GHOST SOLDIER - BOOK 4- THE MUSE PROTOCOL

Chapter 1: The Ghost Returns --- The rain in Davao didn’t clean anything. It just made the dirt shine. Lucas Reyes stood on the porch of a small nipa house, coffee in one hand, and a 9mm under the table. Old habits. Two years. Two years of quiet. Of fishing at 5am. Of Maya laughing while she burned the rice. Of no blood on his hands. The war was supposed to be over. His phone vibrated. Unknown number. He almost ignored it. Then it vibrated again. Then again. Protocol. He answered. “Who.” “Ghost.” The voice was hoarse. Marco. His old handler. The one who was supposed to be dead. “You need to run.” Lucas didn’t move. “Talk.” “They found her.” A pause. Static. “The Director’s daughter.” The coffee went cold in his hand. Director Reyes. The first name on the list. The first kill. The man whose brains Lucas put on a wall in Reykjavik two years ago. Book 1. “She’s alive?” Lucas asked, voice flat. “She’s 22. Programmer. Living in Manila. Under a different name. And now three agencies want her.” Marco coughed. Sounded like blood. “One wants to recruit her. One wants to kill her. And one… one wants to use her to finish what her father started. Nightfall 2.0.” Lucas closed his eyes. “Why me?” “Because Ghost, you’re the only one she’ll listen to. And you’re the only one she should hate.” The line went dead. Behind him, Maya stepped out. Towel on her hair. “Who was that?” “No one,” Lucas lied. First time in two years. She frowned. She knew. “Lucas.” “We have to go.” She didn’t ask where. She just went inside to pack. MANILA. 14 HOURS LATER. Ava Reyes didn’t know she was Ava Reyes. Her name was Lian Cruz on her ID. On her lease. On the crappy coffee shop wifi she was stealing. She was 22, had dark circles from 3 days of no sleep, and was currently breaking into the NBI database to prove her boss was laundering money. It was supposed to be a freelance job. 20k. Easy. She didn’t know the boss was connected to ghosts. Her screen flickered. Red warning. `TRACE DETECTED` `LOCATION: PINPOINTED` “Shit.” She slammed the laptop shut. Grabbed her bag. Too late. Two men in black suits were already at the door of the cafe. Earpieces. No umbrellas despite the rain. Government. Or worse. She moved. Back door. Alley. Run. She made it two blocks before a hand grabbed her arm and slammed her against a wet brick wall. “Stop moving,” a man said. He was tall. Black jacket. Hair wet. Eyes that had seen too much. And a gun pressed to her ribs, but not to hurt her. To hide her. “Who are you?” Ava spat, rain in her eyes. “Lucas,” he said. “And in 10 seconds, those men are going to kill you.” “How do you know my name?” “I don’t.” He looked over her shoulder. The two men were turning into the alley. “I know your father’s.” Ava froze. “My father died in a car accident when I was 10.” “Yeah,” Lucas said, and pulled her deeper into the shadows. “That’s what they told you.” He pushed her into a service door. Dark. Smelled like trash. Maya was already inside, holding another gun, watching the street. “Took you long enough,” Maya said. “Is this her?” “This is her.” Lucas looked at Ava. Really looked. Same eyes as Director Reyes. Same jaw. Ava was shaking. Not from fear. From anger. “What the hell is going on? Who are you people?” Lucas knelt in front of her. Rain dripping from his hair onto the concrete between them. “I’m the man who killed your father,” he said quietly. “And I’m the only one who can keep you alive tonight.” Ava laughed. A sharp, broken sound. “Get away from me.” “Can’t.” Lucas stood up. Pulled out a burner phone. Threw it to her. “Code 4459. Memorize it. Then break the phone.” “What is it?” “The only thing stopping them from launching Nightfall 2.0.” Maya answered, eyes still on the door. “It’s in your head. Your father put it there. A failsafe. Only you can activate or delete it.” Ava stared at them. “You’re insane.” “Probably,” Lucas said. He heard footsteps outside. Two sets. Heavy. “But in 5 seconds, you’re going to come with me. Or you’re going to die.” The door handle turned. Lucas didn’t shoot. Not yet. Too much noise. Instead he grabbed Ava’s wrist and pulled her through a hole in the back wall they’d made 2 minutes before entering. They ran. Through alleys. Over fences. Maya covering their six. Behind them, shouts. Gunshots. But not at them. Warning shots. They ducked into an underground parking lot. An old van. No plates. Maya slid into the driver seat. Lucas shoved Ava in the back. “Where are we going?” Ava demanded, hugging her laptop to her chest. “Away,” Lucas said. He was watching the entrance. Waiting. “For how long?” “For as long as it takes.” He finally looked at her. “For me to teach you how to survive. For me to make sure you don’t become what your father was.” Ava’s phone buzzed. Unknown number. She answered on instinct. A man’s voice. Smooth. Cold. Familiar in a way that made her stomach turn. “Hello, Ava. Or should I call you Ms. Reyes? This is General Castillo. We worked with your father. We’d like to offer you a job.” Lucas snatched the phone. Hung up. Crushed it under his boot. “Don’t answer numbers you don’t know,” he said. “How did he get my number?” “Because he has people in the NBI. In the police. In the coffee shop you were in.” Lucas started the van. “Because you’re not a programmer to them, Ava. You’re a weapon.” Silence. Only the rain on the roof. Ava looked at Lucas. At the scar on his knuckles. At the way Maya kept glancing at him like he was the only thing holding the world together. “My father…” “Was a monster,” Lucas finished. No emotion. “And now they want you to be one too.” The van pulled onto EDSA. Headlights blurred in the rain. Ava whispered, “I don’t know how to do any of this.” “You don’t have to,” Lucas said. “You just have to stay alive. That’s my job.” Maya glanced at him in the rearview. “And then what?” Lucas didn’t answer. Because Protocol says: Protect the asset. Protocol says: Do not get attached. But the girl in the backseat had her father’s eyes. And Lucas had already killed one Reyes. He wasn’t sure he could kill another. Or save one. END OF CHAPTER 1