Chapter 13
Wren
Something feels wrong.
I can’t explain it.
There’s no alert on my screen.
No alarms.
No flashing warnings from the network map.
But the feeling won’t go away.
Across the table, Adam Stoker studies the laptop while Russ Duncan leans against the counter, arms crossed, watching the digital map of nodes spread across the western states. Miles is somewhere outside.
The cabin is quiet except for the hum of electronics and the wind moving through the trees outside.
“Wren,” Adam says calmly, “show me the Utah cluster again.”
I zoom the map slightly.
“Here.”
Three nodes glow near the mountains.
Search-and-rescue teams.
Volunteer medical units.
Emergency logistics groups.
Perfectly positioned along major highway corridors.
Russ whistles quietly.
“That’s not random placement.”
“No,” I say.
“None of this is.”
Adam studies the screen for another moment before leaning back in his chair.
“They’re building response corridors.”
“Exactly.”
“For disasters?”
“Or control.”
Russ glances toward the window.
“Still feels like something bigger.”
I nod.
“Because it is.”
I type quickly, running another set of cross-references.
More data appears.
Personnel.
Logistics hubs.
Communications relays.
All quietly embedded inside normal civilian infrastructure.
It’s brilliant.
Terrifying.
And way too organized to be accidental.
Behind me the cabin door creaks softly as the wind pushes against it.
I glance over my shoulder automatically.
The porch light swings slightly in the breeze.
Empty.
Still.
My stomach tightens.
I turn back to the screen.
Something nags at the back of my mind.
A detail I’m missing.
A pattern just out of reach.
Then I realize what it is.
“Adam,” I say quietly.
“Yeah?”
“When did Boone leave?”
Russ answers.
“About twenty minutes ago.”
My fingers stop on the keyboard.
“Did he say where he was going?”
Russ shakes his head.
“Just said he was taking a drive.”
Adam’s eyes lift from the screen immediately.
The same thought hits all three of us at once.
The church.
I pull up the vehicle tracker on Boone’s truck.
Every Brave Team vehicle carries one.
Standard protocol.
The system loads.
The map appears.
But the signal icon is gray.
My pulse jumps.
“That’s strange.”
Adam leans forward.
“What?”
“Boone’s truck.”
“What about it?”
“The tracker signal is gone.”
Russ straightens immediately.
“What do you mean gone?”
“Offline.”
Adam frowns.
“Could be signal loss.”
“Maybe.”
But I already know it isn’t.
Because Boone’s truck doesn’t lose signal inside the coverage zone.
Not here.
Not with the equipment we run.
I try pinging the system manually.
Nothing.
The screen stays blank.
Russ pushes away from the counter.
“That’s not good.”
“No,” Adam says quietly.
“It’s not.”
I pull up the last recorded location.
The map zooms automatically.
A blinking marker appears.
Main Street.
My stomach drops.
“The church.”
Adam stands up.
Russ is already moving toward the gear rack near the door.
“How long has the signal been dead?” he asks.
I check the log.
“Three minutes.”
Adam looks toward the dark windows.
“Three minutes is a long time.”
Russ grabs his jacket.
“You think Boone walked into something?”
Adam answers without hesitation.
“Yes.”
My fingers move quickly across the keyboard.
Running every scan I can think of.
Network traffic.
Cell signals.
Surveillance cameras.
Anything.
The system pulls in local traffic feeds.
One of the town cameras near the church flickers onto the screen.
The image is grainy but clear enough.
I zoom in.
A vehicle sits outside the church.
Not Boone’s truck.
Black SUV.
No plates visible.
Russ leans over my shoulder.
“Well that’s friendly.”
Adam studies the screen.
“How many?”
“Can’t tell yet.”
I enhance the footage.
Another vehicle appears behind it.
Then a third.
My heart starts beating faster.
“Adam…”
“Yeah?”
“That’s not church staff.”
“No,” he says calmly.
“That’s a team.”
Russ cracks his knuckles.
“Looks like Boone found the wrong meeting.”
I turn from the screen.
“What do we do?”
Adam grabs his gear bag.
His voice steady.
“Simple.”
Russ slings a rifle case over his shoulder.
“We go get him.”
The cabin suddenly fills with movement.
Gear.
Weapons.
Radios.
The quiet research operation just became something very different.
Adam pauses at the door and looks back at me.
“Wren.”
“Yeah?”
“You stay here.”
My stomach tightens.
“I can help.”
“You already are.”
He gestures toward the laptop.
“Keep eyes on the network.”
Russ opens the door.
Cold mountain air rushes inside.
“Because if this is connected to the system you found…”
Adam finishes the sentence.
“…then tonight just became the first move.”
The trucks start outside seconds later.
Engines roaring to life.
Headlights sweep across the dark forest as they tear down the road toward town.
I sit back at the laptop.
Watching the blinking markers on the map.
Watching Boone’s tracker stay dark.
And somewhere in the back of my mind a terrible thought starts to form.
This might not be an accident.
This might be exactly what the network wanted.
Boone inside the church.
The Brave Team racing into town.
Everyone moving exactly where the system predicted they would.
And if that’s true—
Then someone out there is already watching.
Waiting to see what we do next.