The Message He Left Behind
(Author's POV)
The warehouse returned to silence.
Only the faint sound of footsteps echoed through the abandoned building.
Alex walked in front.
Jay stayed just behind him.
Deniel covered the hallway.
Cora watched their back.
Luna quietly monitored the cameras through her tablet.
Nobody spoke.
The mission had entered its most dangerous stage.
Alex raised a closed fist.
Everyone stopped instantly.
A narrow corridor stretched ahead.
Three rusted doors.
One staircase.
One office at the very end.
He pointed.
Two fingers.
Then the office.
Everyone understood.
Without saying a word, they split.
Cora silently checked the first room.
Empty.
Deniel opened the second.
Broken furniture.
Nothing useful.
Jay slowly scanned every corner through the scope of her rifle.
Still nothing.
Luna's voice whispered through the earpiece.
"No movement on the cameras."
Alex nodded.
"Stay alert."
They continued toward the office.
Every step felt heavier than the last.
Finally…
Alex reached the door.
Locked.
Deniel smiled.
Alex sighed.
"…Don't."
Too late.
BANG!
One powerful kick.
The old lock snapped apart.
The door swung open.
Dust filled the air.
Alex slowly looked at Deniel.
"I said don't."
Deniel shrugged proudly.
"It worked."
Jay simply shook her head.
"You have the subtlety of a truck."
Cora covered her mouth to hide her laugh.
Deniel looked offended.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"It wasn't."
The room finally relaxed…
For exactly three seconds.
Then everyone noticed it.
The office.
It wasn't abandoned.
The desk was clean.
Too clean.
A laptop sat in the middle.
Still powered on.
Beside it—
Several files.
A city map.
A coffee cup.
Still warm.
Alex's expression changed immediately.
"Nobody touch anything."
Luna carefully stepped forward wearing gloves.
She connected a small device to the laptop.
"I'm copying everything."
Jay slowly looked around the office.
Something didn't feel right.
Too neat.
Too organized.
Like someone had expected visitors.
She frowned.
"Alex."
He looked at her.
"This place feels…"
She searched for the right word.
"…prepared."
Before Alex could answer—
Luna spoke.
"Done."
She removed the drive.
"I've got everything."
Alex nodded.
"Good."
Deniel picked up one of the folders.
Mostly fake passports.
Shipping routes.
Bank transfers.
Nothing connected directly to Kyle.
Cora opened another drawer.
Empty.
Jay's eyes slowly drifted toward the desk.
There…
Half-hidden beneath a folder…
A single photograph.
She reached for it.
Turned it over.
And froze.
It was Kyle.
Leaning casually against a black car.
Smirking.
Like he knew exactly who would find it.
Nobody spoke.
Jay slowly turned the photograph over.
Her heartbeat slowed.
One sentence had been written across the back in black ink.
You're getting closer, Jay.
The room became completely silent.
Deniel whispered,
"…What the hell?"
Alex immediately took the photograph.
His jaw tightened.
"This wasn't left by accident."
"No," Jay replied quietly.
"It was left for us."
Luna suddenly looked up from the laptop.
"Alex…"
His attention shifted.
"What?"
She turned the screen toward everyone.
A countdown had appeared.
00:01:12
Everyone froze.
Deniel frowned.
"…Is that—"
"Move!"
Alex shouted.
Nobody questioned him.
Everyone sprinted toward the exit.
The countdown continued.
00:00:49
They raced through the corridor.
Down the stairs.
Across the warehouse floor.
Jay kept pace despite her healing injury.
Cora stayed beside her the entire time.
Alex pushed open the main doors.
"Go!"
One by one they burst outside.
Deniel was the last.
The moment he crossed the gate—
BOOM!
The explosion shook the entire warehouse.
A wall of heat blasted across the empty lot.
Glass shattered.
Metal twisted.
Smoke rose into the night sky.
The team instinctively ducked behind their vehicles.
Silence.
Heavy breathing.
Burning debris fell around them.
Jay slowly stood.
Her eyes never left the flames.
Kyle hadn't tried to kill them.
If he had…
The timer would've been shorter.
This…
Was a message.
He knew they were coming.
He had watched them search.
He had waited for them to find exactly what he wanted them to find.
Alex looked at the burning warehouse.
Then at the photograph still clutched in his hand.
His voice was calm.
Almost too calm.
"We're not hunting Kyle anymore."
Everyone looked at him.
Alex slowly folded the photograph.
"Kyle…"
"…is hunting us."
The night fell silent again.
Only the fire continued to burn.
Far away…
Hidden somewhere in the darkness…
A single security camera blinked once.
Then turned off.
End of chapter