Agent Carter Hayes — Point of View
Hayes kept his headlights off as he followed the tribal convoy at a distance, the night swallowing his SUV in long stretches of darkness. He wasn’t proud of tailing them — it felt beneath him — but he wasn’t about to let them run an investigation he was supposed to be leading.
They had a new lead. A room name. A third site. And they weren’t telling him where they were going.
He gripped the wheel tighter. “Fine,” he muttered. “I’ll find out myself.”
The convoy turned off the main road, heading toward a stretch of land that wasn’t on any of his maps. Hayes slowed, letting them get just far enough ahead that he could still track their taillights without being obvious.
He didn’t notice the second tribal vehicle slip behind him. Not yet.
###
Eliza Morningstar — Point of View
Eliza watched the rearview mirror, jaw tightening. “He’s following us,” she said.
Evan didn’t look surprised. “Of course he is.”
Marianne, in the back seat, leaned forward. “He’s going to blow our cover if we get too close to the site.”
Elijah’s voice crackled over the radio from the second vehicle. “I’ve got eyes on him. He’s keeping distance, but not enough.”
Eliza exhaled slowly. “We can’t lead him straight there.”
Evan nodded. “We need to shake him.”
Marianne frowned. “Without escalating.”
Eliza’s voice was steady. “We’re not escalating. We’re redirecting.”
###
Agent Carter Hayes — Point of View
Hayes watched the convoy slow near a fork in the road. Good. He’d catch up soon. Then the lead vehicle turned left. Hayes followed. But something felt off. The road was narrowing. The terrain was changing. This wasn’t the direction he expected. He checked his GPS — nothing. No signal. No map. He cursed under his breath.
Then the headlights flared in his rearview mirror. A second vehicle. Close. Too close. Hayes stiffened. “What the—” The vehicle behind him flashed its high beams once. A warning. Hayes swallowed. They knew he was following.
###
Elijah Greyhawk — Point of View
Elijah kept his truck steady behind Hayes. Not aggressive, not threatening — just present. A reminder. A boundary. Elijah keyed the radio. “He’s boxed. He knows it.”
Eliza’s voice came through. “Good. Hold him there.”
Marianne added, “We’ll circle back once we’re clear.”
Elijah watched Hayes’s SUV slow, then stop at the edge of a frozen wash. The road ahead was barely a road at all — a dead end unless you knew the land.
Hayes didn’t. Elijah pulled up beside him and rolled down his window. Hayes did the same, tension radiating off him. “You’re going the wrong way,” Elijah said.
Hayes bristled. “I’m following an active lead.”
“No,” Elijah said calmly. “You’re following us.”
Hayes opened his mouth to argue, but Elijah cut him off. “You’re going to get someone hurt.”
###
Agent Carter Hayes — Point of View
Hayes felt heat rise in his chest. “I’m trying to do my job,” he snapped.
Elijah didn’t flinch. “So are we.”
Hayes gestured toward the dark road ahead. “Where does this go?”
“Nowhere you need to be,” Elijah said.
Hayes stared at him. “You’re obstructing a federal investigation.”
Elijah’s voice stayed level. “And you’re about to walk into a site without backup, without intel, and without jurisdiction.”
Hayes froze. Because Elijah wasn’t threatening him. He was warning him. Hayes swallowed hard. “Where are they going?”
Elijah shook his head. “Not here.”
Hayes looked past him, toward the empty road, the dark prairie, the stony silence. He knew they had played him. Redirected. Not aggressively. Not maliciously. Just… outmaneuvered.
Elijah nodded once. “Go back to the main road, Agent Hayes.”
Hayes didn’t move. Elijah added, “If you want to help, stop trying to lead.”
###
Eliza Morningstar — Point of View
Eliza watched from a ridge a half‑mile away as Elijah’s headlights turned Hayes around. Marianne exhaled. “That was close.”
Evan nodded. “If he’d followed us another mile, he would’ve seen the markers.”
Eliza kept her eyes on the distant vehicles. “He’s not the enemy.”
“No,” Evan agreed. “But he’s not ready.”
Marianne added, “And he’s not careful.”
Eliza finally turned away. “Let’s move. We have a site to find.”
###
Agent Carter Hayes — Point of View
Hayes drove back toward the main road, humiliation burning in his chest. He wasn’t incompetent or reckless. He wasn’t trying to sabotage anything.
He just wanted answers. But the truth was undeniable: they were ahead of him. They were more coordinated. They were protecting something he didn’t understand.
He gripped the wheel. “Fine,” he muttered. “If they won’t let me in…” He glanced at the GPS, waiting for the signal to return. “…I’ll find another way.”