Ghost protocol

Smoke filled the room. Shouts erupted. The agents scrambled for cover, but Tricia was already moving. She launched herself backward, grabbing a fallen weapon from the floor as sirens blared.

Jared's voice crackled in her earpiece. "Tricia, out!"

"Plan B," she said. "Now."

She didn't wait for a response. She darted toward the nearest exit, weaving through the chaos. Voss was still standing, unfazed, watching her with something between amusement and anticipation.

He let her run.

That terrified her more than anything.

The Death of Tricia Hale

Thirty-six hours later, news of her death spread like wildfire.

The reports were clean, precise, a fatal explosion, no survivors.

S.O.L.A.C.E. believed they had won.

Rhodes gave an official statement about the destruction of a "rogue operative," while Voss remained silent, his absence from the media only confirming how deeply he pulled the strings.

Meanwhile, in an abandoned safehouse miles away, Tricia stared at the forged autopsy report.

Jared sat beside her, arms crossed. "You really think they bought it?"

"They wanted me dead." Tricia exhaled. "Now they think they got what they wanted."

Reed paced the room, clearly unsettled. "Voss didn't react. That's not normal."

Tricia nodded. "Because he knew."

Reed froze. "Knew what?"

She turned the autopsy report toward him, tapping the last page.

The classified signature.

K.V.

Jared's expression darkened. "Kieran Voss."

Tricia clenched her jaw. "He let it happen."

A Step Ahead

Every breath felt like borrowed time.

Tricia changed identities. New documents. New city. She disappeared off the grid, but the unease never left.

She wasn't running. Not yet.

She was waiting.

Because if Voss knew she was alive, then he was playing a game.

And games had rules.

Three weeks after her "death," an unmarked package arrived at their hidden base. No fingerprints. No return address.

Inside was a single black card.

No words.

Just a symbol burned into the surface.

A raven with its wings outstretched.

Jared frowned. "What the hell is this?"

Tricia's hands trembled as she flipped the card over.

A handwritten message.

You can't outrun a ghost.

Voss wasn't hunting her.

He was waiting for her to come back.