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Then—

Two of them.

Different heights. Different clothes.

Same walk.

Same refusal to look.

They cross paths.

Don’t acknowledge each other.

That’s the tell.

I’m already typing.

It’s a relay. They’re handing off observation so no one looks stationary.

They’re not here yet, Aaron.

They’re building confidence.

The response is immediate and not calm.

Pack a go-bag. Now.

It’s not like I have much to pack.

I close the laptop and finally let my hands shake.

Because I wasn’t looking for danger.

I was looking for absence.

And I found it.

The assumption they’re about to correct.

10

Aaron

Location: Lisbon — Safehouse

Time: Late Morning

I’m already moving when her message comes in.

It’s a relay. They’re handing off observation.

That’s not casual surveillance.

That’s confirmation.

I don’t take the stairs. I take the service lift and come up silent, gun already in my hand, mind running through failure trees.

Door. Hall. No noise.