ECHOES OF FIRE
381 Words
The city moved like it knew something was about to break.
Juliet and Miles sat in a small café near the Bastille, pretending to be strangers. Between them, the USB drive rested in an envelope, plain and deadly.
Juliet stirred her coffee, her reflection trembling in the cup.
“You said you had someone at the paper who could help.”
Miles nodded. “An old contact. He used to owe Michael a favor. If anyone can get this story out safely, it’s him.”
He hesitated before sliding his phone across the table. “He wants to meet tonight. But Juliet” He looked at her hard. “Lang’s been seen near the Foundation.”
Her hand froze around the spoon. “He’s watching us.”
Miles nodded. “And he’s desperate.”
Juliet exhaled shakily. “Then we move faster.”
Outside, the rain began again light, almost mocking. The same rain that fell the night Michael died.
When they left the café, Miles held the umbrella over her, keeping close. The city glowed in reflections streetlights swimming on wet pavement, shadows flickering in every doorway.
“Do you ever think,” she said quietly, “that maybe the truth doesn’t set you free? Maybe it just changes your prison.”
He looked at her, jaw tense. “Then let’s make sure we’re locked up together.”
The words hit her chest like a heartbeat she hadn’t expected.
At that moment, across the street, a black car slowed. Juliet caught the reflection of a man inside Lang’s hard, square jaw, a cigarette glowing between his fingers.
“Miles…”
“I see him.”
He grabbed her hand.
“Run.”
They darted through an alley, footsteps echoing against the walls. Tires screeched behind them. Juliet’s pulse thundered.
At the end of the street, Miles yanked open a side door leading into an abandoned gallery. They pressed against the wall, breathless, waiting.
The car passed. Silence returned, heavy as guilt.
Juliet turned to him, face pale. “He’s not going to stop.”
Miles brushed her cheek with his thumb. “Neither will we.”
Midnight Letter #54 Michael,
Your ghosts are walking again. But they don’t scare me anymore. Because this time, I’m not alone in the dark.
- Writer
