Page 38 of Faron
He led me to the breakroom, dim and quiet. Pulled up River’s encrypted file.
Names. Pictures. Notes.
Some were marked with red X’s.
“They’re not just threatening people,” Faron said. “They’re eliminating them. One by one.”
I scrolled. A pastor. A paramedic. A librarian running literacy nights for teens.
And then—my hand froze.
“No,” I whispered. “That’s… that’s Dr. Kline.”
Faron leaned in. “You know her?”
“She trained me. She runs a mobile trauma unit a few miles from here.”
Her name was circled. Marked urgent.
“We need to warn her,” I said.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
“Then you go. Call River. Call whoever you need. But you get to her before they do. Faron—this isn’t about me anymore. This is war.”
Cyclone
Golden Team Base – Later That Day
Diego sat cuffed, pale and sweating, in the middle of the ops room. River stood over him while Gage and Raven flanked the sides.
Projector light danced on the wall—faces, maps, donations, shell corporations. The web kept growing.
“This isn’t just about Blue,” River said. “They’re targeting anyone helping kids escape cartel recruitment.”
“Backed by city insiders,” Gage added. “Fake youth programs. Real estate grabs around safe zones. It’s systematic.”
“Why?” Raven asked.
Diego met our eyes, something unhinged behind his pupils. “Because order makes people brave. Chaos makes them afraid. And scared people are easy to control.”
“Not in this city,” I said. “Not anymore.”
River turned toward us. “Diego was just the blade. It’s time we find the hand that held it.”
Blue
That night, Faron sat beside me again.
This time, he brought a binder. A growing list of names. People we could still save.
“This is what we do now,” I whispered. “We fight with clinics. After-school centers. Murals. Swimming lessons.”
“And weapons,” he added. “When we have to.”
I looked at him, heart cracking wide open. “You sure you signed up for this?”
He smiled. “I fell in love with the most dangerous woman in the city. This is exactly what I signed up for.”
