Page 26 of Ashfall
Hawk told us Graves is on his way back to 656, leaving early when he couldn’t reach anyone at base - a clear sign he’s already started to crack. The first was Peklo. I pack my bag, shoving my dress inside, and head back to the truck. Adam’s still in the back, eyes locked on his laptop, scanning through the documents I sent him, whilst keeping tabs on the base’s CCTVfeeds. “Anything?" I ask, tossing my bag across and sliding in beside him. He doesn’t look up right away. “Not yet. They’re about an hour ahead of us, so should be arriving soon.” He closes the laptop slightly, turning his attention to me. “How much of this did you manage to get through?”
I sigh, “Not much, but a few things jumped out, which made me realize what I was looking at. But I only properly looked at the list of names Noc mentioned... And there was a video.” My throat feels like it's coated in gravel, thinking of my mom’s last words ever recorded, how she knew something wasn't right.
Adam bobs his head in understanding. “I haven't watched that yet. But I did come across something strange, maybe you can connect the dots.” He reopens the lid and pulls up an email. It’s addressed to my mom, sent from an unknown sender.
Message received V.
In Sudan, but can be in Cairo three days from now.
Go to the honeymoon spot.
Use the phonebooth across from the bookshop.
The bar next door, ask for Amun, for the number - he'll know what to do.
Same stars, same moon, same heart.
A
Another rogue tear slips freely from my eyes. Knowing exactly who wrote this. “Dad never mentioned this to me, but that’s his message. He always signed off his letters and cards to my mom like that when he was gone, she did the same to him.”
Adam frowns, “What does he mean by honeymoonspot?''
I manage to smile at the fond memory, listening to them in my youth as I swipe at my tears. “My mom always wanted to go to this old townhouse that was a hotel in Cairo for their honeymoon. But due to their jobs, they couldn't get the length oftime off to both go. Plus, both of them being there would raise eyebrows whilst in active service; they'd have needed special permission to travel off duty. They'd hoped to go back when they retired.” I feel the bitterness engulfing me thinking about how they never got the chance to visit properly. Adam’s silent for a beat and I look over at him. He strums his fingers on top of the lid “What?” I ask.
“Your mother died in Cairo, right?” I nod. “So, did your father ever mention he met her? Was he the one that found her?”
I hadn’t even considered that when I read the email, I was too lost in the comfort the memory offered me. My father’s so shadow ops to the core, he doesn't give any information away for free, not even something like this. Hawk turns from the driver’s seat to listen in. “No, not that he's ever said anything.”
And I look at Hawk as he cuts in. “That’s because your father never sent that message, Nyx. Graves took it upon himself to go black. He lured your mother out there. She was planning on informing your dad about her own covert mission to bring Graves down. She wanted Noc and your father to support and assist with a unit. But she never got the chance. Noc got the video and tried to chase her down, but it was too late. He only managed to track down this Amun. He tortured him for days for everything he knew.”
I can only imagine the hell Noc put that guy through. “They kidnapped her, took her to Sudan. Tried to get her to give up everyone that knew, but she didn't. She was strong. Put a bullet in her head and Graves paid off everyone involved, with the help of Volokov.” Adam blanches, but I don't. Another realization slams into me like a wave, finally solidifying Graves guiltiness. “Is this how Graves managed to blame Noc for her death?'' Hawk gives me a somber look, slowly nodding his head in confirmation.
I’m lost in my own thoughts when I hear Adam. ''But why? Why all this to begin with?''
Hawk readjusts, turning around to give us his full attention. “It’s no secret Graves wants to climb the ladder, but he was a snake from the very outset. The fact that a female was a four star General, the first in our history. It didn't sit well with his ideology.” I process that information, and it leads to more questions aimed at Hawk.
“How did Graves pull this off?” My mother was a smart woman - she wouldn't be easily fooled by something like this.
“Graves intercepted all the messages she was sending to your father and used them to mimic something he would write. He knew she was going to go shadow to get him, and what better way to use your network when your own husband is in that line of business? With Ashley helping Noc trace her - and him being away at the same time that she was deemed missing - it was easy to put him in the same place as her when she died. But that wouldn't have been enough to blame him for it all. So Graves leveraged his skilled reputation and used the excuse of knowing her personally to get himself granted a team to track her down. As he was responsible for finding the General, he was then also tasked with finding who took her. That gave him enough time to fabricate the evidence to pin everything on Noc, who himself was officially dead by then. The military were so turned up that one of their own did this, they kept it quiet. Once he'd taken his falsified information to the Director of Special Operations, he was made commander of Ashfall andcommendedfor his service.”
Bastard. The fire inside me spreads, igniting with the way he used my mother as a pawn in his own game. Now I can’t help but wonder, what has he planned for me? Her warning to Noc echoes in my mind. Graves building a team to elevate his own name, to claw his way to the top is one thing – most wouldn’tbat an eye if you were ambitious. But his track record is starting to reveal the sacrifices he has made to earn that success. Yet, something still doesn’t add up. There's a missing piece of the puzzle – one I hope isn’t true. But there’s no other explanation. “Is Graves working with Volokov?” I ask the question and Phantom and Blitz’s eyes widen as they lock on our Exec officer, horror spreading over their expressions. “He is,” Hawk says, his tone laced with venom. This keeps getting worse.
The realization settles like lead in my gut, we’ve been working under a traitor, unknowingly playing a role in his deceit. How many missions have we carried out, unknowingly fueling Graves schemes? How many times have we followed orders that made us complicit? My stomach twists. We never questioned anything the Commander asked. Not once. “He has been for years. Graves and Volokov helped each other. He turned a blind eye to aspects of Volokov’s terrorism, whilst Volokov gave Graves intel on hits he could afford to lose, or ensure they were fabricated so he could take credit. Making him a feared name in Russia. A partnership that’s worked well for both.”
My head is spinning with this information; I rest my forehead against the cold window to prevent a headache coming on. My thoughts are spiraling, and I’m frantically trying to pin all the pieces together on a board in my mind. It's like there's a constant wind blowing around, and I can't grab the paper quick enough. I finally manage to get something eligible out. “So how do you fit into all this Hawk? And why the hell is Noc also working for Volokov if he knows he's in with Graves?”
That’s something I can’t quite understand yet, and I wait for his answer whilst he adjusts himself in his seat, getting comfy to unload a few truths he's probably kept locked down for however long. “I've known Noc longer than you have Nyx. We go way, way back.” My brows shoot to my hairline at that admission. Hawk and Noc? I get they know each other since they're both involvedin this, but I wouldn’t have pictured the two of them as being long lost chums.
“And not just within the military. We just so happened to have the same career path. He was like my brother, and he still is. Saved my life one time when we were teenagers at a club we both had no business sneaking into. The night before we enrolled. Letting off some steam, this scrawny kid who was as tall as a damn streetlight took down these assholes who were getting the better of me out back. He moved like he was at one with the night, I’d never seen anything like it before, and the next time I saw him was when we both turned up on reception day.” He smiles when he looks at me.
“After that, we became good friends. I trust that man with my life.” I don't know whether to smile at the fondness with which he speaks about Noc or leave my mouth open at the fact that Hawk had known Nocturne this whole time, has literally turned a blind eye to him and made out he didn't know a thing. “Noc reached out to me again four years ago. I thought I'd lost my mind because I'd heard about his passing, and it wrecked me. Then I had someone claiming to be him calling from beyond the grave. I was suspicious. He sent me the file, and it was a no brainer. Ashley managed to get my name included with the recommendations for Graves’s team beforehand and, by chance, I proved myself well enough to join Ashfall - to keep an eye on Graves. We were working on our own covert mission from within. Noc, Ashley and I were going to bring Graves and Volokov down.”
God this is too much. There's too many revelations crashing down at once. I feel like I’m trapped in a simulation, caught between reality and illusion. I need someone to hit pause. I rub my temple to ease my words, “So, Noc's basically infiltrating Volokov’s gang? That’s fucking risky, Graves surely knows Noc has been working with him?”
Hawk catches my eye in the rearview mirror. “Yes, and No. I don't know the full circumstances of how Noc got in with Volokov, he hasn't been willing to share. But I trust what I know so far. As for Graves, he only found out Nocturne was alive when you mentioned it in the hotel. He had suspicions, but he couldn't track him down. Volokov’s also gone silent on him the past few weeks, and their relationship’s been rocky these last couple of years.”
I frown, why hasn't he told Hawk? But something else pops into my head, something a bit more pressing. “Do you know Ashley is dead? We thought it was Noc.” Sadness creeps into the edges of Hawk’s eyes as glances away from the mirror, eyes back on the road. “Yes, we expect that Graves made the call. She told us she was coming over here, to deal with some unfinished business, but she wouldn't tell us why. Said she would confirm later that night at her motel. I hadn't heard from her, but when I got there I saw the police on scene and knew she'd been discovered.” My heart aches. I look over at Adam who looks like he feels the same. We're responsible. It’s time to own up to it.
