Chapter 446: Rhythm Street!!
Sterling Private Security Base.
The operations room had become unusually quiet.
Miles stood in front of one of the central tables.
A recovered file lay open before him.
It had come from the anonymous bank locker in Citadel.
The same locker Bjorn had instructed "Thea" to access.
Charles stood beside him.
Several agents remained at their stations nearby, but no one spoke louder than necessary.
The mission file was simple.
Too simple.
Names.
A location.
Instructions.
And one particular name that Miles had not expected to see anywhere near WEB.
Timothy Sterling.
Miles stared at the file again.
His expression remained serious.
"What the hell is this?"
Charles looked toward him.
Miles tapped one finger against the document.
"Why is Grandpa even involved in this?"
Charles slowly shook his head.
"We don’t know yet."
Miles looked up.
Charles continued,
"But one thing is obvious."
"The fact that Mr. Timothy is alive matters to Bjorn."
Miles said nothing.
Charles glanced toward the file.
"Enough that he contacted Thea before their agreed schedule."
"And enough to send her directly to the Citadel."
Miles’ eyes narrowed.
Charles continued,
"We still need to understand what exactly this place in the mission is."
"And why Bjorn believes it’s connected to your grandfather."
𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
Miles leaned against the table.
His mind moved through possibilities.
Timothy had returned after decades.
The world believed him dead for most of that time.
Yet somehow...
Bjorn knew enough to react.
And now WEB wanted Thea in Citadel.
Miles looked toward Charles.
"Where’s Grandmaster Lucian?"
Charles immediately checked.
"He left the island two days ago."
Miles frowned.
"Where is he now?"
Charles looked back at the screen.
"Citadel."
Miles closed his eyes.
For a second...
Silence.
Then he sighed.
"What are these old men cooking?"
Charles almost smiled.
Before he could answer...
His phone rang.
He looked at the caller.
Then picked up.
"Yes?"
He listened.
His expression changed almost immediately.
"What do you mean he’s not at the estate?"
Miles’ head turned.
Charles stood straighter.
"What?"
The voice on the other end continued.
Charles’ face hardened.
"Find him."
Everyone nearby became alert.
Charles’ tone became colder.
"If anything happens to him..."
He clenched the phone.
"...I’ll take all of your heads."
He ended the call.
Miles’ fists had already tightened.
"Grandpa?"
Charles nodded.
"He left the Sterling Estate."
"Without the security detail."
Miles immediately pulled out his phone.
Timothy.
The call rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
No answer.
Then it ended.
Miles stared at the screen.
"Damn."
He called again.
Nothing.
Miles immediately opened another contact.
Silvey.
The call connected quickly.
"Brother?"
"Where’s Grandpa?"
Silvey paused.
"Grandpa Tim?"
"Yes."
Her voice remained normal.
"At the estate."
"With Grandpa Gordon."
Miles’ expression became colder.
"No."
Silvey became quiet.
Miles continued,
"He’s not there."
Silence.
Then Silvey’s tone changed.
"Wait."
"Grandpa Gordon and Grandpa Timothy were supposed to go somewhere together."
Miles looked toward Charles.
Silvey continued,
"You wouldn’t be calling me like this unless..."
She stopped.
Miles answered,
"He’s gone."
Silvey’s breathing changed.
Miles immediately said,
"I’ll call Grandpa Gordon."
Then ended the call.
He found Gordon’s contact.
The phone rang several times.
Finally...
"Miles?"
Miles didn’t waste a second.
"Grandpa."
"Yes?"
"I’m asking you directly."
Gordon became silent.
Miles continued,
"Where is Grandpa Tim?"
A long sigh came from the other end.
Then,
"You found out."
Miles closed his eyes.
Gordon continued,
"I should have told you earlier."
Miles remained silent.
"Brother Timothy wanted to go somewhere alone."
Charles looked toward Miles.
Gordon continued,
"He specifically asked me to arrange a way out without alerting anyone."
Miles’ jaw tightened.
"Grandpa Gordon..."
His voice remained controlled.
"How could you do that?"
Gordon didn’t answer.
"You know it’s not safe for him to move around without protection."
"I know."
"If you had told me..."
Miles continued,
"I would’ve arranged security without him noticing."
"No visible guards."
"No restrictions."
"Nothing that would bother him."
Gordon sighed.
"I’m sorry, son."
Miles said nothing.
Gordon continued,
"I couldn’t refuse him."
"He’s my elder brother."
Miles rubbed his forehead.
That answer was exactly what he expected from Gordon.
"Fine."
He looked toward Charles.
"Where did he go?"
Gordon hesitated.
"He said..."
"He wanted to see some old places."
"Places from before."
Miles waited.
"He went to the Old City."
Charles immediately moved toward a nearby system.
Gordon continued,
"As for the exact place..."
Miles looked at the mission file again.
Then suddenly something connected.
His eyes sharpened.
"The Music District."
Gordon froze.
"Exactly."
Charles looked toward Miles.
"The Music District?"
Miles ignored him.
Gordon continued,
"Yes."
"The Music District in Old City."
Charles had already pulled out his phone.
He immediately called the field team.
"The Music District."
His tone became sharp.
"Old City."
"Move."
He listened.
"More agents are already on the way behind you."
He ended the call.
Meanwhile...
Gordon tried calming Miles.
"Don’t worry, son."
"He knows what he’s doing."
Miles remained silent.
Gordon continued,
"And the Music District is one of the safest places in Citadel for a Sterling."
Miles frowned.
"What exactly is that place?"
Gordon replied,
"It’s a colony."
Miles waited.
"Musicians."
"Performers."
"Old families."
"Bands."
Miles’ expression suddenly changed.
A name surfaced from memory.
"E Major."
Charles looked toward him, confused.
Miles spoke into the phone,
"That band..."
"E Major."
"They’re from the same place, aren’t they?"
Gordon became surprised.
"You know them?"
Miles’ expression hardened.
"Answer me."
"Yes."
Gordon paused.
"They’re from there."
Miles looked toward the displays.
"Grandpa Gordon..."
"What is the connection between Grandpa Tim and E Major?"
There was silence.
Then Gordon answered quietly,
"The families in the Music District..."
"...are descendants of a unit from the old Sterling Royal Army."
Miles stopped moving.
Charles listened carefully.
Gordon continued,
"They handled intelligence."
"Reconnaissance."
"Internal threats."
"And sometimes..."
His voice became heavier.
"...the things the Royal Family couldn’t handle publicly."
Miles understood.
"The dirty work."
"Yes."
Gordon continued,
"Even after the monarchy ended..."
"Many of those families stayed connected."
"Generation after generation."
"They became musicians."
"Performers."
"Ordinary citizens."
"But some traditions remained."
Miles looked toward Charles.
Gordon asked,
"How do you know E Major?"
Miles sighed.
"That’s not the point."
Gordon waited.
Miles continued,
"You’re telling me Grandpa walked into a district filled with descendants of royal intelligence operatives..."
"Alone."
Gordon responded calmly,
"He’s safe there."
Miles’ eyes narrowed.
"No."
Gordon became quiet.
Miles continued,
"He isn’t."
"Miles?"
"Do you really think the Music District is completely safe?"
Gordon’s tone changed.
"What do you mean?"
Miles picked up the WEB mission file.
"I have two names in front of me."
Charles looked toward him.
Miles continued,
"Two people working for WEB."
"Both operating inside the Music District."
Gordon went completely silent.
Then,
"What?"
Miles’ expression became grim.
"They won’t hurt Grandpa."
Gordon immediately asked,
"How can you be sure?"
"Because Bjorn wants something from him."
Miles looked toward Timothy’s name again.
Gordon understood.
His voice became quieter.
"So..."
"Brother lied to me."
Miles didn’t answer immediately.
Gordon continued,
"He didn’t go there because he was nostalgic."
"There was another reason."
Miles asked,
"Grandpa Gordon."
"Yes?"
"Why would a Sterling family member actually go to the Music District?"
This time...
Gordon didn’t answer immediately.
Then his voice became serious.
"To assign work."
Miles closed his eyes briefly.
"Exactly."
Gordon inhaled sharply.
"How could I be this stupid..."
Before Miles could respond...
Charles’ phone rang again.
He answered instantly.
"Report."
He listened.
Then his shoulders relaxed.
"He’s back?"
Miles immediately looked toward him.
Charles nodded.
Gordon heard it too.
Brother?"
Miles took a slow breath.
Charles confirmed,
"Mr. Timothy has returned to the estate."
For the first time since the call began...
Miles relaxed slightly.
So did Charles.
Gordon exhaled heavily.
"He’s back."
Miles remained silent for several seconds.
Then said,
"Grandpa Gordon."
"Yes?"
"Don’t confront him."
Gordon listened.
"Don’t ask him where he went."
"Don’t tell him I know."
"Act like nothing happened."
Gordon understood.
Miles continued,
"We have a lot to talk about."
"But not tonight."
"I’ll call him in the morning."
Gordon replied,
"Understood, son."
"I’ll handle it."
"And Grandpa..."
"Yes?"
"Next time..."
Miles’ voice softened, but the seriousness remained.
"Tell me."
Gordon sighed.
"I will."
The call ended.
Miles slowly lowered his phone.
For several seconds...
He simply stared at the screen.
Charles watched him.
"Boss?"
Miles finally looked up.
"Yes."
Charles hesitated.
"What’s E Major?"
Miles looked toward him.
"A band."
Charles waited.
Miles added,
"Of trained killers."
Charles’ expression changed.
"I didn’t know they worked for the Sterlings."
Charles folded his arms.
"You have history with them?"
"Not enough."
Miles looked back toward the recovered file.
"But I know what they’re capable of."
Charles glanced toward one of the Old City maps on a monitor.
"That place isn’t safe for the Sterlings at all."
Miles shook his head.
"Not anymore."
He walked toward the display.
"We already know WEB has been using dead soldiers."
Charles nodded.
Miles continued,
"Now we have spies sitting inside a place that historically worked directly for my family."
His expression became colder.
"This has gone far enough."
Charles waited.
Miles stared toward the map.
"We need to start taking the soldiers back."
Charles looked toward him.
Miles pulled out his phone again.
Then called Monica.
The call connected almost instantly.
"Boss?"
Miles smiled faintly.
"I hope I didn’t interrupt your date."
...
Across Star Harbor...
Monica sat at a cafe table.
Across from her, Elliot was enjoying his pasta.
He looked up when he heard Miles’ voice faintly from her phone.
Monica smiled.
"Not at all, Boss."
Elliot raised an eyebrow.
Monica ignored him.
"Tell me."
Miles asked,
"Do we have any connection to the Music District in Old City?"
Monica thought.
"The Music District?"
"Citadel."
"Oh."
Her expression changed.
"You mean Rhythm Street."
Miles frowned.
"Rhythm Street?"
"That’s the official name now."
Monica smiled.
"’Music District’ is the older name."
"Mostly older people still call it that."
Miles sighed.
That explained why the old reference in the recovered material felt unfamiliar.
Monica continued,
"And Yes, Reaper Entertainment manages several bands from there."
"Some singers too."
"It’s a pretty popular place among younger audiences."
Miles looked toward Charles.
"Can you get me the files?"
"On the bands?"
"Yes."
"Anyone we manage from Rhythm Street."
Monica nodded.
"Of course."
She pulled her phone slightly away and opened another screen.
"I’ll send a message to Admin."
"Have them forward everything to Charles?"
"Exactly."
Monica typed quickly.
"Done."
Miles smiled.
"Thanks."
Then added,
"Don’t ask too much."
Monica stopped.
Miles continued,
"It’s nothing too serious."
"Enjoy your evening."
Monica narrowed her eyes.
"You talk like I’m an outsider now."
Miles paused.
"It’s not like that."
"Sure."
Miles laughed.
Then asked,
"How’s Mr. Elliot Mercer?"
Monica looked across the table.
Elliot was now staring suspiciously at her.
Monica smiled.
"Him?"
Elliot pointed toward himself.
She ignored him.
"He’s getting very comfortable in Star Harbor."
Elliot mouthed,
"What?"
Monica continued,
"We practically had to force him to start preparing his next special."
Miles laughed.
"That bad?"
"Very."
Elliot looked offended.
Monica smiled sweetly at him.
Miles chuckled.
"Tell him, I’ll personally come watch the show."
Monica’s expression brightened.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"That’ll motivate him."
Elliot immediately leaned forward.
"What will motivate me?"
Monica waved him away.
Miles laughed again.
"Take care."
"You too, Boss."
The call ended.
Monica placed the phone down.
Elliot stared at her.
"What was that about?"
Monica smiled.
"Eat your pasta."
...
Miles placed his phone down.
Charles looked toward him.
"We’ll receive the files soon."
Miles nodded.
"Good."
He looked toward Rhythm Street on the map.
"We’re going inside."
Charles became attentive.
"But not the usual way."
"A different method."
Charles nodded slowly.
"I’ll wait for the entertainment files."
"Start as soon as they arrive."
"Cross-reference everyone."
"Anyone regularly entering or leaving the district."
Charles nodded.
Miles continued,
"And I want facial recognition running across that entire area."
Charles immediately understood.
"Against the funeral database?"
"Yes."
Miles’ gaze hardened.
"Every soldier officially declared dead."
Charles looked toward the map.
"And if we find one?"
Miles answered without hesitation.
"Abduct them."
Charles looked back toward him.
Miles’ expression remained cold.
"We need to remind them..."
"...about the oath they took for this country."