The three guys nodded, fingers moving fast on their keyboards while lines of code raced across the screens. Elizabeth stood to the side, watching, a little stunned.

She knew enough about computers to realize what they were doing-hacking into local networks, maybe even breaking into government systems. Tristan's job was always a bit of a mystery, but at this point, she was pretty sure he worked for the government.

She couldn't help worrying. "Tristan, are you sure this won't get you in trouble?”

His answer was calm but serious. "That's not important right now."

One of the men glanced her way and actually managed a grin. "Relax, Ms. Wilson, no one's going to find out. You can trust us."

Elizabeth got it. Right now, they really didn't have any other choice. She kept quiet.

About ten minutes passed before one of them spoke up. "Got it. Tristan, come check this out."

Tristan and Elizabeth went over and leaned in to look at the screen. The footage was from a street camera. The man pointed out a van. "That's the one they took Ms. Blair in."

On the video, the van turned left at an intersection and headed down a side street.

"We're breaking into the cameras on that road now," the man said. "Should be about ten minutes."

Tristan nodded, eyes still locked on the screen. "Go back a bit. I want to see what happened."

The man hesitated, then tapped a few keys and rewound the footage.

The scene shifted. They watched as Emily got out of the car with the

driver and walked up to Benjamin

Gomez. They only talked for

moment before

Emily turned

to head

back Suddenly, several big guys rushed out from a dark alley, grabbed her, and covered her mouth and nose. Benjamin punched the driver so hard he went down, then twisted his arms at a horrible angle.

Emily was pinned against the car door. She fought back, but with so many men on her, she barely had room to move.

Elizabeth's heart jumped painfully at

the sight. She glanced at Tristan's face He looked furious, jaw. light eyes fixed on the screen like he was ready to punch right through it.

She felt a lump in her throat, but no words came out. Nothing she could say would help.

The video showed Emily passing out, then the men carried her into the van. Benjamin talked to the driver for a moment, then got in too.

The three guys looked at Tristan, waiting for his next move. He kept his voice low and steady. "Keep tracking them. Don't stop until you know where they went."

They nodded right away and got back to work.

Tristan wasn't giving up either. He grabbed one of their phones and kept calling Benjamin, but every cał went unanswered. He looked patient on the outside, but Elizabeth could tell he was barely holding it together. The way he stared at the phone, it seemed like he might smash it at any second.

She couldn't stop herself from blurting out, “What is Benjamin Gomez even doing?

He keeps telling us to call, but now he won't answer."

Tristan kept his eyes on the phone, still dialing. He didn't reply. The other three stayed busy, silent, focused on their screens.