CODE: HEATLINE

Chapter 29: Shadow

The soft hum of the building was familiar, almost soothing, as I stood by the window, looking out at the early morning sky. The sun was just beginning to crack the horizon, painting everything in shades of orange and purple, but I couldn’t shake the weight of the day ahead.

I let my fingers slide down the cool glass, watching the last of the night’s fog dissolve in the light.

The quiet was always deceptive. Beneath the surface, everything hummed with anticipation. The mission wasn’t just another operation. It was a reckoning.

I exhaled slowly, the faintest trace of Emery’s scent still lingering on my skin from the night. Her warmth, her trust, it had been a reminder, a grounding in the chaos. But there was no time to linger on that now.

I glanced at the clock. In two hours, we'd mobilize. Time to prepare.

I left the window and grabbed my jacket from the back of the chair, the fabric cool against my fingers. I wasn’t surprised when the door opened behind me.

Rael’s silhouette was framed in the doorway, his expression unreadable as usual.

“You ready?” he asked, voice low, like it always was when things were about to go down.

I turned to face him. “Just about. I’m waiting for the team to check in.”

“They’ll be ready.”

“Good.”

I gave a small nod, but my mind was already elsewhere, on her. The way she’d clutched at her ribs last night. Said it was nothing. Brushed it off like always. But I knew better.

I stepped out into the hall, pulled out my phone, and hit the contact. Francesca picked up on the second ring.

“Do you have anything,” I said, voice low, “for chest tightness? If it hits sudden.”

A pause. “For Emery?”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t need to.

“Yes. I have something. Reacts fast. Why?”

“Bring it to Aetherion HQ,” I said. “Now.”

“Give me twenty minutes.”

She hung up. I stayed by the window, watching the street below, jaw locked. Twenty minutes felt like twenty hours.

But exactly nineteen and some seconds later, the elevator dinged. Francesca stepped out in her usual clipped stride, black coat, dark hair tied back, eyes already scanning for me. She didn’t wait for small talk.

“Here.”

She handed over a slim matte case. I cracked it open. A single syringe nestled inside. Pale amber liquid. No label.

“Works intramuscular,” she said. “Under sixty seconds. It’s not a sedative, it won’t knock her out. Just stabilizes the neural feedback loop if it spikes under stress. You’ll know if she needs it.”

I closed the case and slipped it into the inside pocket of my jacket. Close. Always close.

“Thanks.”

She tilted her head, like she wanted to say more. Then didn’t.

I didn’t look back when I walked away.

I had what I needed.
And I wouldn’t let her break.

Rael’s gaze flickered to the side, as I stepped inside the war room, where the war table stood with its glowing map of Louisiana. The dots were already in place, the tactical routes prepped. We’d done this before. But something about this mission felt… personal. And not just because of Emery. No. It was everything. The ghosts of the past, the way things had spiraled out of control.