Chapter 2 (Part 4)
The Box, the Letter, and the Man in the Photograph
The kitchen felt colder than it should have, like the house had exhaled something ancient.
Ethan sat with his hands curled around a cup of coffee he hadn't touched. His uncle, Mike, was across the table, chewing a toothpick like it was all that stood between him and a breakdown. The vials sat between them—two glass phantoms, small and deadly.
"Did he ever talk to you?" Ethan asked. "My dad. About any of this?"
Mike shook his head. "No. And believe me, I tried. After I caught wind of PURITY, I pushed. He just shut down. He was scared, Ethan. But not of going to jail. He was afraid of them."
"Them?" Ethan echoed.
Mike tapped the folder. "This group—Halrick's people. I don't know what they call themselves now, but back then, they were known on the inside as The Quiet Directive. Not officially sanctioned. Not accountable. Just... ghosts."
Ethan's stomach turned.
"What did they do?"
Mike gave him a look.
"What do you think? Disappearances. Deaths made to look like bad luck. Enemies of the state, political liabilities, foreign agents. You name it. They didn't just kill. They erased."
He leaned forward.
"And they always left no trace. Except one thing."
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
"A pattern. See, you study enough of these cases—and I did, back when I had access—you notice something. Every person targeted had one thing in common."
"What?"
"They broke the rules. Leaked something. Talked too much. Crossed the wrong people. And sometimes…" Mike's voice lowered, "…they just knew too much."
Ethan looked down at the formula.
"Then I'm already on the list."
Mike nodded once. "Yep."
---
Outside, the German Shepherd started barking—sharp, angry barks, not the usual territorial noise. Mike's hand went straight to the pistol at his side. He stood up, headed to the window, and peered through the blinds.
He froze.
"Get down," he said, barely above a whisper.
Ethan dropped to the floor just as the first pop rang out.
Glass shattered in the front room. The dog howled.
Mike moved fast—years of muscle memory kicking in. He ducked behind the kitchen island, yanked open a drawer, and tossed Ethan a small revolver.
"You ever shoot?"
Ethan's hands shook. "No—"
"Then keep your finger off the trigger until I say. And stay behind me."
Another pop. The sound of boots on the porch.
Mike rose just enough to fire once, sending a deafening blast through the house. Someone outside screamed and dropped.
"Two more," Mike hissed.
He shoved Ethan toward the back hallway.
"Go. Basement hatch leads out to the creek. You follow it till you hit the road. Then keep running."
"I'm not leaving you!" Ethan protested.
Mike turned, eyes fierce.
"This is bigger than you, Ethan! And they don't want me. They want what you have."
A third shot hit the side window. Shards of glass rained over the sink.
Mike grabbed Ethan's shoulder.
"Take the box. The vials. Everything. And don't stop moving. You understand?"
Ethan nodded, throat tight.
He didn't have time for a goodbye.
---
The basement smelled of oil and sawdust.
He found the hatch quickly, wedged behind a rack of tools. Mike had shown it to him years ago, back when he was just a kid sneaking cookies during Christmas visits.
He pushed it open, cold air rushing in, and crawled out into the wet brush behind the property. The creek glinted under moonlight, shallow and fast-moving.
Ethan didn't look back.
He ran.
---
Three miles away, soaked and gasping, Ethan collapsed behind a bus stop billboard. He pulled out his phone, turned it off, and snapped the SIM card.
He would need a burner.
A place to hide.
A new plan.
But even as adrenaline drained from his body and his muscles screamed for rest, one thing remained sharp and unrelenting in his mind:
They came for the formula.
Which meant they still needed it.
Which meant…
They didn't have it.
And that meant—at least for now—he had the upper hand.
But if he wanted to survive, he'd need answers.
Real ones.
Who was Halrick? What did The Quiet Directive want now, decades later? And most importantly…
Why was his father willing to die to keep this secret buried?
---
To be continued in Chapter 3 – "The Names in the Notebook"