Page 111 of Fractured Loyalties
I pop the trunk.
Not weapons. Not gear.
Clothes. Old ones. Scrubbed of identity. It’s not my bag—but it’s one Elias must’ve kept ready. Inside is a dark duffel,three neutral changes, a worn cap, even a badge that isn’t mine but could pass for me. Close enough to be useful. Close enough that it makes me wonder just how much of this he expected.
I stare at it for too long.
Then close it again.
Because I’m not leaving.
Not yet.
But I need to look like I could.
Just in case someone’s watching for that too.
I’m halfway up the stairs when I feel it again.
Not a sound. Not a shadow. But a shift. Like the house just exhaled and took something with it. My pulse skips. Not panic. Not fear. Just recognition.
Someone has pinged the house perimeter. Brief. Indirect. Just enough to touch the outer mesh.
I pause at the landing. Turn toward the wall panel near the upstairs overlook.
I press two fingers against the glass. The interface hums awake, soft and muted.
There it is.
A brush across the northwest edge. Could be wildlife. Could be a false flag. But it’s too consistent. Too deliberate.
Whoever it is, they didn’t push.
They just wanted to know if anyone was listening.
I let the screen go dark and walk slowly back to the bedroom.
I don’t go in yet.
I lean in the doorway and listen.
For what, I’m not sure. But the silence still hums like it’s been asked a question it hasn’t answered yet.
I turn and head down to the lower level. Not the garage this time.
The basement isn’t finished. Not in the way the rest of the house is. It’s functional. Clean. But raw. Concrete floor. Steel racks. A sink that looks like it came out of a morgue.
Elias keeps it clear. Not sterile. Just organized. It’s where he stores the things too dangerous or too honest to leave inside the house.
I open the utility cabinet on the far wall. It smells faintly of gun oil and solvent.
Inside is a row of cases. I don’t open them. Just run my fingers along the tops.
And then I stop.
There, half-hidden under a tactical vest, is a notebook. Leather-bound. Worn. Not new.
Not recent.
