The door clicked shut behind Kaelen, and Kaine stood there for a moment, his eyes still fixed on the space where the kid had been standing. The silence that followed was the kind that made you think. Not uncomfortable, just... present. Like it had weight. "Well?" Kaine said to the empty room, his voice low and even. "What do you make of that?" Nothing but quiet. Then movement. Fast enough that most people would have missed it, but Kaine had trained his eyes for these things. A figure peeled away from the corner of the wall where the shadows were thickest. Garrett moved like water, all smooth edges and no sound. His camouflage attire was top of the line, the kind that bent light and made you look past him without thinking. He was one of Kaine's best. Been with him for fifteen years. "He's got a plan, sir," Garrett said, stepping closer now. "You could see it in how he held himself. Like he was playing a game and already knew the next three moves." Kaine nodded slowly. He'd seen it t

Kaelen stood completely frozen, the cold plastic of the phone pressed so hard against his ear that his skin began to sting. He could not believe what he was hearing.The voice on the other end was too small and too sweet to belong to anyone else. It was his daughter."Mirella?" Kaelen said, his voice barely a whisper."Daddy?" she asked again, her voice sounding a little clearer this time. "Is that really you?"His legs felt incredibly weak, almost like they were going to give out under his weight. He pushed his chair back with a loud scrape, nearly knocking his tray of food off the edge of the table.He stood up shakily and walked away from his table, not even caring about the food anymore. Several soldiers in the cafeteria turned their heads to watch him with curious, quiet gazes.He did not care about their stares or what they thought of him. He just needed to find a place where he could speak without everyone listening to his trembling words.He walked quickly to a dark corner of