Chapter 22 Havoc
Havoc
Idon’t like waiting.
Especially not when I know the answers are sitting ten feet away on a flash drive.
The house is quiet.
Too quiet after what happened tonight.
Aspen finally got Dylan back to sleep.
Grandpa is out cold in his room.
Buddy is stretched across the doorway like a furry security system.
Ace and Blaze are outside rotating watch.
Wolf’s on comms.
That leaves me… and the truth.
I sit at the kitchen table.
Laptop open.
Flash drive in.
Saint patched in remotely.
“You ready?” he asks through the speaker.
“Do it.”
Keys click.
Code scrolls across the screen.
Fast.
Clean.
Military-level encryption.
Saint whistles low.
“Tank didn’t want this found.”
“No,” I say.
“He didn’t.”
There’s a pause.
Then—
“I’m in.”
The files open.
Folders.
Coordinates.
Photos.
My stomach tightens.
“Pull up the main file.”
A document opens.
Black screen.
White text.
One line at the top.
IF YOU’RE READING THIS, I DIDN’T MAKE IT BACK.
I go still.
Saint goes quiet on the other end.
I read.
This isn’t just trafficking.
This is infrastructure.
Routes. Safe houses. Supply chains.
Nevada is the hub.
Montana is the testing ground.
Texas… is next.
My jaw tightens.
“Keep going,” I mutter.
I couldn’t bring this through official channels.
Too many leaks.
Too many people compromised.
If they find this… they’ll come after my family.
The words hit like a punch.
I glance toward the hallway.
Toward Aspen.
Toward Dylan.
Too late.
If anyone from my old team finds this—
Finish it.
The screen goes still.
No more words.
Just files.
Evidence.
Photos of crates.
Weapons.
Men.
Locations.
Everything needed to burn the entire operation to the ground.
Saint exhales slowly.
“Tank wasn’t hiding something illegal,” he says.
“No.”
I stare at the screen.
“He was hiding proof of something illegal.”