Jethro stepped closer, his voice was low and careful.“You’re serious about this, aren’t you?”Nolan didn’t respond immediately. He just stared at the flash drive again. Then he gave a slow, painful sigh, like something was pressing on his chest.“There’s no hope, Jethro,” he muttered. “It’s all gone. All is lost.”“Are you telling me Zephyr Kaine is truly untraceable? That you couldn't find even a clue?”“I tried!” Nolan shouted suddenly, the alcohol finally loosening his tongue. “I tried everything! I reached out to contacts in the Cayman Islands. I even got law enforcement and legal firms in the Virgin Islands to start sniffing around. I thought maybe, just maybe they would get him because I believed he is based there. But nothing. Not even a whisper.”His voice cracked, and for a moment he looked smaller than he ever had before.“I gave it my all, Jethro. My damn best. And what did it get me?”He reached for the bottle again and took another heavy gulp, wiping his mouth with the b

As they walked deeper inside, Nolan felt a strange pull in his chest. Something about the stillness of the place, the careful organization, the gentle echoes of footsteps—it slowed him down. It cleared his thoughts.“Why here?” he asked again, more gently this time.Jethro gave a small smile. “Because answers don’t always come with guns or badges. Sometimes, they come with pages and people who know how to listen.”Nolan gave him a long sideways look. It was the kind of look that said, ‘I don’t get you. You sound so weird.’Jethro noticed the look but didn’t respond. He only exhaled quietly, his gaze was fixed ahead.They reached the front desk, where a young librarian was sorting through a stack of old books. Jethro stepped forward and asked in a calm voice, “Could we see the chief librarian, please? We have a special matter to discuss.”The librarian nodded and gestured for them to follow.After a short walk through a quieter wing of the library, they arrived at a polished wooden doo

A sharp clank echoed through the silence as Jethro’s knock landed with deliberate weight. For a few seconds, nothing happened—only the cold air brushing their skin and the flickering of the stairwell lights high above.Then, a faint mechanical whirring stirred from within the iron door.At eye level, a small rectangular panel slid open with a hiss, revealing a dark hollow. From within it, a circular lens flicked to life—red, then blue, then clear.A voice crackled through a hidden speaker: it was metallic, low, and sterile.“Identify.”Jethro took a single step forward, his posture was tall and sure. His voice, when it came, was firm but rhythmic, as though reciting a verse memorized long ago.“Ink upon silence, kept where fire fears to feed. We come with minds unbound, our truths beneath.”There was a pause.The eye behind the lens shifted, examining Jethro, then darting briefly to Nolan.Another second passed before the mechanical voice responded. “Your key is remembered.”A series

She turned then—finally—her eyes locking onto Nolan’sShe paused.Her expression shifted—just a little. Not shock. Not fear. But recognition.“Hey…” she said slowly. “You look familiar.”Nolan’s chest tightened.He didn’t know her. At least, he didn’t think he did. But something in her tone—something in her eyes—made his pulse race.“I… I don’t think we’ve met,” he said, unsure.Rosa tilted her head, studying him closer.“No,” she murmured. “But your face—it’s been around. In talks. In ideas. Someone like you doesn’t just appear.”Jethro placed a steady hand on Nolan’s back.“He’s here because he’s needed, Rosa. The system is shifting. And some minds aren’t made to float. They’re made to shape.”Rosa didn’t smile. Not fully.But she nodded.“Well then,” she said, turning to walk beside them, “Let’s see what kind of waves he can make.”Rosa paused after a few steps, her sharp eyes still lingering on Nolan. Her mind was spinning.She turned to Jethro, her voice was calm but questioning.

Mr. Jethro stepped forward quickly.“Alright,” he said in a firm but calm tone. “He got a question wrong. That doesn’t erase his skill.”But even as his voice rang out with authority, a few of the figures in the room didn’t seem convinced. Their eyes, sharp and calculating, continued to fixate on Nolan. A low chuckle came from the far side of the room, where the young man, Kael, stood, with a slight smirk playing on his lips.“I’m sure the great Nolan Rhys doesn’t mind a little mistake now and then, right?” Kael’s voice was dripping with mockery, each word was punctuated by the quiet hum of the room’s digital atmosphere.Another figure, a tall man with a cybernetic jaw, leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, his eyes narrowing at Nolan. “Look at that. The big bad cyber-defense architect can’t even get a Blockchain 101 question right.” His voice was laced with sarcasm, his smirk was barely contained.The room, which had been buzzing with tension just moments ago, now hummed with fai