Alan, already, expecting this, sighed and took a seat, "Hazel—""I'm not upset," she cut in, honestly. Her voice was even and her face was… Open, sincere, which surprised Alan. "I mean, I was, a little, but not about the calls themselves. More about finding out in the hallway." She pulled her feet up under her. "I don't need to know everything. I'm not going to ask you to report to me every time someone from your past decides to pick up the phone." She paused. "But I won't be the last person in my own home to know what's going on around me. That's all."He looked at her for a moment, almost breaking into a smile, ‘She’s so mature and considerate. Alan, what a lucky man you are.,’"That's fair," he nodded curtly. "And you're right. I should have told you after the first one.""Yes," she said simply. "You should have.""I'm sorry," he apologized immediately without dressing it up.Hazel was quiet for a second, just looking at him. "Does it change anything? Her calling?""No, no, of cour

Dinner was good. Beatrice had outdone herself, or more precisely had directed the kitchen staff to outdo themselves, and the conversation moved smoothly. Alan had expected many awkward conversations, considering how antisocial his father was, and moreso, Arthur's presence. His younger brother was there to accomplish something but he couldn't figure it out yet.Arthur was, Alan had to acknowledge, very good at this. He was funny when it served him, attentive when it mattered, and he asked Hazel questions that were genuinely interesting rather than politely boring. By the time the main course was cleared, Hazel was talking to him with the easy directness she reserved for people she'd provisionally decided were worth engaging with, which was not something she gave out freely.Alan watched all of it patiently and attentively.After dessert, when Beatrice had pulled Hazel toward the sitting room to show her something—a piece of art that had just been reframed, from the sound of it—and Reg

Dmitri called on Thursday morning, four days after Alan had told him to take two weeks."You're early," Alan swivelled in his chair. “Not that I'm surprised." "I know," Dmitri's hoarse voice came alive.. "I wouldn't be if it wasn't worth it."Alan closed the document he'd been reading and leaned back. "Talk.""The Trident regional coordinator in Sordland," Dmitri said. "The one at the end of the contact chain. I have a confirmed identity…. It's Emery Stone."Alan was quiet."You know that name?” Dmitri eventually asked."Taskmaster," Alan said. "That's his cover name. His real one is Emery Stone." He picked up his pen and set it back down. "He's in Silver Lace City.""He's been operating out of the consultancy firm Timothy flagged weeks ago," Dmitri informed. "Meridian Advisory Partners. That's his front. He's not just feeding Trident information about you, he was formally inducted as their Sordland representative. Regional coordinator, mid-level but with direct access to Grigori." T

Fabien's call came through at nine in the morning, while Alan was standing in a Gold Aries Construction site walkthrough with three division heads who had been arguing about rebar specifications for the better part of twenty minutes.He stepped away from the group to take it."Warlord.” The Colonel's voice was firm as always."Colonel.""It's confirmed," Fabien didn't waste time going straight to the point. "Two weeks out. Your team is locked for the Caribbean operation."Alan watched a crane lift a steel beam across the site, the cable groaning under the weight. "Full team?""Full team. Briefing materials come through next week, but you should start preparing now. This isn't a short rotation.""Understood.""How's married life treating you, Captain?""Eventfully," Alan could only sigh.Fabien made a sound that might have been a laugh. "I imagine it would be. Two weeks, Walker. Get your affairs in order."The call ended. Alan stood for a moment with the phone still in his hand, the co

The briefing came through at six in the evening, twelve hours before departure. Alan read it once at his desk. It had coordinates, theatre designation, team roster, the standard administrative language that gave away almost nothing about what waited on the other end of it.He closed the file without reading it a second time. There wasn't a second reading that would change anything.He found Hazel on the rooftop terrace, her usual calming spot. She was sitting on the wide stone bench near the edge, the city spread out below in its evening lights, and she didn't turn when he came up beside her.He sat down without saying anything.They stayed like that for a while, the wind catching the edges of her hair, neither of them rushing to fill the silence. Alan had learned, somewhere in the last few months, that some of the best conversations he'd had with her weren't conversations at all."I know I've asked this before, but… Is this one more dangerous than the last?" she asked eventually, s