Page 19 of Controlled Drift
Blocked.
Phone.Email.Everything.
That had killed something in him he’d never quite been able to name.Not love—love had lingered, stubborn and unresolved—but belief.The belief that if something mattered enough, it would be fought for.
He dressed slowly and made his way up to the command center, nodding at the team as he entered.The room hummed with activity—screens lit, data scrolling, voices overlapping as the rescue was dissected and catalogued.Timelines were being scrubbed.Footage replayed.Decisions evaluated.The machine of Black Tide resetting itself after a successful operation.
All of Black Tide were already in the room, seated around the table.Niko grunted by way of a good morning and poured himself coffee he didn’t really want.
Kael stood at the center of it all, calm as ever.He waited until Niko was close before speaking.
“I’ve learned more about Pyre,” Kael said.
Niko stiffened.
“He has been single-handedly shutting down operations,” Kael continued.“Not Directorate cells, not directly.Someone adjacent.Someone louder about their crimes.”
Niko turned fully toward him.
“Gun and drug trafficking mainly,” Kael went on.“Into the States.Over the past two years, he has been responsible for estimated losses north of two billion dollars.”The room quieted.“There’s a price on his head now,” Kael finished.
Niko felt heat rise fast and sharp, a flare of anger edged with something dangerously close to fear.Because this wasn’t bravado.This wasn’t recklessness.This was someone who’d accepted the cost and paid it anyway.“Then what the fuck was yesterday all about?He could have been caught or tracked!Does he not care?”
Kael studied him.“I think he cares too much.Just not about himself.”
Before Niko could respond, Marsh’s voice cut in over the comms.
“Black Tide, we’ve got a problem.”
Everyone stilled.
“Someone on the dark web just posted Pyre’s location,” Marsh said.“It was a full drop, residential.I've cross-checked.”A beat.“They’re right.”
Niko didn’t hesitate.
“Spin up the plane,” he snapped, already moving.“Full readiness.We’re wheels up as soon as fuel clears.”
“Destination?”Luca asked, already packing his tech.And it was at that moment that Niko realized he had no clue where Ethan was based.
“Portland, Oregon,” Marsh informed.
That was all he needed, mind racing ahead to timing and angles and contingencies.Whatever anger he’d been carrying burned down to something cleaner now.
Protective.Possessive.
He didn’t care if Ethan wanted to be found or not.
No one who burned that brightly got to do it alone.
