The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

In the bustling heart of the city, the revered Vanguard Agency, spearheaded by the esteemed Martinez family, initiated a thorough housecleaning operation.

Vintage cases, some yellowed with the patina of age, were dusted off and brought into the unforgiving light of scrutiny.

The notorious GTO, Vanguard’s arch-nemesis, had a laundry list of files that demanded an exhaustive purge.

Vance was dispatched to the sprawling metropolis of Sea City for advanced training while Micah, armed with Rivenwood’s finest, dived into the backlog of cases.

From the headquarters, a specialized task force was deployed to sift through Rivenwood’s archives, each folder a Pandora’s box of secrets.

This was not the first rodeo for the seasoned agents of Vanguard; they viewed the entire affair with a sense of déjà vu.

The newly minted Captain Thomas found himself adrift without the Director, shadowing the Deputy Director as a trusty sidekick to the temporary helmsman.

As the task force combed through the cases, they hit a roadblock with a recent explosion case, their expressions clouding with intrigue.

“Captain Thomas, are you absolutely certain these were the only people at the scene?” came the probing question.

Thomas nodded firmly. “I’m positive. Aside from our agents, only Percival and Vivienne were present. No one else.”

“And what about this woman?” The task force brandished a grainy photograph where an extra figure was unmistakably present at the crime scene.

“I haven’t the foggiest,” Thomas retorted with the stubbornness of a mule.

Such defiance only served to irk the task force, leading to the detainment of Thomas and the two squad leaders for further inquiry. This sent ripples of unease throughout the rank and file of Vanguard Agency.

Micah, now a lone commander, faced a conundrum with the Martinez family’s latest bomb detection technology gathering dust, unfiled. With no recourse, he reached out to headquarters.

Rivenwood and Sea City were caught in the whirlwind of this operation, and before long, the detectors found their way to Noah’s domain.

“Master, I’m in a bind here,” Micah pleaded over the phone, “Vance is still being grilled by the brass, and if these detectors aren’t dispatched pronto, we’ll be in a whole new world of hurt.”

Noah’s chuckle was warm. “You two are still at it after all these years. Worry not, I’ll make sure Rivenwood gets its gear.”

“Cheers. Next time I’m in Sea City, drinks are on me.”

and

we next meet, I hope we can still share a

eyeing the stack of detectors, surreptitiously amended the count from

in Sea City for a new arms consignment destined for a clandestine

from Sea City, his phone ringing the moment

dusting off an old

the rookies how we uncovered GTO’s trail

flattery. What’s

a photo, too. Hard to believe

pause hung in the air. “What

you and the twelve kids. I’m thinking of tracking them down, see

photo?” Noah’s tone

well, the one he thought he’d destroyed.

he kept his voice calm.

“Odd, I thought that photo

I contacted the security guard back then. He said when you were taking the photo, he was astonished

over.” Noah

[I’ve got people reaching out to the survivors. Join me at the agency’s reunion in

the screen, the past staring

now adults, remembered anything, the ten becoming to

of them. It was way too suspicious to kill

this time, he took out a phone he had barely ever used except to contact

gruff voice broke through on

“I need to go

“You should’ve killed them all long

then, but things are heating up. Vance is onto something. I’m not of much use in Vanguard Agency now anyway, so just let

then, F-Poison said, “Fine. We’ll meet at

phone, a glint of lethal intent flashed

seemed like a painting. Clenching her

number saved.

“Hey, it’s me.”

so-called “Reunion,” no one could get in touch with the distant hero and mentor, Noah.Books