Page 43 of Axel Martin

Twice.

Then a voice—clear, female, sharp enough to cut steel.

“This number’s for emergencies only.”

I swallowed. “Is this Lena?”

Silence.

“Who’s asking?”

I hesitated, then said what Grandma Shirley told me to. “I’m Lark. Axel Martin’s… girl.”

Another pause. This one is heavier.

“Where are you?”

“Frasier Mountain. I got this number from someone who clearly moonlights as a spy and bakes very good cookies.”

“Grandma Shirley,” she said, not even pretending to be surprised.

“Yes.”

“What’s the emergency?”

“My sister Marley sent me a message. She said she was leaving Gaza. Told me to tell Axel ‘Fraiser says hi.’ That’s it.”

“Did she mention the data?”

“What data?”

A sigh. I could hear the click of keys, the rustle of someone pulling up files. “There’s a whistleblower report she smuggled out of Egypt. It connects several contractors and a U.S. defense liaison to arms trafficking and… other less public-friendly activities.”

“Other activities?”

“The kind that makes people disappear.”

My mouth went dry.

“She’s trying to leak it?”

“She’s trying tosurvive it.But if she’s already contacting you, it means she’s made the drop and is prepping for fallout.”

“And Axel?” I asked, heart thudding.

Lena’s voice softened just enough to scare me.

“He made contact with Bishop. They were supposed to extract Marley together. But something changed in the last 24 hours. The location she sent him to? It wasnota safe zone.”

Panic flared. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying Marley might not be the one in trouble anymore.”

The line clicked.

Gone.

I lowered the phone slowly, staring at the dead screen, pulse roaring in my ears.

---