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Chapter 4: The Unwanted

The elevator made a soft chime as it opened.

Rook stepped out behind Grayson, her oversized hoodie dragging near her knees.

Her eyes scanned the space — metal walls, polished floors, strange tech lining every hall.

Everything was clean.

Everything felt wrong.

This wasn’t her world.

But it would be.

---

They entered a wide room with tall glass windows and steel beams overhead — Ash Wing headquarters.

Five agents stood around a central table, reviewing files.

Oren, Vera, Dirk, Maeve, and Callen — elite minds, each trained, tested, lethal in their own right.

All of them turned when Grayson entered.

And all of them stared when they saw her.

A small girl.

Pale. Hollow-cheeked.

Golden eyes that didn’t blink.

No introduction. No smile.

Just silence.

---

Maeve folded her arms.

> “What’s this?”

> “Your new partner,” Grayson said evenly.

Dead silence.

Callen gave a sharp laugh.

> “She’s a kid.”

Dirk frowned.

> “And I’ve seen her before. She’s the one they call the Rat. A thief.”

Vera’s eyes narrowed, sharp and quiet.

> “Why would you bring her here?”

Grayson stepped forward calmly.

> “Yes. She’s a thief.

But not just any thief.

She’s the one who pulled off thirty-two operations over two years without leaving a trace.

She mapped your security zones.

She bypassed your alarms.

She played with your city like a puzzle box.”

He turned and looked at them — each one in the eye.

> “She’s the mastermind it took you a full year to track.

And she’s eight years old.”

Silence again.

He rested a hand gently on Rook’s shoulder — she didn’t flinch, but she didn’t lean into it either.

> “You see a stray.

I see a mind sharper than any agent in this room.

You don’t have to like her.

You just have to understand: she’s already better than most of you.”

---

Oren let out a low whistle.

> “She doesn’t talk much?”

Grayson smiled slightly.

> “She talks when it matters.”

Rook looked around the room, eyes empty but watching.

> “They don’t want me,” she said quietly.

Grayson turned to her.

> “They don’t need to.

They’ll follow you soon enough.”

---

End of Chapter 4