--:Keifer's POV:--
The hospital hallway was a tunnel of sterile light and suffocating silence. I stood by the glass of the ICU, my eyes locked on Jay-jay's pale face. I couldn't get the image of her hands out of my head—the way the dark, damp earth was packed deep under her fingernails.
"Keifer, you need to sit down before you collapse" David said, his voice calm but firm. He was leaning against the wall, watching me with that analytical gaze of his. "The doctors are doing what they can. Pacing isn't going to wake her up."
"She wasn't just running, David" I said, my voice a low, dangerous rasp. "Think about the warehouse. Kaizar's men were tearing that van apart. They were searching the seats, the floorboards, even her shoes. They didn't find what they were looking for."
David narrowed his eyes, his mind working through the logic. "You think she was carrying something?
"I think she was carrying the reason he took her. And she didn't have it when they got to that warehouse. The dirt under her nails... she got that in the woods. She buried whatever it was right before they grabbed her."
"That's a huge gamble, Keifer," David countered. "If Kaizar finds out she hid it, he'll go back and level that forest."
"He already knows" I snapped.
Before David could respond, the heavy double doors at the end of the hall swung open. Angelo stepped through, his face a mask of cold fury. Behind him was Aries, who had clearly made the call.
"Aries told me everything," Angelo said, his voice booming in the quiet hallway. He looked at the ICU glass, his jaw tightening. "Kaizar's crossed a line he can't walk back from. What's the move, Keifer?"
"The move is the woods," I said, grabbing my jacket. "Kaizar isn't at his base. He's a vulture—he's waiting for me to lead him to the spot. He knows I'll figure out why she was digging."
"Then we don't go in soft," Angelo growled, cracking his knuckles."If he's back at those trees, we bury him in the same dirt she was digging in."
--:Jay-jay's POV :--
(In Dream)
I was trapped in a fog. I could hear the beep... beep... beep... of the monitor, but it sounded like a warning bell from a long way off.
The oak tree... I thought. The one with the lightning scar... please, Keifer, stay away...
I remembered the cold weight of the metal thing Yuri had given me. I hadn't even known what was on it. I just knew that the moment my fingers touched it, I felt like I was holding a death warrant.
I buried it to save you, I tried to scream into the darkness. If you find it, you become the target.
--:Keifer's POV:--
Even if I didn't want to leave her, I had to. I went back to the woods because if Kaizar found it before we did, all her efforts would be wasted.
The North Woods were silent as a tomb. I didn't use a flashlight. I didn't need one. I let my instincts guide me back to the ridge where I'd heard her final scream.
David and Angelo moved like shadows behind me. We reached the clearing. The moonlight hit the massive, scorched oak tree.
"There" I whispered.
I dropped to my knees. The soil was loose. I began to dig, my fingers hitting the cold earth. After a few inches, I felt it. Something hard. Small.
I pulled it out—a silver pen drive, caked in mud.
"Is that it?" Angelo whispered, stepping closer.
"It must be" I said, staring at the tiny object in my palm. I didn't know what was on it, but it was the reason Jay-jay was in this condition.
Suddenly, a red laser dot appeared on the silver casing of the drive in my hand. Then another settled on my chest.
"I knew you wouldn't disappoint me, Keifer."
Kaizar's voice came from the darkness of the ridge above. A dozen flashlights clicked on simultaneously, blinding us. Kaizar stepped into the light, looking down at us like a judge.
"I spent an hour digging in the wrong spots," Kaizar drawled, sounding almost impressed. "But I knew if I just waited, you would do the dirty work for me. Now, be a good boy and toss that up here."
Angelo stepped in front of me, his massive frame blocking the line of fire. "You want it? Come down here and take it."
"I don't think so" Kaizar smiled. He held up his phone. "My men are still at the hospital, Angelo. I'm one button press away from telling them to unplug the ventilator. So, let's see who's faster—your temper, or my finger?"
The air turned to ice. I looked at the drive, then back at the ridge. We were trapped between the truth and her life.