Silas Vane POV
The drone was buzzing like a giant, angry bee just a few feet above my head. I pressed my back against the cold, brick wall of the alleyway, holding my breath. I could see the red light of its camera scanning the ground, looking for my face. If that light touched me, the computers would recognize my scars in a heartbeat. They would scream "TRAITOR" to every police officer in the city.
I wasn't a Major anymore. I was a hunted animal.
"Come on, Maya," I whispered into my tiny earpiece. "Kill the signal."
"Almost there," Maya's voice crackled. She sounded like she was typing a hundred miles an hour. "The city's security is like a giant spiderweb, Silas. If I pull one string, the spider wakes up."
"I don't care about the spider," I grunted, feeling the sting of the scars on my face. "Just turn off the light."
Suddenly, the drone's red eye flickered and went dark. It wobbled in the air for a second before flying off in the wrong direction. I didn't wait to see where it went. I ran. My legs still hurt from the mountain clinic, but the anger inside me acted like fuel. I reached a rusty metal door at the end of the alley and knocked three times.
A small slot opened. A pair of eyes looked at me. They weren't friendly eyes.
"I'm here for the 'New Life' package," I said.
The door creaked open. Inside was a room that felt like a cave made of wires. A man with a messy beard and greasy fingers stood there. They called him 'The Ghost-Maker.' He didn't make people into ghosts by killing them; he made them into ghosts by giving them new names, new faces, and new lives.
"You're the one from the news," the man said, his voice sounding like dry leaves. "The dead Major. You've got a lot of nerve coming here. The General is paying a lot of money for your head."
"Then you know I have a lot of reason to kill you if you tell him I'm here," I said, stepping into the light.
The man flinched when he saw my face. Most people did. The fire from the helicopters had left me looking like a monster. But to me, these scars were a reminder. Every time I looked in a mirror, I saw Jax. I saw Leo. I saw the brothers I couldn't save.
"Sit in the chair," the man muttered. "This is going to hurt. Underground tech isn't like the stuff they use in the big hospitals. It's fast, and it's messy."
I sat down. He pulled a heavy helmet over my head. It felt like a cage.
"I need to be invisible," I told him. "I don't want to be a hero. I don't want to be a Major. I need a name that people forget the second they hear it."
"I have just the thing," the Ghost-Maker said. "A man named Elias Thorne. He was a Sergeant in the infantry. He was kicked out of the army two years ago for not following orders. He's a nobody. No family. No friends. He's a loser. Perfect for you."
"Do it," I said.
The machine started to hum. Then, the pain hit. It felt like a thousand tiny needles were dancing on my skin. The machine was "painting" a digital mask onto my face. It wasn't a real mask I could take off; it was a layer of tiny sensors that would trick the city's cameras. To a human, I would still look like me scarred and broken. But to a computer, I would look like Elias Thorne.
I clenched my teeth so hard I thought they would snap. I pictured General Sterling's face. I pictured him laughing as he told the world I was a traitor. That image kept me from screaming.
"Done," the man said, pulling the helmet off.
I felt dizzy. My skin felt hot. He handed me a small, plastic card. It was a new ID. It had my picture on it, but the name said Elias Thorne. It showed that I had been "dishonorably discharged." In the military, that's a badge of shame. To me, it was my shield.
"Wait," I said, looking at the card. "Why does the record say I was kicked out for 'insubordination'?"
"Because it makes people look away," the Ghost-Maker said with a crooked smile. "People don't like soldiers who don't follow orders. They think you're a troublemaker. They won't ask you questions. They'll just give you a mop or a guard post and leave you alone."
"Good," I said.
I stood up and looked in a cracked mirror on the wall. I still saw Silas Vane. I still saw the silver scars. But when I tapped a small button behind my ear, a tiny light blinked. Maya had set it up.
"Maya, can you see me?" I asked.
"Scanning now," she said through my ear. A second later, she cheered. "It worked! The system thinks you are Elias Thorne. You are officially a 'low-level nobody.' You can walk right through the front gate of the city and the computers will think you're just a guy looking for a sandwich."
"It's not enough to walk through a gate," I said. "I have to save Claire."
I left the Ghost-Maker's shop and stepped back out into the rain. I felt different. For the first time since the Karsak Valley, I wasn't a target. I walked past a police officer. My heart hammered against my ribs. I waited for him to grab his gun. I waited for him to yell my name.
He didn't. He didn't even look at me. He just checked his watch and kept walking.
I was a ghost.
I made my way toward the university. This was where General Sterling's daughter, Claire, was supposed to be. I didn't know if she was part of her father's evil plan, but I knew the General was going to use her to trap me. I had to get to her first. If I could save her, maybe I could show her the truth about her father.
The university was a place of big, white buildings and green grass. It looked peaceful. But as I got closer, I saw the black SUVs. I saw the men in suits with earpieces. The Hounds were already here.
"Maya, give me a map," I whispered.
"She's in the library," Maya said. "Third floor. But Silas I mean, Elias be careful. There's something weird about the security there. It's not just the General's men. There's a second signal. Someone else is watching her."
I ignored the warning. I had to move. I walked toward the library, trying to look like a bored, grumpy security guard. I hunched my shoulders. I looked at the ground. I was Elias Thorne, the man nobody cared about.
I reached the library doors. A guard stopped me. He looked at my new ID.
"Thorne, Elias?" the guard asked, looking at his tablet. "You're the new guy from the agency?"
"Yeah," I grunted. "They sent me to help with the 'special detail.'"
The guard looked at my scarred face and made a face of disgust. He didn't see the Major. He just saw a broken soldier. "Fine. Go to the third floor. Try not to scare the students."
I walked inside. The library was quiet and smelled like old books. I headed for the stairs. My mind was focused on one thing: Claire. I reached the third floor and saw her sitting at a table near a window. She had long, dark hair and looked just like the photos. She looked innocent. She had no idea her father was a monster.
I started to walk toward her. I was only ten feet away. I was going to tell her she was in danger. I was going to be the hero.
But then, my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a text from Maya. It was only three words long, but it made my heart stop cold.
DO NOT TOUCH HER.
I stopped. I looked at Claire again. She wasn't studying. She was looking at a small watch on her wrist. A red light was blinking on it.
"Elias, get out of there!" Maya screamed in my ear. "The 'Elias Thorne' ID... it wasn't a random name! The real Elias Thorne was a bomb-maker for the Syndicate! The Ghost-Maker set you up!"
Before I could move, the library doors behind me slammed shut and locked with a heavy clack.
Claire Sterling stood up. She didn't look scared anymore. She looked at me, and her eyes were as cold as her father's. She tapped her watch, and a loud alarm began to ring through the building.
"Security!" Claire shouted, her voice loud and clear. "The terrorist Elias Thorne is here! He's trying to kill me!"
I looked at the cameras. I realized the trap wasn't just for me. The General had given me the perfect identity the identity of a man the police were already hunting.
The windows of the library shattered as ropes dropped from the roof. Men in black armor started swinging inside, their guns pointed directly at my chest.
"Hands up, Thorne!" a voice boomed over a loudspeaker. "You have nowhere to go!"
I looked at Claire. She smiled at me. It was the same smile the General had.
I wasn't the hunter. I was the bait. And now, the whole world was watching.