The wind howled through the shattered window panes of the underground safehouse as Tricia stared at the last file in her hand. Jared paced restlessly behind her, muttering to himself, while Gabriel and Luc worked on decrypting another set of disks. The revelations from the hidden archive still hung heavy in the air, a quiet storm waiting to break.
Then the power cut.
The room was thrown into sudden darkness, only the emergency lights humming faintly to life. The air shifted, charged, alert. Everyone froze.
Footsteps echoed from the hallway above.
Gabriel grabbed his pistol. Jared drew a knife from his belt. Tricia stood motionless, reaching slowly for the sidearm tucked beneath her jacket.
A voice followed the steps, calm and ghostlike.
"Put the guns away. Unless you plan to shoot a dead man."
The shape emerged from the shadows, a silhouette slowly stepping into the red glow of the backup lighting. The air turned ice-cold.
Tricia's breath caught in her throat.