Chapter Twenty-four Amethyst #3
I lie back down next to Kade. Careful. Slow. My hand finds his. Still warm. Still here. I listen to his breathing. Steady. Even. The ventilator rhythm. Mechanical but reassuring. “I’m going to find him," I whisper.
My thumb traces circles on his palm.
“I’m going to find Enzo.”
My thumb drags across Kade’s knuckles.
“And when I do, he’ll wish he’d finished the job.”
Kade doesn’t respond. Can’t respond.
But I feel it anyway.
The connection.
The understanding.
He’d do the same for me. Has done the same for me. I close my eyes. Just for a moment. Let myself feel the weight. The exhaustion. The pain. Then I compartmentalize. Box it up. Lock it away. I can’t afford to feel right now. Can’t afford to break. Not until this is finished.
Forty-three minutes later, the door opens. Not The Raven. A man. Early thirties. Tactical gear. Professional. He’s carrying a laptop case and two large boxes.
“Where do you want these?" he asks. I sit up. Point to the small table near the window. “There."
He sets everything down. Careful. Organized.
“The Raven said you need anything else, call this number."
He hands me a card. Direct line. I take it.
“Thank you."
He nods. Leaves. The door closes. I’m already moving. Slow. Careful. My ribs protest every step. But I make it to the table.
I open the laptop case. New machine. Clean.
Secure. I power it on. While it boots, I open the first box.
Files. Dozens of them. Organized by category.
Financial records. Shipping manifests. Personnel files.
Communication logs. I pull out the shipping manifests first. Spread them on the table.
My eyes scan. Dates. Locations. Product codes.
I know these codes. Memorized them during my time embedded.
Each one corresponds to a specific type of shipment. Weapons. Drugs. People.
My stomach turns. But I keep reading. The laptop finishes booting. I log in. Password provided on a slip of paper in the case. The desktop is clean. One folder.
ENZO OPERATION – EVIDENCE.
I open it. Sub folders. Surveillance footage. Photos. Audio recordings. Digital documents. Everything. I start with the photos. Click through them. The facility. Exterior shots. Interior. The operations floor where I worked. The server room. The interrogation room. I stop on that one.
I stare at the chair where they strapped me. The table with Enzo’s tools. Blood on the floor. Mine. I close the photo. Move on. Can’t think about that now. Can’t let it in.
Next folder, maps. With detailed layouts of the facility, floor plans, security camera positions, entry and exit points. I study them. Cross-reference with my memory. They’re accurate. But they’re missing something.
I pull out my phone. The one The Raven gave me.
Secure. Encrypted. I open the notes app.
Start typing the locations I remember, safe houses, drop points, meeting spots.
Enzo used a rotation system. Never the same location twice in a row.
But the rotation followed a pattern. Geographic. Logical. Efficient.
I map it out in my head first then on paper.
Pulling a notepad from the second box. I’m drawing and connecting the dots.
The pattern emerges. Clear. Obvious now that I’m looking for it.
Enzo’s contingency locations would follow the same logic.
Same geographic distribution. Same efficiency model.
I just need to find the gaps. The places he hasn’t used yet.
The places he’d go if everything fell apart.
Two hours pass. Maybe three. I lose track. My ribs are screaming. My shoulder aches. The cuts on my arms and chest burn. But I keep working. Cross-referencing. Analyzing. Building the picture.
I hear movement behind me.
Kade. I turn. He’s still unconscious. Still stable. But I needed to check. Needed to see. I stand. Walk to him. My hand touches his forehead. Still warm. No fever. Good.
“I’m getting close," I whisper.
My fingers trail down to his hand. I squeeze gently.
“I’m going to find him. I promise."
I stay there for a moment. Just breathing. Just being near him. Then I go back to the table. Back to the work.
The door opens. The Raven. She’s carrying a tray. Food.
“You need to eat," she says.
Not a suggestion. A command. I don’t argue. She sets the tray on the table. Moves some of my papers aside. Careful not to disturb my organization.
“What have you found?"
I pick up the notepad. Show her my map.
“Enzo’s operation used a rotation system for drops and pickups. Seventeen primary locations. He cycled through them on a three-week pattern."
I point to the marked locations.
“But he also had secondary locations. Backups. In case a primary was compromised."
The Raven leans in. Studies the map.
“You think he’s at one of the secondaries."
“No."
I flip the page. Show her my second map.
“The secondaries are too obvious. Too connected to the primary operation. He’d assume we’d find them."
I tap three locations I’ve circled.
“These are tertiary locations. Places he kept completely separate. No paper trail. No digital footprint. Only he and his inner circle knew about them."
“How do you know about them?"
“I didn’t. Not directly." I pull out one of the shipping manifests. Point to a series of entries. “But these shipments don’t match any known location. The product codes are right. The dates are right. But the destinations are listed as ‘TBD.’"
“To be determined."
“Exactly. Which means they were going somewhere off-book. Somewhere not in the system."
I pull out another manifest. Then another.
“I found six shipments like this over three weeks. All different product types. All marked TBD."
I lay them out. Side by side.
“But look at the pickup locations."
The Raven studies them. I see the moment she gets it.
“They form a pattern."
“Yes. A geographic cluster. All within a fifty-mile radius."
I point to the center of the cluster on my map. “Somewhere in here. That’s where the TBD location is. That’s where Enzo would go."
The Raven straightens. Pulls out her phone.
“I’ll have satellite imagery pulled for this area. Property records. Recent activity."
“I need twenty-four hours," I say. “To narrow it down further. Cross-reference with known associates. Shell companies. Anything that connects."
She nods. “You’ll have it."
She looks at Kade. Then back at me.
“Eat," she says. “Then rest. You’re no good to anyone if you collapse."
“I’m fine."
“You’re running on fumes and stubbornness."
She’s not wrong. But I don’t admit it.
“Twenty-four hours," I repeat. “Then we move."
The Raven’s expression is unreadable. “We’ll see."
She leaves. I turn back to the table. Pick up the sandwich from the tray. Take a bite. Mechanical. Tasteless. But necessary. I eat. And I keep working. Because somewhere out there, Enzo is hiding. And I’m going to find him.
Three hours later. Maybe four. The laptop screen blurs. I blink. Force my eyes to focus. The satellite imagery came through an hour ago. I’ve narrowed it down. Three possible locations. All within the cluster. All fitting the profile. Remote. Defensible. Off-grid. One of them is Enzo’s.
I just need to confirm which. But there’s something else.
Something I need to do first. Something I’ve been avoiding.
I save my work. Close the laptop. Stand.
Slow. Careful. My ribs protest. Everything protests.
But I make it to the door. Open it. The hallway is quiet.
Empty. I walk. One step. Then another. Following the path The Raven took.
I find her in what looks like a command center.
Small. Efficient. Monitors on the walls.
Communications equipment. She’s at a desk.
Reviewing something on a tablet. She looks up when I enter.
“You should be resting."
“I need to talk to you."
She sets the tablet down. Studies me.
“About?"
I close the door behind me.
“Marcus."
Her expression doesn’t change. But I see it. The tension. The immediate resistance. “No."
“I need to—"
“No," she repeats. Firm. Final. “You’re injured. You’re exhausted. And he’s a trained operative who betrayed you. The answer is no."
I take a step forward.
“I know what he is."
“Then you know why this is a bad idea."
“I need to understand why." My voice is steady. Controlled. But there’s something underneath. Something raw.
Not because it changes anything.
Not because forgiveness is on the table. Because knowing matters.
Because betrayal without motive is a loose end.
And loose ends get people killed.
“I need to know what he told them. What he gave them. What he knows about Kade."
The Raven stands.
“We’ve already interrogated him. We have the information."
“You have what he told you." I move closer. “But I know him. I know how he thinks. How he lies. How he compartmentalizes."
My hand goes to my ribs. Instinct.
“He was my friend. My partner. For years." The words taste bitter.
“If there’s something he’s holding back—something about Enzo’s network, about who else is compromised—I’ll know."
Silence. Heavy. The Raven’s jaw tightens.
“You’re too close to this."
“I’m the only one who can do this."
“You’re injured—"
“Jake can be in the room."
That stops her. She stares at me.
“What?"
“Your husband," I say. “Jake. He can be in the room with me. Armed. Watching. If Marcus tries anything, if I can’t handle it, Jake stops it."
I hold her gaze.