Chapter 6
Brooke
“I am sorry for how everything went down in Mnemis.” I sat between Brie and Will, showing them more detailed information about the presumptive test kits.
“Why do you have a section for hydrocarbons?” asked Will.
I’d expected hostility from their team after everything that had happened. Three of their team had left—the woman in the sling, Rav, and then Scarlett—but the rest of them continued working with us. Maybe they were still processing the shitshow my team had unwittingly been part of.
We had that in common with them, from the sounds of it.
None of us had seen Lark for the traitor he was.
“It’s for the—”
The door swung open, and Scarlett strode in, cutting me off. “We have a situation.”
Rav followed her, looking different than he had when he’d left the meeting. More like he had at Mnemis after he’d grabbed a protective vest and M4 to rescue Brie.
Like he had that day on the road, when a truck got too close to our convoy. Focused. Intense. Ready to act.
My heart stuttered.
He’d held my knee, told me everything would be okay.
“Noah called,” Scarlett said, moving to stand behind the chair she’d used earlier.
“Called?” Brie’s voice rose slightly. “Not texted?”
“That”—Scarlett pointed at Brie—“was my first red flag. The second was the level of panic in his voice.”
She placed her phone on the table and tapped the screen a few times, activating a recording.
A man’s voice filled the room, tense and hurried.
I watched the Reynolds team as they listened—the slight narrowing of Evelyn’s eyes, Malcolm’s hand drifting protectively toward Scarlett, the way Brie and Will exchanged worried glances.
“They’re accelerating everything. They’re not ready. It’s reckless. People are going to die if they rush this.”
When the recording reached the part about the Carabinieri, Percival straightened in his seat.
I kept my eyes on the phone, but my mind was racing.
Had Pendragon leadership deployed assets without telling us?
It wouldn’t be the first time information was compartmentalized, but why send us here if they already knew where to find the Greek Fire?
The recording continued with Rav asking what they were accelerating, Noah’s response about a demonstration being moved up, and finally the abrupt disconnection.
“Noah never calls, and he never panics,” Scarlett said as the recording ended. “And he certainly never warns us about potential danger.”
“That’s not entirely true,” Malcolm said, leaning forward. “He warned Emmett and Jenn before everything went sideways in Monaco. Told them we should have left. If they had, Jenn wouldn’t have been taken.”
I had questions, but this wasn’t the time to ask.
Rav folded his arms and leaned against the door, his dark eyes tracing from Percival to me and back. “The Carabinieri. That was you?”
I checked with Percival, who shook his head. “We didn’t contact anyone about this.”
“But someone from Pendragon did,” Rav countered.
His accusation stung, mostly because I couldn’t deny it. Keeping any of us in the dark was dangerous. Foolish.
“I don’t have that information,” I said. “If someone higher up sent local authorities, they didn’t inform us.”
Percival cleared his throat. “I’ll contact headquarters. Our team’s been solely responsible for the Greek Fire investigation for years, but maybe after the incident in Mnemis, they’re spinning up parallel operations.”
“Do that.” Evelyn tapped a fingernail on the table. “But in the meantime, what do you think, Scarlett?”
“Whether the warning is genuine or not, his contacting me confirms what we already suspected—Fenix is planning something significant in Naples.”
Oh shit. “You said they believe they’re going to heal the world? They’re going to use the Greek Fire, aren’t they?”
Scarlett frowned. “They’ve been collecting artifacts to build something symbolic—we believe it’s a literal phoenix statue. But we don’t know how the Greek Fire comes into play.”
“It won’t work,” I said. “The formula in Haddad’s files was incomplete. Full of garbage science that would take years to untangle, and definitely wouldn’t tell them how to create it.”
“Unless they already had most of the research?” Scarlett gestured toward my laptop. “Or someone sent them your research when Lark couldn’t deliver everything?”
Double fuck.
“That’s why you’re here.” The muscles in Rav’s jaw flexed, as did his folded arms. “You suspected someone had the full formula.”
Not a question. Just a statement. I held his gaze, letting my heart slowly rip in two all over again.
The disappointment—the anger—in his eyes was almost too much.
I’d begged them. Warned them. ‘Delete it,’ I’d said when management first told me their ridiculous plan.
But no one listened to the Canadian girl, did they?
“Brooke?” Percival said my name slowly, as though processing the realization.
“Feared,” I said. “That’s the better word.”
Scarlett pursed her lips and turned to Evelyn. “We need to go to Naples.”
“But you hate—” started Brie.
“I know.” Scarlett patted the air as though to calm her team. “We don’t do rush jobs.”
“This one’s different,” said Rav. “Noah’s our problem.”
I should have protested. Aside from Rav, this was a civilian team. My Pendragon team were trained operators and belonged on the front lines—other than me.
God, he and I were both the anomalies on our teams.
But they had valuable expertise with Fenix and an inside man feeding them intel. They were a valuable resource.
“Pendragon is sending a full tactical team,” Percival said, frowning at me when I finally looked at him. “We’ll establish communication avenues when we’re on site in Naples.”
“Management won’t like this,” I said.
Percival snapped his laptop shut. “Then they should have looped me in.”
Evelyn nodded. “I’ll make the necessary arrangements with your superiors. And make sure they aren’t going behind our backs.”
Little late for that.
“I’m normally a planner,” Scarlett said with a grimace, “but Fenix is screwing with us again. We need to move quickly.”
My stomach tightened. Working alongside the Reynolds team meant working alongside Rav. Days or weeks in close proximity. Could I handle it?
You’re a professional, Brooke. You’ve worked with difficult personalities before.
But he wasn’t some random, difficult personality. This was Rav. The man who’d turned my world upside down in the best possible way, then ghosted me when I needed him.
“Who’s going?” Brie asked, already typing on her tablet.
“Myself, Malcolm, Rav, Emmett, Drew, Jayce, and Zac,” Scarlett replied. “The rest will provide support from HQ.”
Will cleared his throat. “I was thinking about Brooke’s protective measures against Greek Fire. I think I can modify the thermal incursion suits.”
“Thermal incursion suits?” I asked.
“Custom gear we developed,” Will said, sliding his tablet across the table for me, with a protective suit schematic showing.
“Lightweight, fitted suits with integrated tech for environmental protection and biometric monitoring. They’re not designed specifically for chemical weapons, but they could serve as an excellent base layer for your protective treatments. ”
“These are more advanced than standard hazmat gear.” I skimmed the design specs. They appeared easier to move in. Lower profile, for sure. “Send me the details, and I’ll review. I have some associates at a lab in Naples who might be able to treat them.”
“I can prep them tonight,” Will said. “We have extras in various sizes.”
“We should establish deeper intelligence sharing,” Rav suggested. “Regular secure communications between teams, approaching the problem from different angles. Percival?”
“Agreed,” Percival said. “Between your knowledge of Fenix and ours with the Greek Fire, we’ll work better together. And if they do have the complete formula, we’ll all need to get up to speed as fast as possible.”
“How are you getting to Naples?” Evelyn asked Percival.
Except for Will, everyone was talking to my partner. My trustworthiness had apparently plummeted after Rav called me out.
“We’re scheduled to fly back to DC in the morning and deploy with our team,” he replied.
Scarlett shook her head. “That wastes valuable time. Come with us on our jet. We’ll leave in the morning, and it gives us the chance to establish the communication links.”
Perfect. Not just close proximity, but hours confined in a private jet with Rav. This mission was not starting on the right foot.
“I’ll touch base with some contacts in Naples about accommodations,” Evelyn said. “If Noah’s trying to pull you into a trap, Fenix will be watching the hotels.”
“And airports,” said Rav. “We’ll need a private landing strip.”
“It’s settled,” Evelyn concluded. “You’ll leave at 0800 tomorrow. Tonight, prepare equipment and gather intelligence. Will, get those suits ready. Brie, continue analyzing the data we have on Fenix’s Naples operation.”
The meeting broke up quickly, and everyone dispersed to their assigned tasks.
Percival and I stayed with Will and Brie to discuss the protective treatments, trying not to obsess over the way Rav hovered in the doorway.
I refused to look up long enough to find out whether he was waiting for more details about the suits or for me.
“The coating needs to be completely uniform,” I explained. “Any compromised areas would be vulnerable. No open seams, tears, or anything.”
“I’ll make sure they’re flawless,” Will assured me. “I’ll modify one of Scarlett’s suits for you. You’re about her height, though she’s a bit more…” he gestured vaguely, “in certain areas.”
More?
Brie smacked his shoulder. “Let’s go. I want to update the suits’ firmware while you’re doing the physical updates.”
I nodded as Will and Brie left, followed by Percival and Rav. This was happening. In less than twenty-four hours, I’d be on a private jet to Naples with the Reynolds team—with Rav—instead of with the team I’d spent every day with for the past three years.
I exhaled slowly. When we arrived, we’d go our separate ways. We’d be in communication, but nothing more.
Besides, this was about the mission—about stopping Fenix before they could weaponize Greek Fire and hurt innocent people. My feelings, my history with Rav, none of that mattered.
You’ve faced worse than an ex who could barely look you in the eye.
That’s all he was.
Just an ex.