Chapter 19 - The Cabin in the Woods
The snow was falling in thick, blinding sheets as our armored SUV climbed the treacherous, winding mountain pass deep in the Swiss Alps. The headlights cut through the swirling white blizzard, illuminating the dark, looming shapes of pine trees buried in drifts of snow.
"We're three miles from the coordinates," Julian announced, keeping his eyes glued to the steering wheel and the tactical navigation map. "The cabin isn't listed on any public or private registry. Even ECHO had to scrape deep-archive satellite telemetry from the nineties to find it."
"Keep your weapon ready," I instructed, staring out the frosted window at the desolate wilderness.
Moments later, the SUV crested a ridge, revealing a small, isolated wooden cabin tucked deep into the treeline. A thin plume of grey smoke curled lazily from its stone chimney, melting the snow on the cedar roof.
We parked fifty yards away, cutting the engine and the headlights to avoid detection.
The silence of the mountain was absolute, broken only by the soft whistle of the wind through the pines.
Julian and I stepped out into the knee-deep snow, moving silently toward the cabin with our weapons raised. As we reached the heavy wooden porch, I didn't bother knocking. I raised my foot and kicked the front door wide open.
The door slammed against the interior wall with a loud bang.
Sitting by a stone fireplace inside the warm, rustic room was an elderly man wrapped in a woolen blanket, sipping tea from a chipped ceramic mug. He didn't flinch at the sound of the door breaking. He simply turned his head slowly, looking at us with tired, familiar eyes that bore an unmistakable resemblance to Carl's.
"You're late, Oanh," the old man said, his voice raspy and weathered by decades of isolation. "I expected you a week ago."
I lowered my weapon slowly, my breath catching in my throat as I stared at him.
"Who... who are you?" I whispered, stepping across the threshold.
May you like
The old man smiled faintly, setting his mug down on the wooden coffee table.
"I'm the man who faked a car crash twenty-five years ago to keep you and your mother safe from the people who eventually killed my brother," he said quietly. "I'm your father, Oanh."
