Noah didn't argue.
That was how Owl knew something had gone wrong.
He ended the call without saying goodbye and sat still, listening to the hum of the apartment. The refrigerator clicked. Pipes knocked somewhere in the walls. Normal sounds. Civilian sounds.
They didn't fit anymore.
"…Someone else already is," he repeated quietly.
That was the part he hadn't planned for.
Protocol Exists for a Reason
The rules were simple. They always had been.
Don't act alone.
Don't engage without confirmation.
Don't approach an asset who has chosen dormancy.
Especially not one presumed dead.
Especially not one who had earned that silence.
Noah knew the rules.
He had written some of them.
And He Breaks Them Anyway
He stood, already moving.
Laptop closed.
Burner phone pocketed.
Personal phone left behind.
He didn't need tracking.
He needed proximity.
If someone else was circling her—
That meant the clock had started.
Why He Can't Wait
Because if it wasn't him—
It would be someone who didn't hesitate.
Someone who didn't care if she stayed buried.
Someone who would test her harder than he ever would.
"…You taught me this," Noah muttered as he pulled on his jacket.
"…If the perimeter's compromised, you don't file reports."
You move.
The City Becomes Familiar Again
Outside, the city rearranged itself in Noah's vision.
Reflections turned into blind spots.
Crowds into cover.
Cameras into predictable arcs.
He wasn't a civilian walking anymore.
He was navigating.
Which meant—
She would notice.
He Chooses the Wrong Right Place
Not her apartment.
Too obvious.
Too controlled.
He chose a location she had to pass through.
A studio district café she frequented after late shoots.
Public.
Bright.
Safe.
Which made it perfect.
People relaxed there.
She wouldn't.
He Arrives Early
Noah took a seat with his back to the wall.
Ordered nothing.
Watched everything.
Actors came and went.
Assistants scrolled on phones.
No one clocked him.
Good.
Then—
The pressure shifted.
Not dramatic.
Subtle.
The way it did right before training drills went live.
Noah's spine straightened.
"…She's here," he whispered.
The Moment Almost Happens
Aria entered like she always did.
Casual.
Unremarkable.
Perfectly placed to see the entire room without turning her head.
Their eyes didn't meet.
They didn't need to.
She froze for half a step.
Then continued.
She knew.
The Test He Didn't Mean to Run
Noah stood as if to leave.
Changed direction at the last second.
Crossed her path.
Close.
Too close.
Enough for confirmation.
Her hand lifted—
Not toward him.
Toward space.
A preemptive barrier.
A warning.
Their shoulders brushed.
Nothing else.
She didn't look at him.
She didn't speak.
But her voice reached him anyway.
Low.
Controlled.
"…Don't."
Noah stopped walking.
The café noise rushed back in around him.
He turned slowly.
She was already seated.
Already calm.
Already gone.
Aftermath
Noah sat back down, heart steady, mind racing.
She hadn't denied it.
She hadn't acknowledged him.
She had issued a boundary.
Which meant—
"She's alive," he said softly.
And worse—
She knew he was too.
Closing Beat
Across the café, Aria Lane lifted her cup and took a sip.
Didn't shake.
Didn't rush.
Didn't look his way again.
But inside, calculations ran clean and cold.
Noah broke protocol.
Which meant the past had teeth again.
And teeth—
Only came out when someone was already bleeding.