A girl pays an old man for groceries — a few hours later, 3 black SUVs pull up to her house

«You mean, like a spy?» Rhodes nodded. «Better than a spy. His name is Thomas Calloway.

«He dismantled entire crime networks, disrupted foreign plots, and disappeared after a botched operation in 2009. We believed he was assassinated.» «But why was he buying cake and soup in a grocery store?» Her mother asked. «We’re not entirely sure, but your act of kindness forced his hand.

«He left traces: security footage, a card swipe. We’ve been tracking those breadcrumbs for over a decade.» Lily’s father looked angry. «And you brought this to our house? What if someone’s following him?» «They might be,» Rhodes admitted.

«Which is why we’re here, to protect your family and to ask your daughter for help.» Lily’s jaw dropped. «Me?» «Calloway left a note in the cake box,» the agent said, pulling out a small slip of paper in an evidence bag. «It read, ‘She reminded me why I stayed hidden, but also why I might return.'»

«He trusts you,» Rhodes said. «And we believe he may reach out again. If he does, it could change everything.» The following 24 hours were a blur.

FBI surveillance teams were positioned on the street. Lily’s phone was monitored, her computer inspected. She wasn’t allowed to go to school.

She wasn’t even allowed to leave the house without an escort. But at 9:14 p.m. the next night, it happened. A small envelope was slipped through the mail slot.

No one saw who delivered it. Inside, a handwritten note in spidery script: «Tell Agent Rhodes I’ll meet him, but only if she’s there too. Sixth and Juniper, midnight, come alone.» The agents debated for hours.

Some insisted it was a trap. Others said it was their only chance. In the end, they agreed.

Lily would go wearing a wire monitored from a van parked blocks away. She arrived at the intersection just before midnight. It was quiet, the city asleep, fog rolling in from the river.

Then from the shadows of a closed bookstore, he emerged. Thomas Calloway looked smaller than she remembered, bent, slow-moving, but his eyes were alert, razor-sharp.

«You didn’t have to do what you did,» he said, voice gravelly. Lily shrugged. «I just thought you could use a little help.» He studied her for a long time.

Then from his coat, he pulled a flash drive. «This is everything. Proof of corruption, double agents, operations gone rogue…