Chapter 1: Leave Papers
Chapter 1: Leave Papers
Quinn killed the engine and the silence in the car became absolute. He did not get out. He sat watching the house, a quiet two-story painted light blue, set against a calm suburban street. His gaze was not on the bicycle lying in the grass or the carefully tended flowerbeds. He was scanning the windows, the roofline, the spaces between the neighboring houses. He was assessing.
His hand rested on the passenger seat, next to a cheap, disposable burner phone. The screen was dark now, but the two-line message was burned into his memory. It had come from a number he did not recognize but a source he trusted implicitly.
LEAVE PAPERS. BLACKWOOD EVENT IMMINENT. STAY DARK.
Event imminent. The phrase was deliberately vague, professionally sterile. It could mean a data leak. It could mean a security breach. Or it could mean what the contingency plans had always feared. It was the reason he had driven through the night, the reason a heavy, military-grade backpack sat on the floor behind him. Inside it, among other things, was a sealed manila envelope. Leave Papers. The instruction was clear. But abandoning it felt wrong now. The second part of the message changed the parameters. Stay Dark. No calls. No warnings. Just observation until the situation clarified.
His sister lived here. His niece and nephews. They were his only real anchor in a life spent drifting. The tip hadn’t been a warning to him, but for him. He was here to make sure they were safe, to be the first line of defense if the worst happened. He took a deep, steadying breath, pushed the mission parameters to the back of his mind, and put on the face of a visiting brother.
He grabbed the heavy backpack from the backseat, slung it over one shoulder, and got out of the car. He walked up the concrete path, and before his hand could reach the doorbell, the door flew open.
"Uncle Quinn!"
A small girl with brown pigtails launched herself at his legs. Quinn’s practiced calm melted into a genuine smile as he bent down, wrapping his arms around her.
"Hey, Lily-bug," he said, ruffling her hair. "You’ve gotten bigger."
A boy, a few years older than Lily, appeared in the doorway behind her. He held a gaming controller and gave Quinn a small wave. "Hi, Quinn."