Page 43 of Undercover Shadow
The familiarity in his tone made my teeth grind.
“Right.” Con stood. “If that about covers it, Nightingale and I have urgent information to share with everyone.”
She met his eyes, nodded once, then moved to stand beside him.
“We received intel during the break,” Con began, pulling up a map with three markers. “Multiple locations showing coordinated activity—Edinburgh art market, Teesport, and the Northern Highlands near Inverness.”
“All active simultaneously,” Nightingale added. “Which suggests Labyrinth is ramping up operations.”
“We’re proposing immediate team deployments based on expertise and existing investigation threads,” Con said. “Lexand I will take Edinburgh—we’ve been there before, surveilling the Imperial Gallery during the Orlov investigation. We know the area, know the locations. We just didn’t have proof of activity then. Kestrel’s intel changes that. Ash and Sullivan will handle Teesport. Vanguard, Prima, and Archon for the Northern Highlands. Gus, Nightingale, and Renegade on financial networks tracking the Mediterranean connections.”
I watched relief flicker across Nightingale’s face. She’d avoided being paired with me.
“One moment,” Typhon said, standing. “There’s another angle we need to address that isn’t in Kestrel’s immediate intelligence—the Tarbert estates. Glenshadow, Blackmoor, and Ashcroft.”
He pulled up maps showing all three properties. “Wallace was fixated on these specific locations, where we know extensive tunnel systems exist.”
“What are you proposing?” Viper asked.
“We need to understand why she targeted these properties specifically,” Typhon said. “What was she planning to move through those tunnels? What infrastructure was she building?” His eyes moved to me, then to Nightingale. “MacTaggert has access to all three estates. Nightingale has the deepest knowledge of Wallace’s operational patterns from the Damascus intelligence.”
The relief on Nightingale’s face vanished, replaced by tension.
“And remaining at Glenshadow provides the necessary security,” Viper added, her gaze steady on Nightingale, “while unknown hostiles are still tracking you.”
Leila’s jaw tightened, but she couldn’t argue with the logic.
“Map the tunnel systems,” Typhon ordered, looking between us. “Review Wallace’s documentation. Determine what sheintended. Understanding her strategy might reveal what Labyrinth is doing now.”
The room was silent for a beat.
“One more adjustment,” Typhon continued. “Archon stays here.”
Archon’s head came up. “Sir?”
“You’ll provide additional security for Nightingale while the investigation proceeds. After what happened in London, I’m not taking chances with her safety. Vanguard and Prima can handle the northern corridor as a two-person team. Questions?” He scanned the room, but no one spoke up. “Good. Teams will deploy tomorrow morning. By then, transport will be in place. Tonight, we finalize operational details.”
When everyone stood, Vanguard crossed back to Nightingale.
“Take care of yourself,” he said quietly, but not enough that I couldn’t hear. “And if you need anything?—”
“I’ll be fine,” she said.
“I know you will be. You always are.” He touched her shoulder. “But the offer stands.”
Then he was gone, heading out with the others.
Archon approached me as the room emptied. “Boss, if I’m staying at Glenshadow, I should probably sort where I should bunk. Is there?—”
“Find Mrs. Murray. Have her set you up in the west wing.”
“Appreciated.” He paused. “For what it’s worth, Nightingale’s damn good.”
I looked across the room to where she stood, gathering her laptop. Her spine was rigid, and her movements controlled. “She’s better than good.”
Archon wisely left without another word.
Needing a moment away from the noise, from watching Vanguard position himself near Nightingale, from pretending Iwas fine with any of this, I found Gus in the library, cross-referencing financial data with shipping manifests that were spread across the large table.
