Chapter 16 Under Fire
The Attack
The photograph of Reyes Ink stayed on the screen for less than a minute before Elena told Nico to put his phone down.
“Don’t delete anything,” she said. “Don’t respond. Don’t forward it.”
“I wasn’t planning to.”
Gideon stood beside him, close enough that Nico could feel the tension coming off his body.
The message had been simple.
A photograph.
No words.
No threat.
That somehow made it worse.
Someone had been close enough to photograph Nico inside his own studio without being noticed.
Elena called the police liaison assigned to the investigation while Paul began copying the digital evidence from Nico’s phone.
Gideon remained silent, but Nico knew him well enough now to recognize the signs.
His shoulders were rigid. His eyes kept moving toward the windows and doors.
He was checking exits without appearing to check them.
Nico touched his wrist.
Gideon looked down.
“I’m here,” Nico said.
“I know.”
“You don’t have to stand between me and every door.”
Gideon almost smiled.
“I’m aware.”
It was a small exchange, but Nico understood what it meant.
Gideon was afraid.
He was still choosing not to turn that fear into control.
They returned to the studio together.
Elena had arranged for an officer to check the area, but there was no one outside by the time they arrived. The street looked completely ordinary.
Cars passed.
People walked along the sidewalk.
Across the road, the firehouse remained busy.
Reyes Ink looked exactly as it had that morning.
That normality made Nico uneasy.
He unlocked the door.
Gideon immediately stopped him.
“Wait.”
Nico looked at him.
Gideon examined the lock.
There was a faint scratch near the keyhole.
“Was that there before?”
Nico looked closely.
“I don’t think so.”
Gideon did not touch it.
He called Elena.
Within twenty minutes, investigators arrived.
The studio was searched.
Nothing appeared to be missing.
Nothing obvious, at least.
The cameras had been checked next.
One camera covered the front entrance.
Another covered the alley.
Both were working.
Except for one gap.
The recording between 9:42 and 9:58 p.m. the previous night was missing.
Nico frowned.
“That’s when I was still here.”
“Exactly,” Elena said.
Gideon stared at the monitor.
“Who accessed the system?”
Paul shook his head.
“No external login.”
“Then how?”
“Local access.”
Nico’s stomach tightened.
Someone had not simply taken a photograph from outside.
Someone had been inside the studio’s security system.
Maybe inside the building.
Maybe close enough to see everything.
Elena looked at Nico.
“What did you have in here that could be connected to the investigation?”
“Nothing official.”
“Think carefully.”
Nico walked around the studio.
His eyes moved across the shelves.
Reference books.
Old tattoo magazines.
Design portfolios.
Client records.
Photographs.
He stopped near his desk.
“The original photograph.”
Gideon looked at him.
“The warehouse photo?”
“Yes.”
Nico opened the drawer.
It was empty.
His blood went cold.
“I had it here.”
Gideon moved closer.
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
“Are you sure?”
“I put it here after I showed Elena the scan.”
Elena immediately called Paul.
“Check the evidence copy.”
Paul did.
“The digital scan is secure.”
“But the physical photograph is gone.”
Nico stared at the empty drawer.
That was the first moment the situation changed.
The person watching them had not been interested in frightening Nico.
They had been looking for evidence.
Gideon’s expression hardened.
“They knew where it was.”
Nico nodded.
“Which means they knew I had it.”
Elena looked around the studio.
“Nobody touches anything.”
They began a more detailed search.
The physical photograph was not the only thing missing.
A notebook was gone too.
Nico had used it for his tattoo research. It contained notes about the contractor tattoo family, Ray’s information, Mara’s name, and several references to old industrial crews.
His stomach dropped.
“That notebook had the tattoo research.”
Gideon looked at him.
“Anything else?”
“My old appointment files.”
“Why?”
Nico thought.
“Because I had notes from clients who had worked around the docks.”
Elena’s eyes sharpened.
“Names?”
“Some.”
“Addresses?”
“Not current ones.”
“Still useful.”
Nico nodded.
The intruder had not taken random objects.
They had taken anything that could help connect the tattoo to the contractor network.
Then the front window shattered.
The sound was enormous.
Nico ducked instinctively.
Gideon moved toward him.
“Down!”
Glass scattered across the floor.
Something struck the wall behind the counter.
For a second, everything stopped.
Then the smoke alarm screamed.
Nico coughed.
A sharp chemical smell filled the room.
Gideon grabbed his arm.
“Back door.”
Nico pulled against him.
“Wait.”
“There could be another—"
“The fire extinguisher.”
Nico pointed.
Smoke was beginning to spread from a small fire near the worktable.
Not a normal electrical fire.
Something had been thrown through the broken window.
A burning object.
Gideon understood immediately.
“They’re trying to destroy the studio.”
Nico grabbed the extinguisher.
Gideon took it from him.
“No.”
“I’m not standing here while you do everything.”
“Then stay behind me.”
Nico glared.
“Gideon.”
The firefighter in him was already moving.
He approached the small fire, discharged the extinguisher, and smothered the flames before they could reach the nearby furniture.
The smoke continued to rise.
The alarm screamed.
Nico opened the rear exit.
Cold air rushed into the studio.
They stepped outside.
Gideon looked toward the street.
A dark vehicle accelerated away from the corner.
He started forward.
Nico caught his arm.
“No.”
Gideon turned.
“They’re getting away.”
“And chasing them alone is exactly what they want.”
Gideon stopped.
For one second, Nico saw the old Gideon.
The man who would run toward danger without thinking about what it cost him.
Then Gideon looked back at the studio.
He took a breath.
“You’re right.”
Nico released his arm.
That might have been the most important moment between them.
Gideon had listened.
Not because Nico was stronger.
Not because Gideon was weaker.
Because they were partners.
The police arrived minutes later.
The fire was contained quickly.
The damage was limited, but the front window was destroyed, one worktable was scorched, and several shelves had been damaged by smoke and water.
The missing evidence remained the greater concern.
Elena walked through the studio with an investigator.
“This wasn’t random.”
“No,” Gideon said.
Nico stood beside him.
“They were looking for the photograph and the notebook.”
“And then they started the fire.”
“To destroy what they couldn’t remove.”
Elena nodded.
“Or to make it look like a burglary gone wrong.”
Nico looked at the broken window.
“They knew where the evidence was.”
Gideon looked at him.
“They knew the studio.”
Nico nodded.
“Which means they may have watched me for longer than we thought.”
Gideon’s jaw tightened.
The fear was back.
Nico could see it.
But Gideon did not tell him to leave.
He did not tell him to close the studio.
He did not tell him to disappear from the investigation.
Instead, he asked, “What do we still have?”
Nico thought.
“Digital scans.”
“Backups?”
“Several.”
“Contacts?”
“Ray. Mara. Other artists.”
“Client records?”
“Some are digital.”
“Good.”
Gideon looked at Elena.
“They took the physical material because they couldn’t reach the digital copies.”
Elena nodded.
“Which means we still have enough to keep going.”
Nico walked toward the damaged desk.
He stared at the empty drawer.
Then he noticed something beneath the desk.
A small black object.
He crouched.
“What’s that?”
Gideon came closer.
Nico picked it up carefully.
It was a memory card.
He recognized it.
“Camera backup.”
Gideon’s eyes sharpened.
“From the studio?”
“Yes.”
Nico’s hands tightened around it.
“The security system has a local backup camera.”
Paul hurried over.
“Don’t put it in anything yet.”
Nico handed it to him.
Paul examined the card.
“This could contain footage from before the main system was accessed.”
Elena looked at him.
“How far back?”
“At least seventy-two hours.”
Gideon looked at Nico.
The attackers had taken the obvious evidence.
They had missed the backup.
Nico stared at the damaged studio.
“They came here looking for what we found.”
Gideon nodded.
“And now we know they’re willing to destroy things to keep it buried.”
Nico’s expression hardened.
“Then we’re close.”
Gideon looked at him.
“That’s what worries me.”
Nico understood.
They were no longer dealing with a historical investigation.
Someone was actively protecting the past.
And that person had moved against Nico.
Gideon took Nico’s hand.
The gesture was firm but gentle.
Nico looked at him.
“I’m not leaving,” Gideon said.
Nico’s chest tightened.
“I didn’t ask you to.”
“I know.”
Gideon looked toward the broken window.
“That’s the point.”
He turned back.
“I’m staying because I choose to.”
Nico squeezed his hand.
“Good.”
Behind them, the damaged studio smelled of smoke.
The place that had always represented deliberate touch, creativity, and control now carried the marks of violence.
But Nico was still standing.
So was Gideon.
And neither of them was running.
Later that evening, Paul connected the recovered memory card to a secure workstation.
The footage appeared on the screen.
The timestamp showed the previous night.
At first, nothing happened.
Nico watched the grainy image of the studio.
Then a figure appeared near the rear entrance.
Black jacket.
Gloves.
Face covered.
The person entered quickly.
They went directly toward Nico’s desk.
Gideon leaned closer.
The figure opened the drawer.
Then stopped.
They looked around.
Nico’s breath caught.
The person knew exactly where to look.
They pulled out the photograph.
Then the notebook.
Gideon’s eyes narrowed.
“They knew.”
The figure turned toward the camera.
For one second, the face was partially visible beneath the hood.
Not enough for a clear identification.
But enough to reveal something else.
A tattoo.