CHAPTER 14 The Watchers in the Crowd
Daniel's face drained of color.
He knelt in front of Emma.
"What did you say?"
Emma held the brass coin between two small fingers.
"They're already watching us."
"Who told you that?"
She shrugged.
"No one."
"You just know?"
Emma nodded.
"The same way I knew where Bunny was."
A heavy silence settled over the rose garden.
For the first time since Adrian had met Daniel, the former bodyguard looked genuinely shaken.
Firefighters continued battling the blaze behind them.
Police officers moved through the estate.
Reporters had begun gathering outside the gates.
The garden no longer felt hidden.
It felt exposed.
Daniel slowly stood.
"We need to leave."
Adrian frowned.
"Because of Blackridge?"
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
"Because if Emma is right..."
"...the Archivists have already made contact."
Natalie looked around.
"I don't see anyone."
Daniel smiled faintly.
"That's the point."
A paramedic approached them carrying a medical bag.
"Miss Westwood?"
Natalie turned.
"I'm not married."
"My apologies."
The young medic smiled politely.
"Your shoulder needs stitches."
Natalie hesitated.
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
"What hospital are you with?"
The medic pointed toward the ambulances parked near the gate.
"Cook County."
Daniel didn't even look.
"What shift are you on?"
The medic blinked.
"Morning."
Daniel's expression never changed.
"Who's your supervisor?"
A pause.
Barely noticeable.
But enough.
The medic smiled again.
"I don't have time for questions."
He reached for Natalie's arm.
Daniel caught his wrist.
Hard.
The medic's smile vanished.
For one brief second...
His eyes became completely emotionless.
Then he twisted free with surprising speed.
Too fast.
Too trained.
He took two steps backward.
"Wrong answer," Daniel said quietly.
The medic reached into his medical bag.
Not for bandages.
For a compact black pistol fitted with a suppressor.
"Down!"
Daniel shouted.
The shot cracked through the garden.
The bullet missed Natalie by inches and shattered the stone bench instead.
Chaos erupted.
Firefighters screamed.
Police ducked for cover.
The fake medic ran.
Daniel sprinted after him.
Adrian started to follow.
Then another voice called out.
"Mr. Westwood."
He turned.
An elderly woman wearing a volunteer vest stood beside the garden path.
Gray hair.
Kind eyes.
She held a tray of bottled water.
Nothing unusual.
Except...
She quietly placed one bottle upside down on the tray.
Then another.
Leaving only one standing.
Daniel froze mid-stride.
He looked at the woman.
Then slowly stopped chasing the assassin.
Rachel frowned.
"What is she doing?"
Daniel whispered,
"She's signaling."
The elderly woman met Adrian's eyes.
No smile.
No greeting.
Only one sentence.
"The library remembers."
Then she walked away into the crowd.
No one stopped her.
Within seconds...
She disappeared among firefighters, police officers, and reporters.
As though she'd never been there.
Natalie stared.
"Who was that?"
Daniel exhaled slowly.
"An Archivist."
Adrian looked toward the crowd.
Hundreds of people now filled the estate.
Journalists.
Neighbors.
Emergency crews.
Government officials.
Anyone could be watching.
Anyone could belong to Blackridge.
Anyone...
Could belong to the Archivists.
Daniel reached into Adrian's hand and closed his fingers around the brass coin.
"Keep this hidden."
"What does 'The library remembers' mean?"
"It's an invitation."
"To where?"
Daniel shook his head.
"I don't know."
"They never give directions."
"They expect you to find them."
Emma quietly spoke.
"I know."
Everyone turned.
Rachel sighed.
"Emma..."
"They're in the library."
Daniel looked at her.
"Which library?"
Emma frowned.
"The one with no books."
A strange silence followed.
Daniel whispered to himself,
"So it still exists..."
An hour later, the fire was finally under control.
Most of the mansion's upper floors had been destroyed.
Miraculously, the underground archive remained intact.
Police sealed the estate.
Detectives interviewed everyone present.
Adrian gave as little information as possible.
Victor Hale was nowhere to be found.
Neither was the fake medic.
It was as though both men had vanished.
As evening approached, Adrian's phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
He answered.
No one spoke.
Only soft piano music.
Clair de Lune.
Then a woman's voice.
Calm.
Older.
"Mr. Westwood."
He stopped walking.
"Who is this?"
"You've been looking for the truth."
"Yes."
"You've also been looking in the wrong place."
His grip tightened around the phone.
"Are you one of the Archivists?"
A brief pause.
"We don't answer that question."
"Then why call me?"
"Because Claire asked us to."
Adrian's heartbeat quickened.
"What do you want?"
The woman replied with precise calm.
"Tomorrow."
"11:17 a.m."
"Chicago Public Library."
"Do not enter through the front."
The call disconnected.
Adrian immediately redialed.
The number no longer existed.
Rachel looked at him.
"What happened?"
He slowly lowered the phone.
"I think..."
"...we just received Claire's final appointment."
That night, as the last flames died at Westwood Manor, a lone figure stood on a rooftop half a mile away, watching the emergency lights flicker in the distance.
Victor Hale lowered a pair of binoculars.
A young woman stepped beside him.
"Should we stop them tomorrow?"
Victor smiled.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because they're finally going to lead us..."
"...to the Archivists."
He turned away from the burning mansion.
"But tell the Director..."
May you like
"...Phase Two begins at sunrise."
END OF CHAPTER 14
