The safe house was silent, the tension between the group settling like a thick fog. Caleb sat near the window, his gun resting on the table beside him. Evelyn paced by the door, her knife flashing in the dim light, while Luca’s laptop hummed softly on the table.

  “You’re going to wear a hole in the floor,” Caleb said, glancing at Evelyn.

  Evelyn ignored him, her sharp green eyes focused on Luca’s screen. “Anything yet?”

  “Relax,” Luca replied, his tone calm but laced with impatience. “I’m working on it.”

  Carter leaned against the wall, his arms crossed. “So, while we wait, anyone want to share why we’re sitting in a moldy apartment instead of, I don’t know, doing something useful?”

  Evelyn shot him a glare. “Because we don’t have time for mistakes.”

  “And yet, here we are,” Carter muttered.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Luca tapped a few keys, his brow furrowing as lines of code scrolled across the screen. “Got something,” he said finally.

  Evelyn moved closer, her posture tense. “What is it?”

  “A signal,” Luca replied, his gray eyes narrowing. “Looks like someone’s broadcasting from the west side of the city. Warehouse district.”

  “Keepers?” Caleb asked, leaning forward.

  “Most likely,” Luca said. “Could be surveillance, but it’s too active to be just cameras. My guess? They’re using it to coordinate.”

  Evelyn straightened, her expression hard. “We need to move.”

  “Hold on,” Caleb said, frowning. “We just got here. You’re seriously suggesting we walk into a Keeper stronghold without a plan?”

  Evelyn turned to him, her green eyes sharp. “We don’t have time to wait. If they’re broadcasting, it means they’re planning something. We need to know what.”

  “And if it’s a trap?” Caleb asked.

  Evelyn’s grip on her knife tightened. “Then we deal with it.”

  Carter chuckled softly. “Bold strategy. I like it.”

  Reluctantly, Caleb stood, grabbing his gun and sliding it into his holster. “Fine. But we do this smart. No rushing in blind.”

  “Agreed,” Evelyn said.

  Luca packed up his laptop, slipping it into his slim black backpack. “Don’t worry, Detective. I’ll make sure you don’t get caught with your pants down.”

  “Comforting,” Caleb muttered.

  The group moved quickly, leaving the safe house behind as they slipped into the quiet streets of Greyford.