Page 25 of Ashfall
Lev 'Nocturne' Morozov - Active
Ray 'Hawk' Pierre - Active
Vanessa Voss - Deceased
Brodie Voss - TBD
The phone shakes in my hand, there's a logo on top of the document with the black eagle we've been referring to it as, but this is its true name - and the list of people who are involved. “Adam, is Hawk with you?” I don't even recognize my own voice as it trembles, what the fuck is going on here?
“I'm here Nyx, going to assume you've found the list?” I take a moment to answer,
“I have.” I can hear chatter in the background, Hawk sounding closer to the phone now.
''Good. You need to listen to me very carefully Nyx, I need you to stay in that room until we get there. Go over to the door and lock it. Now.” I get up, dropping my phone onto the armchair, pushing it against the door and turning the lock, picking my phone back up. “Done.”
He sighs. “Ok, the guys are packing up right now. You do not open that door for anyone but us, do you hear me? We'll be there in thirty minutes. Read over what you can, I've got Adam doing the rest here. Noc has a gun in the bottom drawer.” The line goes dead as I pull the phone away from my ear, staring at it with bewilderment.
Pulling myself together, I head over and grab the black Glock from the drawer. And just for extra comfort, I turn the lamp off to darken the room - keeping an eye on the window in case Ineed to shoot. Taking a seat, I go through the names of the files, finding another one that piques my interest.Voss.
My fingers fly through the documents. It’s almost like a journal my mom kept. All dates and times she's had meetings, noting down mission updates and the status of them, the failings. Screenshots of emails and intercepted texts and phone calls, all fromGraves. My heart is thumping against my breastbone, my chest threatening to cave with the sheer force and speed it's going at. I hover over a video, taken two days before she died. A voice I haven't heard in five years fills the room, and tears spill down my cheeks at the warm embrace that blankets over me at the sound of her voice:
''Graves knows, Nocturne. The bastard’s been circling me for days now. Watching and questioning me.
He came into my office earlier, asked about our meetings. I saw it then. The crack, he's unravelling.
I baited him, told him it was above his clearance... Just to see. And it worked. But he's not letting up. And he's going to keep digging.
He's still sniffing around Ashley, trying to get into her computer history. But she was smart - wiped everything about him before sending it to you. There are no traces left.
My husband is still in deep shadow, and they won't compromise his position. But he managed to reach out to me, hence this video I'm sending you. I'm going ahead with the covert mission to bring Graves down.
I'll arrange when I get to Cairo, it'll be safer for me there.
Noc. If the time ever comes - watch over Brodie for me. She's got the talent for special ops, I’ve already sent in her recommendation, but she needs more work. She needs you.
Graves will twist her, use her for his own needs - he knows she's destined for more, and he'll use her to his advantage, ashis weapon. I can't have him sinking his claws into her If I'm not here to stop him.
She looks up to him.
If I can't stop him, you must stop him. Promise me.
I have a strange feeling about this trip, but I need to speak to my husband, he can help us. I know this is a risk. And I know I've asked too much of you already. More than anyone should.
But you're the only one I can trust with her, with this. And more than anything, I know you can protect her.''
The recording crackles as she exhales, I see her hesitate... Leaning forward she looks at the screen one more time, before it clicks off. The first angry sob rips from my throat. All this time, every brutal hour of training, every moment Nocturne sharpened me into who I am - it wasn’t part of some twisted game. It wasn't manipulation. It was for protection. Because my mother asked him to. Because she knew the real threat wasn’t him - it was Graves. The realization creeps in like poison, slow at first, then all-consuming. I turn to stone as Graves’s earlier words claw their way back, echoing in my mind.You'll end up like your mother. The phone slips from my grip. The truth crashes into me with such force I forget to breathe. Nocturne didn’t kill her. It was Graves.
He looked me dead in the eye, spinning a bullshit story that rolled from his lips so easily, like it was something he'd practice before bed. His mention of files being sealed… was that another one of his lies? Planting a seed to deter me, just so I wouldn't go looking, so that I would comply with him. He's a fucking psychopath, how easily he performed his act. The fabricated lies about what Noc had done, made us believe he was the enemy, when in truth, it’s been him all along. He’s pulled me along all these years, knowing what he did.
A faint knock on the door has me cocking the gun on instinct, stepping back to a safe distance. I check my phone and don't seeany comms that the guys are here. Good luck to anyone who tries to get through that door, I’m in a vengeful mood. A faint familiar voice filters through the crack: “Nyx, it’s us, we're clear.” Blitz. I relax my stance and pull the chair out, unlocking the door, but keeping the gun tight in my grip. Hopefully they aren't offended, I’m having a rough fucking time trusting people right now.
The door swings open, Blitz right at the threshold waiting for me. Phantom's armed with an HK MP5, leaning against the far wall, eyes zoned on the exterior perimeter from the window. Adam’s flanked to the right, guarding the hallway. “Where's Hawk?” I ask, just as the faint sound of footsteps echoes from the stairs, the man himself reaching the top with his gun propped in both hands. “I'm here, and we need to move.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
nyx
We stopped at a gas station, refueling the cruiser and giving me a chance to change in the bathroom. I throw on my usual gear, and Blitz tosses me a vest as well. Just in case. The world as I know it has changed, and my enemies have shifted. But my mind isn’t here. It’s still locked in that room, trapped in the weight of realization. I replay my interaction with Graves. When I told him I hadn’t gotten any information, I wasn’t lying - at least, not at that moment. So, he still thinks I don’t know. That works to my advantage. But we can’t afford a single misstep, not when he’s spent years weaving his web of lies. He’ll eventually escalate, feel backed into a corner, like a rabid dog ready to lash out. We need to be ready.
