Chapter 287 DEAD DROP

Chapter 287 DEAD DROP
POV: Ghost

I don't sleep.

I stopped trying hours ago.

Every time I close my eyes, I see the words hidden inside the brass token.

THE CROWS STILL FLY.

Four words.

Simple.

Cold.

Dangerous.

They don't feel like a warning.

They feel like a promise.

By the time the first light touches the mountains, I'm already outside.

My motorcycle waits where I left it.

Rex walks out carrying his rifle.

"You look terrible."

"I feel worse."

He studies my face for a moment.

"You still thinking about the token?"

"I'm thinking about who was supposed to pick it up."

That earns a nod.

Amani steps onto the porch of the shelter.

"You sure about this?"

"No."

I zip my jacket.

"But if someone left that token..."

"...someone was meant to collect it."

"And I want to be there first."

Amani holds my gaze for a long moment.

Finally, he nods.

"Take Rex."

"I already planned to."

He looks toward two veteran riders warming their engines.

"Take them too."

"No unnecessary risks."

I climb onto my bike.

"If we're lucky..."

"We won't find anyone."

My engine growls to life.

Luck hasn't been on our side in a long time.

The canyon looks different in daylight.

Yesterday it smelled like smoke.

Today...

It smells like death.

The burned trucks are still there.

The twisted motorcycles haven't moved.

Buzzards circle high above the cliffs.

No one speaks as we begin searching.

Yesterday we looked for survivors.

Today...

We're looking for answers.

I walk slowly across the battlefield.

Every shell casing.

Every tire mark.

Every footprint.

Everything tells a story.

Most people never learn how to listen.

I stop.

Something catches my eye.

A narrow section of the canyon.

Barely wide enough for two motorcycles to pass side by side.

The attackers avoided it.

Not once.

Not by accident.

Every footprint curves around that spot.

Too carefully.

Too deliberately.

Rex notices me staring.

"What?"

I point toward the rocks.

"They stayed away from there."

"So?"

"If you're winning a fight..."

"You don't avoid cover."

He frowns.

"You think something's hidden?"

"I think someone didn't want to step on it."

I begin climbing.

Loose stones slide beneath my boots.

The cliff wall looks ordinary.

Weathered.

Cracked.

Old.

Then I see it.

One rock doesn't belong.

Its edges are too smooth.

I wedge my fingers behind it.

Pull.

The stone shifts.

Behind it...

A rusted metal compartment is built directly into the cliff.

A dead drop.

I slowly open the tiny door.

Empty.

Rex climbs beside me.

"Anything?"

I touch the inside.

Still dry.

Fresh scrape marks line the metal.

"It was emptied recently."

"How recently?"

I look at the dust surrounding the opening.

"Hours."

Rex's expression hardens.

"We missed whoever came here."

"By very little."

Someone collected the message.

Someone left alive.

We spread into the forest.

The trees grow thicker beyond the canyon.

Birdsong fills the morning air.

It feels wrong after yesterday's gunfire.

Rex whistles.

I look over.

He points toward the ground.

Footprints.

Fresh.

One person.

Walking quickly.

Not running.

We follow the trail.

It winds between tall pines before reaching a shallow stream.

Then it ends.

Not because the footprints disappear.

Because the man who made them never walked farther.

A body lies beneath broken branches near the water.

Older.

Gray beard.

Weathered hands.

Simple traveling clothes.

Nothing about him stands out.

Nothing except the bullet hole in the back of his head.

Execution.

Clean.

Professional.

One shot.

No struggle.

No hesitation.

I kneel beside him.

His pockets are empty.

No wallet.

No identification.

No phone.

No motorcycle nearby.

No weapon.

Whoever killed him removed everything.

Everything except one thing.

My fingers find a hard object sewn into the inside of his jacket.

I pull it free.

Another brass token.

Exactly like the first.

Black Vulture on one side.

The strange wolf on the other.

Rex exhales slowly.

"Another courier."

I press the hidden catch.

The compartment inside is empty.

"He already delivered whatever he carried."

"And then they killed him."

I nod.

"No loose ends."

Antonio never rewarded loyalty.

He rewarded usefulness.

When usefulness ended...

So did the person.

By afternoon we're back at the mountain shelter.

Everyone gathers around the table.

I place both brass tokens beside each other.

Evelyn doesn't touch them.

She only stares.

Her hands tremble.

Amani notices.

"You've seen these before."

She closes her eyes.

For a moment, I don't think she'll answer.

Then she speaks.

"The Crows..."

Her voice is barely above a whisper.

"...weren't a club."

Silence fills the room.

"They were couriers."

She reaches toward one of the tokens.

"Years ago..."

"During the Silver Wolf network..."

"The Crows carried messages between safehouses."

Rex folds his arms.

"So they were spies."

She shakes her head.

"No."

"They never knew what they carried."

"Only where it had to go."

Ghosts from another war filled her eyes.

"They delivered sealed messages."

"Maps."

"Names."

"Codes."

"They asked no questions."

"They opened nothing."

"They simply carried information."

Amani frowned.

"Antonio built that network?"

"No."

She looked up.

"He stole it."

No one moved.

"When the Silver Wolf network collapsed..."

"He hunted the survivors."

"He took their routes."

"Their safehouses."

"Their couriers."

"And turned everything into his own intelligence system."

The room grew quiet.

This wasn't a new war.

We had stepped into one that had been burning for years.

We simply hadn't known where the fire started.

I spread a map across the table.

The dead drop.

The execution.

The ambush.

None of it made sense until I lined up the timing.

Then it hit me.

I looked at Amani.

"The courier died after the ambush."

He nodded.

"So?"

"So someone warned Antonio."

The room turned toward me.

"He knew we'd find the token."

"He knew we'd search the canyon."

"He knew someone would check the dead drop."

Rex's face tightened.

"Meaning..."

I finished the thought.

"The warning reached him before we did."

Silence.

Heavy.

Uncomfortable.

The lockdown hadn't worked.

The mole was still active.

Amani leaned over the map.

"No radios."

"We confiscated every device."

I nodded.

"Which means the messages aren't only traveling by radio."

The realization settled over everyone at once.

Someone wasn't transmitting information.

Someone was carrying it.

Face to face.

Hand to hand.

Just like the Crows had done years ago.

Our enemy had adapted.

Now we had to do the same.

Amani straightened.

"We stop chasing shadows."

Everyone looked at him.

"We give the mole something worth stealing."

His eyes moved across the room.

"We spread one story."

He tapped an old church marked on the map.

"Tell everyone we've discovered a hidden Silver Wolf archive beneath this church."

Rex raised an eyebrow.

"There isn't one."

"I know."

A small smile crossed Amani's face.

"There never was."

Only five people knew the truth.

Amani.

Me.

Rex.

Evelyn.

Zuri.

Everyone else would hear exactly the same lie.

"If Antonio attacks the church..."

Amani said quietly.

"...then we'll know the leak is still inside our ranks."

No one argued.

It was dangerous.

But so was doing nothing.

The trap was set.

Again.

Only this time...

We were hunting whoever came to steal the bait.

Night settled over the mountains.

Most of the club had gone inside.

I stayed near the fire.

Watching the flames.

Fire never lies.

It burns what it's given.

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

Footsteps approached.

Zuri sat beside me.

Neither of us spoke for a while.

She watched the fire too.

Finally she asked,

"You trust anyone anymore?"

I thought about it.

About brothers I'd ridden beside.

About men now looking over their shoulders.

About the courier lying beside the stream.

"I trust what people do."

I kept my eyes on the flames.

"Not what they say."

She nodded slowly.

"I think I'm starting to understand."

I looked at her.

"Understand what?"

"Winning a war isn't only about killing the enemy."

She stared into the fire.

"It's about knowing who's worth standing beside."

I smiled.

Just a little.

"Now you're thinking like an Iron King."

Just after midnight...

Headlights burst through the trees.

A scout rode into camp so fast his motorcycle nearly slid across the gravel.

He jumped off before the engine stopped.

Breathing hard.

Sweat covered his face.

He ran straight to Amani.

"They took the bait."

Every man in camp was on his feet.

Amani stepped forward.

"The church?"

The scout shook his head.

"No."

Silence.

Confused faces turned toward one another.

"If not the church..."

"Where?"

The scout swallowed.

His voice dropped.

"They're attacking the cemetery."

No one spoke.

I looked at Evelyn.

The color drained from her face.

She closed her eyes.

Amani stared at her.

"What are they looking for?"

When she answered...

Her voice barely carried through the night.

"Not what..."

She opened her eyes.

"...who."

The fire cracked.

Somewhere beyond the mountains...

Someone was already digging.