Prologue
Caelen’s – Present Day
It starts with a book. A children’s story.
Charlie’s Great Adventure: The Case of the Missing Red Jacket. Caelen volunteered to read it for Officer Reading Day. First grade. Ridgewood Elementary.
One of those quiet, well-meaning events where no one knew he was deep undercover. Not the teachers. Not the parents. Not even the officers in his own department. His case was that classified. And he needed a breather.
So he put on the uniform, left his badge visible, and smiled for the children. He remembers parking. He remembers walking into the school. He remembers the black sedan driving slowly past. Tinted windows. A wrong turn.
But the man inside—He recognized him. Not because of the badge—but because of the car.
The same unmarked government vehicle used in past missions. The same one that nearly gave him away last year. The man had seen it before. He waited. Parked beside it.
And when Caelen finished reading, waved to the kids, and walked back out into the sunshine—He never made it to the driver’s door.
The hit came hard. Blunt force. Back of the skull. His world went black. Now he wakes in a trunk.
Bound.
Gagged.
Disoriented.
Look Inside: Oil Rig
Then—A vibration. A phone. Buzzing near his hip. Not his main line. His burner. The emergency number tied only to department notifications, backchannel data, and one small-town library.
He groans, shifts just enough to grab it. Flip phone. One bar of signal. One blinking message.
Unknown Number Calling.
He answers. “Hello?”
A soft voice. Surprised. “Hi… this is Lark from Meadow stone Public Library. I’m calling to remind you your book is overdue. Charlie’s Great Adventure. It was due yesterday, and it’s now on hold for another patron.”
He breathes like she just pulled him out of water. “Lark… please don’t hang up. I don’t know where I am. I’ve been taken. I need you to call 911—ask for me by name. Caelen.”
A pause. “Is this a prank?”
“It’s not. I’m a detective. Deep cover. No one knows I’m missing. I left for vacation early. I told my handler. Call the department. Please—verify me.”
“Okay… wait. Don’t hang up. I’m going to use the landline.”
She sets the phone down. Dials the department number from her desk.
One ring. Two. “Police dispatch.”
“Hi, I’m trying to confirm an officer. Caelen. He says he’s in danger.” “There’s no one by that name assigned here.”
“But he gave me a badge number—”
Click. They hang up.
She lifts the phone again. “They… said you don’t exist.”
He presses his forehead to the metal floor of the trunk. There was a word. A code. If anything ever happens………..
