Chapter 5: Ghosts of Vienna
The Escape Route
The frigid air clung to Jasper Hawke’s soaked clothes as he and Evelyn crouched behind a stack of cargo crates on the deck of the riverboat. The faint hum of sirens echoed from the streets above, searchlights sweeping over the water.
They had barely escaped Prague alive.
Jasper wiped water from his face, his mind racing. Wolfe had given him just enough information to make things worse—Calloway wasn’t the true enemy. Someone else was pulling the strings. Someone powerful enough to control intelligence agencies like chess pieces.
Evelyn kept her voice low. “Where do we go now?”
Jasper didn’t hesitate. “Vienna.”
Evelyn raised an eyebrow. “And what’s in Vienna?”
“An old friend. If we want to know who’s really behind this, he’s our best shot.”
Evelyn exhaled. “I swear, if this is another ambush—”
Jasper gave a smirk. “Then we’ll do what we always do.”
She rolled her eyes. “Run?”
He checked his ammo. “No. Get ahead.”
Vienna Safehouse
The train to Vienna was uneventful. They changed compartments twice, avoided cameras, and stayed invisible.
By the time they reached the city, the night sky hung over the Danube River like a thick shroud. Vienna’s historic streets, with their elegant facades and quiet alleyways, felt like a different world from the chaos in Prague.
Jasper led Evelyn through the twisting streets until they reached an unmarked wooden door in a forgotten part of the city.
He knocked twice, waited, then knocked again.
A slot in the door slid open. Cold, sharp eyes examined them.
Then the door creaked open.
Inside, a man stood waiting. He was older, his silver hair cropped close, a scar tracing the edge of his jawline.
Luca Moreau. Former French intelligence. A ghost who had disappeared off the radar years ago.
Moreau eyed Jasper. “You look like hell.”
Jasper smirked. “And you look like you missed me.”
Moreau sighed. “Come in before someone sees you.”
The Real Threat
The safehouse was small but secure—reinforced doors, encrypted communication lines, and a well-stocked armory.
Moreau poured himself a glass of whiskey, motioning for Jasper and Evelyn to sit.
“I heard about Prague,” Moreau said. “Who are you running from this time?”
Jasper leaned forward. “I need information. Someone inside the agency betrayed me, but Calloway isn’t the one pulling the strings.”
Moreau swirled his glass. “You want a name.”
Jasper nodded.
Moreau studied him for a long moment, then sighed. “I thought you might come looking one day.” He reached into a drawer, pulling out a worn file.
Jasper took it, flipping through pages of redacted reports, intelligence briefings, and surveillance logs.
Then his eyes froze on a name.
“Rainer Voss.”
Evelyn’s breath hitched. “You’re kidding.”
Jasper’s grip on the file tightened. “Voss is dead.”
Moreau shook his head. “That’s what everyone was supposed to believe.”
Jasper knew the name well.
Rainer Voss—ex-German intelligence, a legend in black ops circles. Ruthless, brilliant, and supposedly killed in an off-the-books mission over a decade ago.
Jasper glanced up. “If Voss is alive, what does he want?”
Moreau leaned back. “Power. Influence. And control over every intelligence network in Europe.”
Evelyn exhaled. “And you think he’s the one pulling the strings?”
Moreau nodded. “He’s been building something—something bigger than anything we’ve seen before. And if he’s cleaning house, then you, my friend, are just the beginning.”
Jasper closed the file. “Where do we find him?”
Moreau hesitated. “That’s the problem. No one finds Voss. He finds you.”
Jasper smirked. “Then we make him come to us.”
Setting the Trap
Evelyn crossed her arms. “And how exactly do we do that? Walk into the lion’s den?”
Jasper tapped the file. “If he’s after control, he needs leverage. And there’s one piece of intelligence he doesn’t have yet.”
Moreau’s expression darkened. “The summit files.”
Jasper nodded.
The classified files he had tried to retrieve in Paris before the mission went sideways. The ones that got him burned.
Evelyn’s eyes narrowed. “You think he still wants them?”
Jasper smirked. “I think he wants to make sure no one else gets them.”
Moreau sighed. “If you’re right, then you’re making yourself the biggest target in Europe.”
Jasper stood. “Good.”
He glanced at Evelyn. “Get ready.”
She groaned. “For what?”
Jasper grabbed his gear.
“To meet the devil.”
