Bringing Hope Home

1. Snatched

Snatched

Steve

The alert hits every secure screen in the operations room at once.

I’m halfway through my first coffee when the priority tone cuts through the room. G’s hands are already moving across his keyboard before I’ve put my mug down.

Felicity throws the Beacon alert onto the main screen.

Priority Distress Alert

Hope Chan

Stanford University

My eyes lock on the name.

“Mercy’s sister?”

“Yes. Her Beacon app missed its scheduled safety check and triggered automatically. Mercy tried calling Hope’s personal phone at the same time and got nothing.”

G is already pulling the phone’s location data.

“Her Beacon’s still transmitting.”

The door opens behind me and Jax and Mercy hurry into the operations room together. Mercy takes one look at her sister’s name on the main screen.

“Where is she?”

“We’re finding out,” I tell her.

Victor follows them in as G replaces Hope’s photograph with security footage. She’s walking across campus with a backpack over one shoulder, phone in her hand.

The timestamp reads 0718.

“Last confirmed sighting,” G says. “She headed toward the parking structure. Her phone stopped transmitting seven minutes later.”

“Switched off?”

“No shutdown sequence.”

Felicity brings up a campus map. “Her backpack was found beside her car. Laptop and wallet still inside.”

“Phone?”

“No.”

Jax reaches the table, his expression hardening. “Any blood?”

“None reported.”

“Witnesses?”

“They’re checking.”

I study Hope’s photograph. Meridian has targeted women because of their careers, vulnerabilities, investigations or simply because someone powerful wanted them. Hope Chan fits a different profile.

She’s family.

Mercy’s family. Jax’s family now too, whether either of them would bother putting a label on it. Which makes her ours.

“Get every camera covering that parking structure,” I tell G. “Entrances, exits, surrounding streets.”

“Already on it.”

Seconds later, G swears and enlarges an image of a black SUV leaving the structure at 0729.

“Plate was stolen yesterday in Oakland.”

Another window opens.

“I’ve got Hope’s personal phone. Signal resurfaced briefly on Highway 101 before disappearing again.”

“What about the Beacon?”

“Still transmitting.”

“Direction?”

“Southbound.”

Jax looks across at Mercy. “You hearing this?”

“Every word.” Her eyes stay fixed on the map tracking her sister.

The operations-room door opens and Jan walks in carrying two coffees. One look at the main screen wipes the easy morning expression from her face.

“What happened?”

“Hope’s been taken.”

Her expression changes instantly. She moves to my side and sets the coffees down, her gaze going straight to Hope’s photograph.

Victor studies the screen. “We don’t know this is Legacy.”

“No.”

Cunningham showed us how far Legacy’s reach extends into government and law enforcement. Adrian has an invitation from the Council itself, and now someone has snatched Mercy’s little sister from Stanford in broad daylight.

It could be unrelated, but I’m not betting Hope’s life on it.

I turn to Victor. “I suggest we lock down everyone connected to HAVEN until we know what we’re dealing with. Our families included.”

Victor nods. “Agreed. Quietly. Partners, parents, kids, siblings. Nobody travels alone until we know whether Hope is the start of something bigger.”

Jan moves to the workstation beside mine without needing to be asked. Whatever else today brings, we’ll run it together.

Around us, the operations room accelerates. Calls go out. Screens fill with traffic feeds, maps and camera footage.

We’ve always known Legacy might come after HAVEN. If they have Hope, they’ve done something different. They’ve reached into our family and taken someone we love.

Every family connected to HAVEN just became part of the battlefield.

Blackstone Ventures HQ, San Francisco. 0840 hours.

Mercy hasn’t moved from the main screen.

Hope’s Beacon marker continues south, a tiny pulsing dot on Highway 101 that represents the best chance we have of getting her back.

G and Felicity work beside each other, tracking traffic cameras and every vehicle that could match the timing from Stanford. Nobody’s talking unless they have something useful to contribute.

Mercy stands beside Jax with her arms wrapped around herself.

“I should’ve called her earlier.”

Jax turns toward her. “Mercy.”

“She always calls me before class. Every morning. She complains about whatever she stayed up too late working on, I tell her she needs more sleep, and she tells me I’m turning into Mom.” Her voice catches. “Today I was busy.”

“You didn’t do this.”

Mercy looks at him. “Why her? How would they even know she’s connected to us?”

Jax doesn’t answer. Neither can I.

“And why didn’t we protect her better?”

I know the look on Jax’s face. I’ve seen him angry plenty of times, but this isn’t the Jax who swears, argues or threatens to put someone through a wall. This version is quieter and considerably more dangerous.

He turns toward G. “Give me the Beacon location.”

“Jax,” I say.

“I can be on the road in five minutes.”

“And chasing what?”

“My sister-in-law.”

Mercy’s face crumples at the word. Jax reaches for her and pulls her against him. She holds on for several seconds before pushing away and wiping angrily at her eyes.

“I’m coming with you.”

“No,” Jax says immediately.

“Yes.”

“You’re staying here.”

“She’s my sister.”

“And you’re the reason they may have taken her.”

Mercy recoils.

“Jax,” I warn.

His eyes close briefly. “Fuck. That’s not what I meant.”

“I know exactly what you meant.”

Mercy walks toward the far side of the operations room. Jax starts after her, then stops.

This is how a team begins to splinter. Fear turns into anger. Anger needs somewhere to go, and right now we don’t have an enemy standing in front of us to take it.

I move beside Jax.

“You’re not going anywhere yet.”

His gaze cuts to mine. “If that Beacon stops transmitting while we’re sitting here talking, I’ll never forgive myself.”

“And if you tear down Highway 101 without a destination, backup or extraction plan, you’re no use to Hope.”

His jaw works.

“You know I’m right.”

“I don’t particularly give a shit.”

“Yeah, you do. That’s why you’re still standing here.”

Across the room, Jan has gone to Mercy. She doesn’t crowd her or try to make any of this better. Serenity, Faith and Destiny gather around them too, offering quiet support while Mercy stares at the moving dot representing her sister.

I understand Jax’s urge to move. Every part of me wants people in vehicles heading south, but command means I don’t get to confuse movement with progress.

Victor catches my eye from across the room. He knows exactly what I’m doing, holding the line until we know where to send them.

I look around at people who’ve become family while we were busy fighting everyone else’s monsters.

Legacy may have figured out the fastest way to hurt Mercy. They didn’t go after her. They went after someone she loves.

If I let fear decide what we do next, Hope won’t be the only person we could lose today.

Blackstone Ventures HQ, San Francisco. 0905 hours.

Adrian walks into the operations room carrying his phone and heads straight for Victor.

“I have the rest of the meeting instructions.”

That pulls my attention away from Hope’s Beacon.

“For Saint-Pierre?”

“Yes.”

He puts the message onto the main screen beside the tracking map.

The first instructions arrived after Washington. Present himself in Fortune, Newfoundland, for onward transportation to Saint-Pierre, with the remaining details promised within seven days. They’ve kept that promise.

Adrian reads from the message. “Fortune. Three days from now. Fourteen hundred hours. I’m to arrive at the designated location and await transport. No personal aircraft beyond Newfoundland. No independent marine transport to Saint-Pierre.”

“Security?”

“Permitted. One person.”

Victor moves closer. “They’ve accepted your condition.”

“Or accommodated it because refusing would look suspicious.”

“Either way, you’re not going alone,” I say.

Adrian gives me a dry look. “I believe I’ve made my position on that reasonably clear.”

Jan’s mouth twitches.

G keeps Hope’s Beacon visible while Felicity starts pulling apart the Saint-Pierre instructions.

Two problems sit side by side on the screen. One could tear this team apart. The other could put us closer to the Council of Twelve than we’ve ever been.

“Bloody hell.”

Jan looks at me. “What?”

“We do both.”

Mercy turns from Hope’s tracking map. “Both what?”

“We don’t abandon Saint-Pierre because Hope’s been taken. If this is Legacy, that may be exactly what they want.”

Jax looks at me. “My sister-in-law is missing.”

“I know.”

“Then why the hell are we talking about sending people to an island?”

“Because we have enough people to do both.”

Victor steps in before Jax can answer. “Steve’s right. If the timing is connected, canceling Adrian’s attendance could tell them something. Sending him as planned tells them nothing.”

“And potentially gives us access to the people who ordered this,” Jan says.

I look at Victor. “I suggest we split the operation. One team goes after Hope. You accompany Adrian to Saint-Pierre as his security. Jan and I stay here and coordinate both. Angus takes three of our new operatives with field experience in ahead of you. They pose as tourists on a fishing trip, rent one of those colorful houses on the island and stay invisible unless you need them.”

Victor studies the screens.

“Angus can choose the three,” he says. “Nobody publicly connected to HAVEN. They’re backup only. Adrian and I arrive exactly as instructed.”

“If everything goes to plan, they spend a few days fishing and nobody knows why they were there.”

Angus looks over. “Fishing in Saint-Pierre in March while freezing our butts off. You really know how to sell an assignment.”

“You’ll all take MacLeod’s larger jet to Newfoundland,” I say. “Nobody outside our people needs to know who’s aboard. Angus and the others split off when you land and make their own way to Saint-Pierre as tourists. That gives them time to get established before you and Adrian make your move.”

The room shifts from reaction to planning.

“Hope is priority one,” I say. “Every resource she needs, she gets. Saint-Pierre runs alongside it without taking anything away from her rescue.”

Jax holds my gaze, then nods.

I turn back to the screens.

Legacy may have chosen today to come after our family.

They also opened a door into theirs.

We’re going through both.

Blackstone Ventures HQ, San Francisco. 0925 hours.

Hope’s Beacon stops moving.

Every head in the operations room turns toward the main screen.

“G?”

“Give me a second.”

The marker sits at San Jose Mineta International Airport.

Mercy moves closer to the screen. “Why would they take her to an airport?”

“To get her out of California,” Jax says.

G is already pulling airport cameras, flight movements and private aviation records. “Beacon’s still transmitting. Looks like she’s on the west side of the airport, general aviation.”

“Can you narrow it down?”

“I’m working on it.”

A flight list replaces half the map. G filters departures while Felicity checks aircraft registrations.

“There.” G points at the screen. “Private jet filed to depart San Jose at 0940. Passenger manifest isn’t public, owner’s buried behind a holding company.”

“Destination?” I ask.

“Las Vegas.”

Jax’s head snaps up.

“My brother Forest is there.”

“Forest?” Mercy asks.

“He’s on vacation with his mates. Got there a couple of days ago.”

I know Forest Reeves mostly through Jax. Met him at their wedding. Twenty-eight, ex-Canadian military, paratrooper, plenty of field experience and one of the newer people we’ve been considering bringing further into HAVEN.

Right now, he may also be the closest person we trust to wherever Hope is going.

“Call him,” I say.

Jax is already reaching for his phone.

I look at G. “Stay on that Beacon. If the jet takes off with Hope aboard, I want it tracked every mile.”

“You’ll have it.”

“And find out where that aircraft lands in Vegas before it gets there.”

Felicity nods. “On it.”

The pieces start arranging themselves.

“Victor, I suggest Forest takes point in Vegas. We get our people to him as fast as possible, but we don’t wait to start looking.”

Victor considers it. “Agreed. Forest can establish eyes on the ground, nothing more until we know what he’s walking into.”

Jax finishes his call and looks over. “Forest’s in. He’s heading back to his room for his gear.”

“Tell him this isn’t a solo rescue.”

“I already did.”

That tracks.

“Jax, you’re going too. Take Matthias.”

Jax nods, then frowns. “Why Matthias?”

“We don’t know what they’ll do to Hope before you reach her.

Meridian has used sedatives, memory-suppression drugs and psychological conditioning before.

If she comes out of there drugged, confused or injured, I want someone beside her who understands the neurological side and has enough medical training to assess her until Jan can take over. ”

Matthias is already getting to his feet. “I’ll grab my medical kit.”

Jan pushes back from the workstation and stands. “I’ll come with you. You’ll want more than the basics if this turns into an extraction.”

He nods, and they head out together to assemble what the field team might need.

I turn toward the Saint-Pierre instructions still occupying the second screen.

“Then we have both teams. Forest leads the Hope operation with Jax and Matthias supporting him. Blackstone’s Learjet takes them to Las Vegas.

Victor goes with Adrian, while Angus and the three new operatives travel with you on MacLeod’s larger jet to Newfoundland.

From there, Angus and his team split off and make their own way to Saint-Pierre as tourists.

Jan and I coordinate everything from here. ”

Two missions. Two countries. One operations room holding the threads together.

As Jan follows Matthias toward the door, she glances back at me and holds my gaze for a second.

We can do this.

I glance at her, then at Hope’s Beacon tracker sitting motionless at the airport.

I’m used to being the one heading toward danger. Staying here while other people walk into it is a different kind of responsibility.

But somebody has to hold the whole board.

The Beacon marker moves.

G leans forward. “Jet’s taxiing.”

Mercy grips the edge of the desk.

I look around the room.

“Right. Forest gets everything we know before that plane reaches Vegas. Let’s make sure Hope has someone waiting at the other end.”