t thing in the morn

low murmur on the phone. She was finalizing the details for W

ilding game, but his small ears were tuned to his mother's conversation. He didn't understand all the words-"deteriorating," "critical," "ne

ed in his small chest, heavy and c

ill. She walked over and brushed a kiss on his forehead.

ted, jet-lagged sleep, Weston's eyes opened in the darkness. He

ptop. He had seen her password a hundred times. With fingers that moved with an

corridors since he was three. He quickly found a password-protected f

lueprints of a large house labeled 'Webster Estate.' He might be five, but he un

le, unwavering logic of a

": a miniature drone the size of his palm, a small canister of pepper spray his moth

a process he had watched her do countless times.

e like a ghost and let himself out, th

d surprised to see a small boy waiting alone on the

d, his voice clear and steady. "They told me to go first so I could secure the perim

shrugged. "Alright, litt

y lit park. Weston saw a flash of movement-a small figu

ar!" Weston

the door and running. He didn't know why he was run

n the boy's leg. Weston's hands moved automatically-first-aid kit, antisept

id, his voice calm

closer to wrap the bandage tha

eath s

me small nose. Sam

oks l

ther child who looked like him. Not once in five years. And now

e asked, forcing his

iffled. "T

h

ce on his smartwatch, activating its emergency call feature. "An ambu

Theo onto a stretcher. The boy's face was smeared with tear

hy does he l

staring out the window as the

kid?" the d

still thinking about Theo. Ab

Calhoun Richardson's phone rang. I

an incident. Theodo

" he snarled, a primal fury rising in

ts tiny propellers buzzing almost silently as it lifted into the air, feeding vi

age, the squeal of tires broke the silence. Two black SUVs sc

re's watch, scrambled when it came too close to Weston's in the par

Master Theo!" the lead guard exclaimed, relief flooding

s panic, he pressed the button, and a cloud of irritant shot out, catching

rom fear. The lead guard scooped h

young master. Y

ying. He blinked,

h

oy... the one who looks lik

form in his five-year-old mind. He relaxed in the guar