Chapter 5: What Marco Reyes Left Behind
Vincent found Marco Reyes at six in the morning in a diner on the west side of the city, sitting in the last booth with a coffee he hadn't touched and a newspaper he wasn't reading.
Marco looked up when Vincent sat down across from him.
He didn't look surprised.
"I wondered how long it would take you," Marco said.
"You sent the warning."
"I sent the warning."
Vincent studied him.
Marco Reyes had aged in two years — not badly, but visibly, in the way that men age when they stop running and start carrying something instead.
There were lines around his eyes that hadn't been there before.
"How long have you known about the girl?" Vincent asked.
Marco wrapped both hands around his coffee cup.
"Since before she was born."
Vincent kept his face still.
"Adrian doesn't know that."
"No.
He doesn't." Marco looked out the window at the early morning street.
"Sarah told me.
Four years ago, before the situation with Volkov deteriorated.
She needed someone outside the organization to know.
In case something happened to her.
In case she needed help getting Lily out."
"She trusted you with that."
"She trusted me with that," Marco confirmed.
"And I kept it.
For four years I kept it, including the two years I've been out of the city." He finally picked up the coffee cup.
"I'm still keeping it, Vincent.
I'm not a threat to that child."
"Then who is?
Who fed Volkov the location?"
Marco set the cup down.
His jaw shifted.
"His name is Carver," Marco said.
"Thomas Carver.
He was a mid-level analyst in the city planning office — legitimate job, clean record.
On the side, he sold location intelligence to whoever paid.
Volkov's people found him eight months ago.
He's been feeding them information on anyone connected to Adrian ever since." A pause.
"He found Sarah through the daycare registration.
Her name, the address, the pickup schedule.
All of it."
Vincent's expression didn't change.
"You've been watching Carver."
"For three months.
I didn't know about Lily's connection to Adrian until six weeks ago, when Carver started pulling her daycare records specifically.
That's when I understood what Volkov was building toward." Marco looked directly at Vincent for the first time.
"I should have come to you sooner.
I know that.
I was trying to get enough on Carver to hand you something actionable, not just a warning."
"Instead you sent a text to Sarah's phone."
"Because last night Carver made a call that told me they were moving within hours.
I didn't have time for anything else." Marco reached into his jacket and placed a folded envelope on the table between them.
"This is everything I have on Carver.
Three months of documentation.
Locations, dates, the names of two other clients besides Volkov.
Financial records showing the payments." He pushed the envelope toward Vincent.
"It's enough."
Vincent picked it up.
He didn't open it yet.
"Why?" Vincent asked.
"You're out.
You've been clean for two years.
You could have walked away from this entirely."
Marco looked at him steadily.
"Sarah was kind to me when she didn't have to be.
When I left the organization and everyone else treated me like I was already d*ad, she called me once a month for six months to make sure I was all right." He paused.
"And she has a three-year-old daughter who draws her father without a face.
I'm not built to walk away from that."
Vincent stood.
He held the envelope.
"Adrian is going to want to talk to you," he said.
"I know."
"He's going to have questions you won't enjoy answering."
"I know that too."
"Can I tell him you're available?"
Marco picked up his untouched coffee and finally took a long drink.
"Tell him I'll be here until noon.
After that I have to move — Carver doesn't know I've been watching him, but that won't last much longer once Volkov's people report that Sarah got out last night."
Vincent nodded once.
He was already moving toward the door when Marco spoke again.
"Vincent." A pause.
"How is she?
Sarah."
Vincent stopped.
He didn't turn around.
"She got her daughter out without waking her," he said.
"Kid slept through the whole thing."
He heard Marco exhale behind him.
May you like
A long, quiet breath that sounded like relief.
Then Vincent walked out into the morning and called Adrian.
