The line went dead as Maverick kept his hand on the microphone for a moment longer, but the channel remained silent. Claire stood a few steps to his right, watching the dark monitors. Thomas remained near the doorway, still holding the lantern. Whatever process the old equipment had begun, it had already finished its part. The rest would depend on the men themselves. Without another word, Maverick turned and walked out of the communications room. Claire followed closely behind him, while Thomas shut the heavy door and trailed after them up the stairs. There was nothing more to do underground. Now they could only wait and see whether anyone would actually answer the call. When they reached the upper corridor, Thomas stopped a short distance behind Maverick. “Boss, should I prepare the guest rooms?” Maverick turned slightly to look at him. “We don’t know if anyone is coming yet. There’s no need to prepare anything until we know for certain.” Thomas nodded. “Understood.” He remai

The eastern sky was beginning to brighten when Maverick stepped out of the main house.The island was already stirring. Two workers carried supplies toward the old storage building, while Thomas stood near the courtyard reminding them to keep away from the northern grounds until Eddie finished mapping the dangerous paths. Near the veranda, Eddie Barret sat at a wooden table with a cup of coffee and several sheets of paper spread before him.Maverick approached and pulled out a chair. “You said you would contact the others last night.”“I did, Boss.”“And?”“One answered.”“Which one?”“The sniper. Silas Ward.” Eddie passed him a folded sheet of paper. “He sent this through an old contact. I haven’t spoken to him directly in decades, but the contact confirmed the message came from him.”Maverick opened it and read.*If the seal has returned, I want to meet the man holding it. I have no interest in hearing another promise from someone who knows nothing about the people he intends to com

Maverick handed over the rifle and stepped aside.Silas examined the three targets the range attendant had set up at different distances. The attendant had arranged them along the same line, with the smallest target farthest away.“Those weren't there before,” Claire observed.“They weren't,” Eddie replied, watching Silas. A knowing smile touched his face. “Looks like the old man wants to make a point.”Silas settled into position. He took a moment to study the targets, then raised the rifle.Maverick expected him to focus on the nearest one. Instead, Silas aligned his aim with the smallest target at the far end.The shot cracked through the range.A beat later, the attendant stared at the targets. The bullet had passed through the first two and struck the center of the third.Claire rose halfway from her seat. “One shot?”The attendant checked the targets before calling out, “All three hit!”Eddie let out a sharp laugh. “Still showing off, I see.”Silas lowered the rifle with a satis

“Since you stopped asking what I do with my time.”“You spend most of it sitting in front of a computer,” Silas replied.“Exactly. That’s where computers are useful.”“Noah.”“If you already have someone who can do this, I’ll leave. Otherwise, let me try. You can insult me afterward.”Maverick studied him briefly. “What do you need?”“The original message and access to a decent system. I can’t promise an exact location, but I can try to find where it came from.”“Let him work,” Maverick said when Silas started to object. “We don’t have time to argue.”Noah pulled a chair toward the laptop. His casual expression disappeared as he examined the transmission, opening several windows and running searches through the data embedded in the signal.A few minutes later, he leaned forward. “I’ve got a district. East side, industrial zone. But the signal alone won’t tell us which building.”“Can you see inside?” Maverick asked.Noah glanced at him. “Not with an ordinary connection. But if the sat

The kind that meant this rescue was never supposed to end with them walking out.Maverick crouched beside Darius, staring at the device strapped beneath his torn shirt. A red digital display counted down from 04:00, its glow reflecting against the blood on Darius’s skin. The black casing covered his abdomen, secured by thick straps, with several colored wires disappearing beneath a metal plate.'Four minutes. I don't have time to wait for someone else to solve this.'“Everyone give me room, but nobody leaves Darius alone,” Maverick ordered, leaning closer to inspect the casing. “Noah, keep your camera steady and tell me exactly what you can see, even if you aren't certain what it means.”Noah’s face filled the small screen on Maverick’s phone. His usual cheeky confidence had vanished, replaced by a concentration Maverick rarely saw when Noah wasn't working with computers.“The casing resembles a military demolition device I've seen in tactical games and technical forums, possibly so