The SUV rumbled down the empty road, the echoes of their recent Syndicate encounter still heavy in the air. The tension from the name "Nathan Bennett" had faded slightly, but the mystery remained, lingering like a storm on the horizon.

Nathan leaned back in his seat, watching the dark landscape blur past. His mind was a battlefield—flashes of the past colliding with the cold reality of the present. He had spent years burying Nathan Bennett, but The Syndicate had just unearthed him.

And that meant trouble.

Mason finally broke the silence. “We need answers.”

Axel scoffed. “You think Kane—I mean, Bennett—is just gonna start spilling his secrets now?”

Nathan exhaled slowly. “I already told you what you need to know.”

Eli leaned forward. “No, you told us what you wanted us to know. Big difference.”

Lila, who had been silent, spoke softly. “If The Syndicate remembers who you were, does that mean they knew you before you became… like this?”

Nathan’s fingers tapped against the door. “Maybe.”

Mason cursed under his breath. “That’s not good.”

Axel glanced at him. “You’re thinking what I’m thinking?”

Mason nodded grimly. “If The Syndicate still has records of who he was, then they might have something on the rest of us, too.”

Eli sighed. “Fantastic. As if they weren’t already a problem.”

Lila’s brow furrowed. “Can we find out what they know?”

Nathan’s gaze darkened. “There’s only one person who might be able to help us with that.”

Mason’s lips pressed into a thin line. “You’re talking about Jonathan, aren’t you?”

Nathan nodded. “He still has connections. If there’s any Syndicate data left on me—or on us—he might be able to find it.”

Axel let out a low whistle. “Going back to see him so soon? That’s risky.”

“We don’t have a choice,” Nathan said. “If The Syndicate is digging into my past, I need to know why. And I need to know what they still have on me.”

Mason changed direction, turning the car toward their next destination. “Let’s hope the old man’s still awake.”

---

Jonathan's Safehouse

An hour later, the SUV pulled up to a secluded cabin hidden deep in the woods. It wasn’t much—just a small, weathered house surrounded by dense trees—but for years, it had served as a sanctuary for those who needed it.

Jonathan Eli had once been a doctor. Now, he was something else entirely. A man with knowledge, connections, and secrets—secrets that could be deadly in the wrong hands.

Nathan knocked twice on the door, then once more after a pause. A moment later, the door creaked open, revealing Jonathan standing in the dim light.

His hair was silver, his face lined with years of wisdom and weariness. “Didn’t expect you back so soon.”

Nathan stepped inside, the others following. “We have a problem.”

Jonathan sighed, closing the door behind them. “Don’t you always?”

Mason leaned against the wall. “This one’s different.”

Nathan crossed his arms. “They called me Bennett.”

Jonathan’s eyes flickered with something unreadable—recognition, maybe even concern. He walked to a cluttered desk and sat down, steepling his fingers. “That’s… unexpected.”

Eli frowned. “Unexpected how?”

Jonathan exhaled. “Nathan made sure that name was erased a long time ago. If The Syndicate is using it again, it means they’ve found something.”

Nathan’s jaw clenched. “Can you find out what?”

Jonathan hesitated. “Maybe. But it won’t be easy. The Syndicate keeps its records locked up tight. You’d need someone on the inside.”

Axel smirked. “Lucky for us, we’re good at breaking into places.”

Jonathan shook his head. “This isn’t a place you break into, boy. This is The Syndicate’s archives. You’d be walking into a death trap.”

Lila looked up at Nathan. “Then what do we do?”

Jonathan studied them all for a moment before nodding slowly. “There might be another way.”

Nathan’s eyes narrowed. “I’m listening.”

Jonathan leaned back in his chair. “You’re going to need a hacker.”