Page 41 of Moonlit Nights & Northern Lights
Felix swallowed hard, his fingers nervously tapping the edge of his keyboard. “So, I’ve had a passive IMSI-catcher simulation running on our network since Rory asked me to monitor Dev’s device. I wrote a custom Python script to ping his IMEI number every three minutes through cellular triangulation protocols.”
…oh god they’re all staring don’t panic don’t panic should have told Rory first stupid stupid he’s going to hate me forever now what have I done…
He turned his laptop slightly, showing a screen full of code and blinking status indicators that meant nothing to most people in the room.
“At fourteen thirty-seven, his phone suddenly authenticated with a cell tower in a remote area. My system immediately initiated a metadata extraction protocol—” Felix paused, noticing the blank stares.
…simple words, Felix, simple words…
“Um, basically I set up a back-door API that hooks into the telecom infrastructure to pull all available device telemetry when it connects.”
Flustered, he clicked through to another screen.
“I only managed to scrape partial location data, SMS header information, and app notification logs before the device went dark again. The phone was only active for approximately ten minutes and twenty-three seconds before it either powered down or entered a Faraday environment.”
“So where is he?” Rory practically screamed, left leg bouncing so wildly it was tempting to reach over and place my hand there to still it. Thankfully, I had more self-control than that, because I valued my fingers attached to my body.
“The geolocation data is… unusual. The cell tower coverage in that region is extremely sparse, which means the triangulation accuracy is terrible—we’re looking at a radius of over ten kilometres rather than the usual few hundred meters. The signal strength was also fluctuating wildly, suggesting either significant terrain interfere—”
“Felix, I think Rory is about to explode,” Flynn said softly.
“Right. Yes. Got it.” An even deeper pink flush coloured his cheeks as Felix tapped around on his laptop.
The projector flickered, displaying a topographical map with a large red circle encompassing what looked like wilderness—mountains, forests, and not much else.
“Where the hell is that?” Priya leaned forward, squinting at the projection.
Felix zoomed out, revealing more of the surrounding area. The map expanded to show more of the region, including water, and a small cluster of buildings that barely constituted a town.
“So, yeah, it’s this random place up in Scotland of all places,” Felix said, fiddling with the hem of his hoodie.
“Holy fucking shit.”
Rory’s voice came out strangled, barely above a whisper. The bouncing leg stopped dead.
A tidal wave of thoughts crashed into me, Rory’s mind exploding with such intensity it made my breath catch.
…what the fuck…what the fuck…why is Dev there…anywhere but there…this can’t be right…this must be a joke…
I looked back at the map, focusing on the name now visible near the red circle: Glenmoriston.
…home…
“That’s… home,” Rory said, the words falling like a stone into the sudden silence of the room. “That’s our pack. Glenmoriston.”
The name Glenmoriston hung in the air like a live grenade.
Rory suddenly jumped up. Without a word, he bolted for the stairs, pounding footsteps echoing through the basement before he disappeared from view.
Kit remained frozen, staring at the projection as if it had personally betrayed him. His mind was completely blank—a static emptiness that spoke volumes about his shock.
I found myself on my feet before I’d even made the conscious decision to stand. I took one step towards the stairs, a strange tightness in my chest.
Everyone’s eyes swivelled to me, Priya’s gaze particularly sharp and assessing. Her lips curved upwards, questioningly.
What the hell was I doing? This wasn’t my circus, not my monkeys.
I had no business chasing after a wolf I barely tolerated on good days. I slowly sat back down, straightening my tie to cover my momentary lapse in judgement. Yet the memory of Rory’s unexpected vulnerability about his family during our car journey flashed through my mind. I didn’t need to imagine very hard about how he was feeling right now. The phantom sensation of wanting to follow him lingered uncomfortably, like an itch I couldn’t scratch.
