Page 171 of Fractured Allegiance
I don’t plan to keep it that way.
The air shifts around 6:17 a.m.
Not outside—inside me.
Something clicks. Like a loose chamber finally aligning in the barrel. Not clarity. Not calm. Just readiness.
I shut the surveillance logs. My eyes sting from hours of staring, but I don’t stop moving.
I need to get ahead of this.
Information is the only weapon I trust more than a bullet.
Then my phone buzzes.
Naomi.
I answer. "What did you find?"
"Not over the phone." Her voice is clipped. "We need to meet."
"When?"
"Now. But not the café. Things are complicated right now."
I hear what she's not saying: We might be watched.
"Where?" I ask.
"Riverside walking trail. South entrance."
"I'll be there."
She hangs up.
I grab my jacket and head out.
The walking trail runs along the industrial side of the river—concrete path, sparse trees, more joggers than benches. It's public enough to blend in, isolated enough to talk.
I spot Naomi about a quarter mile in, leaning against the railing overlooking the water. Dark coat, hair pulled back. She's already scanned the area—I can tell by the way she's positioned herself with clear sightlines in both directions.
I approach at a steady pace. Stop a few feet away, facing the same direction she is. We look like two strangers taking a break from our morning walk.
"What did you find?" I ask.
"Chatter." She doesn't look at me. "After our call, I reached out to a contact in organized crime intelligence. Asked if there'd been any movement in Drazen's network in the last twenty-four hours."
"And?"
"There's been unusual activity at one of his off-book locations. A penthouse in the east-side industrial corridor. Increased security presence as of yesterday evening. No shipments scheduled, no operations logged. Just bodies on-site."
I process that. "You think that's where he took her."
"I think if he's holding someone, that's where he'd do it." She pauses, then turns to face me fully. "But I need you to listen very carefully, Silas. I'm telling you this because you asked. Not because I'm authorizing you to act on it."
I meet her gaze. "Naomi—"
"No. Let me finish." Her voice is firm. "Lydia Carr is not your primary assignment. Drazen is. You were embedded to gather intelligence on his network, identify key players, and build a case we can prosecute. That's the mission. She is not part of that mission."
