"Marcus?" Elias called out, his voice barely louder than a whisper, swallowed by the crashing of the waves against the rocks below.
Through the receiver came a heavy, panicked inhale, followed by a voice that sounded like gravel being crushed. "Aden... Aden... Aden." The line went dead. Aden Aden Aden
Elias looked at his oldest friend, then down at the heavy case in his hand. He didn't waste his five minutes on a goodbye. He turned and ran into the dark. What kind of genre or plot twist "Marcus
"If the world falls apart," Marcus had said, half-joking over cheap drinks, "and you can only get one word out before they cut the line... say the location thrice. No questions asked. Just run there." He didn't waste his five minutes on a goodbye
Marcus stepped forward into a thin shaft of moonlight. He looked terrible. His coat was torn, a dark smear of what could only be blood staining his left side, and his eyes were wild with a brand of fear Elias had never seen in him. He was clutching a small, metallic briefcase to his chest like a shield.
Elias hadn't seen Marcus in three years. Marcus had gone deep into private intelligence, chasing ghosts in the corporate sector.