, turning it over in my hand. “How the hell did they get here?”
“Sophia.” Malia’s voice is soft, almost apologetic. “We found them hidden all over the café.”
The betrayal hits me anew, a fresh wave of pain washing over me. I set the device down, my hand shaking slightly.
“That’s not all.” Rebel pulls out several bags of coffee beans, setting them on the table with a dull thud. “Look inside.”
I tear open one of the bags, and the rich aroma of coffee fills the air. Nestled among the beans are small slips of paper, covered in a familiar, messy scrawl.
“It’s Sophia’s handwriting,” I breathe, my fingers tracing the letters. The words are a jumble of numbers and letters, meaningless to my eyes.
“There’s more.” Jenna’s already opening another bag, her movements quick and eager. “They’re in all of them.”
Soon, the table is covered in coffee beans and scraps of paper. The air buzzes with nervous energy as we sift through the messages, desperately trying to make sense of the cryptic notes.
“This has to mean something.” Malia’s voice is filled with hope. “She wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble for nothing. ”
The door swings open, and Carter strides in, his face a mirror of my own concern. “I came as soon as I heard.” He places a supportive hand on my shoulder.
“Perfect timing,” Ethan says. “We need all hands on deck for this.”
As we work to sort through the messages, the door opens again. Jinx enters, her laptop tucked under her arm, a determined set to her jaw.
“Ethan called me. Said you’ve got a code to break?” She sets up her equipment. “What do you have?”
With Jinx’s arrival, the energy in the room shifts. There’s a renewed sense of purpose as we gather around her makeshift workstation. Her fingers fly over the keyboard, lines of code scrolling across the screen faster than I can follow.
“It’s not a straightforward cipher,” Jinx mutters, her brow furrowed in concentration. “But there’s definitely a pattern here.”
As Jinx works her magic, the rest of us continue to sift through the physical evidence. Carter and I tackle another bag of beans while Rebel and Malia examine the listening devices more closely.
My phone buzzes with a message from Mitzy.
Mitzy: Sophia visited the robotics department. A bumblebee drone is missing. It is not active. I hope she took it. It could help us find her.
I relay the information to the others, a spark of hope igniting in my chest. “She’s leaving breadcrumbs. She wants us to find her.”
“Or lead us into a trap,” Ethan counters, but there’s less conviction in his voice now.
“No.” Jenna shakes her head vehemently. “This is too elaborate for a simple trap. Sophia’s trying to tell us something. ”
“Jenna’s right,” Malia chimes in. “Remember how Sophia always said the truth is in the details? She’s giving us all the pieces. We need to put them together.”
As the debate continues, Jinx lets out a triumphant “Ha!” Her exclamation draws all eyes to her screen.
“I’ve cracked the first layer,” she announces, a hint of pride in her voice. “It’s a list of locations and timestamps.” Jinx interrupts my spiraling thoughts. “There’s something else embedded in the code. A message, I think.”
The room falls silent as Jinx works to decrypt the hidden text.
“Got it,” Jinx says after what feels like an eternity. “It says: ‘ Not what it seems. Find the bee.’ ”
“She took the drone.” A smile fills my face. “She wants us to find her. She’s telling us she didn’t have a choice. And gave us a way to track her.”
“If we can activate the drone,” Rebel adds.
“I’ll contact Mitzy,” Ethan pulls out his phone. “Her team should be able to activate it remotely.”
As Ethan steps aside to make the call, I find myself drawn to Sophia’s locker in the corner of the room. Something tugs at my memory—a conversation we had months ago about hiding places in plain sight.
Acting on instinct, I run my fingers along the edge of the locker, searching for… There. A slight gap between the metal and the wall. I slip my fingers into the crevice, feeling the edge of something thin and flat.
I carefully extract a folded piece of paper. Sophia’s handwriting scrawls my name across the front.
My hands tremble as I unfold the note. The others have fallen silent, watching me.
“ Blake, ” I read aloud, my voice barely above a whisper. “ If you’re reading this, then everything has gone wrong. I’m so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you, to betray everything we stand for. But I had no choice. They’re forcing me to do this. I can’t tell you everything—it’s too dangerous. But please, trust that everything I’ve done, I’ve done to protect what matters most. I’m leaving you clues where I can. Follow them. Find me. I love you. Sophia. ”
The letter slips from my fingers, landing on the table. The room is silent, the weight of Sophia’s words settling over us all.
“So what’s our next move?” Rebel asks, looking around the room.
All eyes turn to me, waiting for a decision. I take a deep breath. “We follow the clues. We find Sophia. And then we bring her home.”
The room erupts in a flurry of activity. Jinx returns to her computer, diving deeper into the decrypted data. Rebel and Malia gather all the physical evidence while Jenna closes the café.
Carter pulls me aside, his hand on my shoulder. “You okay, brother?”
I nod, not trusting my voice. The emotional whiplash of the past hour has left me drained, but there’s a new fire burning in my chest.
“We’ll find her,” Carter assures me, his voice low and determined. “Whatever it takes.”
“Whatever it takes,” I echo, the words feeling like a vow.
As we head back to HQ, I look around The Guardian Grind. This place, a symbol of new beginnings, feels like the starting line of the most important mission of my life.
Sophia’s out there, counting on us to decipher her clues and rescue her. And I’ll be damned if I let her down.