# Chapter: The Meeting
## Fifth Street Coffee Shop
The rain had intensified by the time Liam reached the coffee shop, turning the sidewalks into rivers and forcing pedestrians to huddle under whatever shelter they could find. He pushed through the glass door, shaking water from his jacket as the familiar smell of roasted beans and warm pastries enveloped him.
The shop was nearly empty—just a few students with laptops scattered across corner tables and an elderly man reading a newspaper by the window. Liam ordered a black coffee and chose a seat with clear sight lines to both entrances, a habit that USOV training had ingrained in him over the past months.
He checked his phone: three minutes early. His nerves were on edge, and every time the door chimed with a new arrival, his hand instinctively moved toward the concealed weapon at his side. The message had been vague enough to feel like a trap, but specific enough about his sister to demand his attention.
