Page 128 of Fractured Allegiance
Someone from the past that wasn’t supposed to still be active.
And they’re using her to pull me out.
I sit back, press my palms together.
Lydia is the human variable. Unfortunately, she’s also the trigger.
Whoever this watcher is, they don’t want her gone.
They want her destabilized.
They want her to fall, and they want me to catch her.
Because that’s what makes agents crack.
Not torture.
Not pain.
Love.
Or the closest thing to it we’re still capable of.
I walk to the desk.
Open the drawer.
And pull out the thing I promised I’d never use again.
The original pistol. Pre-Bureau. No serial number—filed off years ago by someone who knew what they were doing. Not registered to me, not tied to any case, bought off the street with cash that left no trail.
It's not untraceable if I ever fire it—ballistics will still mark the bullet. But there's no paper trail leading back to me. No record of purchase, no registration, no connection to my real identity or my Bureau credentials.
It's a ghost. The kind of weapon you use when you can't afford to be who you really are.
I slide it into the holster beneath my jacket and close the drawer like I'm sealing a part of myself back inside the box.
Whoever they are...
They're not going to touch her.
Even if I have to burn through every identity I’ve ever worn to make sure of it.
And if I can’t save her?
Then at least I’ll be the one to end it.
Not them.
Me.
Chapter 15 – Lydia - No One Is Coming
It’s just past six in the morning. The sun hasn’t made it past the buildings yet. Shadows still rule the corners.
I lean against the arm of the couch. My legs feel like they’ve been walking toward the edge of a cliff all night. Still in the same, stale-feeling clothes from last night, I haven’t showered or slept. I couldn’t.
The burner phone he gave me is warm in my palm. I’ve been holding it too long. The screen is blank, with no missed messages or hope-inspiring dots of response-in-transit to cling to. Nothing since he walked out of here, nothing since I let him press his body against mine and kiss me like I was the last sin he’d ever get away with.
