Ferryman’s message sat on my screen like a knife.
Carrier safe.
For now.
But AVG just offered me double your price.
Make it worth my while.
I killed the feed.
Ije watched me.
“He’s selling.”
“Maybe,” I said.
“Or maybe he’s testing me.”
“Does it matter?”
I didn’t answer.
I put the sedan on a back road, winding through the trees, away from the main highway.
“Where are we going?” Ije asked.
“Somewhere AVG can’t track,” I said.
“And somewhere I can think.”
She didn’t argue.
She just stared out the window.
The cabin was old.
Wood.
Stone.
A single room.
It sat on a bluff overlooking the Sound, hidden by pines.
I’d bought it three years ago under an LLC that didn’t exist on any AVG list.
I parked behind the shed.
Killed the lights.
Inside, the air smelled like dust and salt.
I lit a single lamp.
Ije sat at the table.
“Talk.”
I opened the Ledger.
Fresh page.
Assets: Rhea (location unknown).
Ferryman (price: unknown).
Lin (compromised).
Threats: Harlan.
AVG tactical.
Unknown sender.
Leverage: Kill-switch timer.
Master key (Alpha).
Carrier status.
I capped the pen.
“Harlan wants Rhea,” I said.
“Because she’s Carrier-001.
Because she’s the lock.”
Ije nodded.
“And the Ferryman wants money.
Or power.
Or both.”
“So we pay him,” I said.
“But not with cash.”
“With what?”
“With leverage,” I said.
“I give him something Harlan can’t.
A way off the grid.
A way out.”
Ije’s smile was thin.
“You don’t have that.”
“I will,” I said.
“After Alpha.”
She leaned back.
“You’re planning to hit the vault.”
“I am.”
“Harlan will be there.”
“I know.”
“You’ll die.”
“Maybe,” I said.
“But I’ll take him with me.”
Ije didn’t laugh.
She just stared at me.
“Why?” she asked.
“Why her?”
I closed the Ledger.
“Because she’s not overhead,” I said.
“She’s a person.”
Ije’s eyes narrowed.
“You don’t believe that.”
“I do now.”
She didn’t argue.
She just looked away.
At the rain.
At the dark.
At the Sound beyond the trees.
An hour later, my phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Mercer,” a voice said.
Smooth.
Familiar.
Harlan.
“You have 23 hours,” he said.
“Return the carrier.
Or Phase Two begins.”
I didn’t speak.
“Let me make this simple,” Harlan said.
“You’re not a hero.
You’re an asset.
And assets do what they’re told.”
I smiled.
It wasn’t happy.
“I’m not your asset,” I said.
I cut the call.
Silence.
Ije watched me.
“He’ll come.”
“Good,” I said.
“Let him.”
I stood.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“To make a call,” I said.
“To the Ferryman.”
I stepped outside.
Rain hit my face.
I dialed.
He answered on the first ring.
“Make it worth my while,” he said.
“I will,” I said.
“Meet me at the cabin.
One hour.
Come alone.”
“Why?”
“Because I have something you want,” I said.
“A way off the grid.
A way out.”
A pause.
Then: “One hour.”
He hung up.
I went back inside.
Ije was at the window.
“He’ll bring men,” she said.
“Maybe,” I said.
“But he’ll come.”
I drew the pistol.
Checked the mag.
Slid it back in.
“Then we wait,” I said.
And we did
In the rain.
In the dark.
In the silence.
Cliffhanger: Headlights swept the trees.
An engine growled.
Then another.
Then another.
Ije glanced at me.
“He didn’t come alone.”
I smiled.
It wasn’t happy.
“Good,” I said.
“Neither did I.”
Outside, the first shot rang out.
And the cabin became a battlefield.