Chapter 2: The Ghost Network

Leo's apartment was a study in deliberate anonymity. Clean lines, minimal furniture, and not a single personal photograph or memento visible. The only hints of his past life were hidden in plain sight—the high-end security system he'd installed himself, the reinforced door locks, and the laptop computer that cost more than most people's monthly rent.

Twenty minutes after leaving the Rusty Cue, his three friends sat around his kitchen table, nursing cups of coffee and nursing their wounded pride. Marco was still pacing, his work boots heavy against the hardwood floor.

"We can't just let this slide," Marco said for the third time. "That bastard humiliated us in front of the whole bar."

"What whole bar?" Ben pushed his glasses up his nose. "Pete ran away, and the only other customers were playing darts in the back corner."

"That's not the point," Marco snapped. "Rex thinks he can walk all over anyone he wants. Someone needs to teach him a lesson."

Chloe wrapped her hands around her mug, seeking warmth. "And what lesson would that be, exactly? That we can get our asses kicked by five guys in expensive jackets?"

Leo remained silent, his fingers steepled in front of him as he observed the dynamic. Marco's anger was predictable—the contractor had built his business on honest work and fair dealing, and Rex's casual theft violated everything he believed in. Chloe's caution was equally understandable; as a lifelong resident of Havenwood, she'd seen what happened to people who crossed the Vance family.

Ben was the wildcard. The young IT specialist kept glancing at Leo with curious eyes, as if trying to solve a puzzle.

"Leo," Ben said finally. "You've been quiet since we left. What are you thinking?"

Leo looked up, meeting each of his friends' eyes in turn. They were good people—honest, hardworking, the kind of neighbors who'd check on you during a power outage or help you move furniture. They didn't deserve to be bullied by entitled sociopaths.

"I'm thinking," Leo said slowly, "that Rex made a mistake tonight."

Marco stopped pacing. "What kind of mistake?"

"He showed us his hand. His methods, his crew, his assumptions about how the world works." Leo stood and moved to the window, looking out at the quiet residential street. "He thinks intimidation is enough because it's always been enough. But intimidation only works if your target is afraid of the consequences."

"And you're not afraid?" Chloe asked.

Leo turned back to face them. "I'm practical. Rex Vance is a problem that needs solving. The question is how to solve it effectively."

Ben leaned forward. "What do you mean, effectively?"

Leo pulled out his phone—not his regular iPhone, but a basic flip phone that looked like it belonged in a gas station display case. He set it on the table, then reached into a kitchen drawer and produced three identical devices.

"Where did you get those?" Chloe asked.

"I've had them for a while. Habit from my old job." Leo distributed the phones. "These are clean. No contracts, no tracking, pay-as-you-go. If we're going to deal with Rex, we need to be smart about it."

Marco picked up one of the phones, turning it over in his large hands. "Deal with him how?"

"The same way you'd deal with any pest," Leo said. "You make his environment hostile to his continued existence."

The room fell silent. Ben was staring at Leo with newfound intensity, as if seeing him clearly for the first time.

"You're talking about revenge," Chloe said quietly.

"I'm talking about justice." Leo's voice carried no emotion, but something cold flickered behind his eyes. "Rex thinks he's untouchable because daddy's money has always protected him. But money can't protect you from everything."

Marco sat down heavily. "What exactly are you proposing?"

Leo moved to his laptop and opened it. The screen came alive, showing multiple windows—traffic cameras, social media feeds, public records databases. His friends crowded around, watching as he navigated through systems with practiced ease.

"Rex Vance," Leo said, pulling up a driver's license photo. "Twenty-eight years old, lives in the Hillcrest development in daddy's guest house. Drives a silver BMW M4, license plate RV-KING. Registered owner of three different LLCs, all tied to his father's real estate empire."

"How did you—" Ben started.

"Public records," Leo said smoothly. "Amazing what you can learn if you know where to look." He clicked to another window, showing Rex's social media profiles. "He likes to document his activities. Posted from the Rusty Cue tonight at 8:47 PM. '#ownedthistown #poolhustlers #daddysmoney.'"

Chloe winced. "He actually posted that?"

"With photos." Leo scrolled through Rex's Instagram feed. "Here he is last weekend, doing ninety in a thirty-five zone. Here's him at a college party, underage drinking with Mayor Patterson's daughter. And here—" He paused on a video of Rex throwing bottles at homeless people from his car window. "—is him committing assault."

The room went quiet. Even Marco stopped fidgeting as they watched Rex's casual cruelty play out on the screen.

"Jesus," Ben whispered.

"Rex thinks social media is his highlight reel," Leo said. "But every post is evidence. Every photo is intelligence. Every check-in is a pattern we can exploit."

Chloe pushed back from the table. "Exploit how? Leo, what exactly did you used to do for a living?"

Leo closed the laptop. "I solved problems for people who couldn't solve them through normal channels."

It wasn't a lie, just incomplete. His military intelligence background had trained him to gather information, analyze patterns, and neutralize threats through precision rather than brute force. Corporate cybersecurity was just those same skills applied to protecting companies instead of countries.

"So what's the plan?" Marco asked.

Leo reopened the laptop and pulled up a map of Havenwood. "Rex follows predictable patterns. He drinks at three different bars on rotation, always drives the same routes home, always parks in the same spots. He's comfortable, which makes him careless."

"Careless how?"

"Tonight, he drove to the Rusty Cue after drinking at Murphy's Tavern. I could smell whiskey on his breath from three feet away." Leo traced a route on the map with his finger. "He'll drive home on Maple Street because it's the most direct route. And according to his posts, his license was suspended last month for unpaid tickets."

Ben's eyes widened. "He's driving on a suspended license while intoxicated."

"Allegedly," Leo said. "But if someone were to call in an erratic driver matching his vehicle description, the police would have to investigate."

Chloe shook her head. "You want us to make false police reports?"

"I want us to report dangerous driving when we observe it," Leo corrected. "Multiple witnesses, multiple calls, all completely legitimate. The fact that Rex happens to be breaking multiple laws when he gets pulled over is just unfortunate timing."

Marco was grinning now. "You want to get him arrested."

"I want him to face consequences for his actions. Legal consequences, applied through proper channels." Leo distributed small cards with phone numbers written on them. "These are the direct lines for traffic enforcement in three different jurisdictions. Anonymous tips, all properly documented."

Ben studied his card. "This is actually brilliant. We're not breaking any laws ourselves."

"Better than that," Leo said. "We're helping enforce laws that already exist. Rex thinks he's above the system because the system has never been properly applied to him."

Chloe was still hesitant. "What if he figures out it was us?"

"How?" Leo asked. "Anonymous calls from disposable phones, reporting actual illegal behavior that any concerned citizen might observe. Even if he suspects, he can't prove anything."

"And if his father comes after us anyway?"

Leo's expression hardened. "Then we deal with that problem when it arises. But bullies like Rex rely on people being too afraid to fight back. They're not prepared for someone who fights smart instead of fighting angry."

Marco stood up, pocketing his burner phone. "I'm in. That piece of shit has been pushing people around for years. Time someone pushed back."

Ben nodded. "Count me in too. I'm tired of watching him treat this town like his personal playground."

All eyes turned to Chloe. She sat quietly for a long moment, staring at the phone in her hands.

"My grandmother used to say that evil flourishes when good people do nothing," she said finally. "I just... I need to know this won't make things worse."

Leo reached across the table and covered her hand with his. "I promise you, we're going to be very careful. Very precise. And very effective."

She looked into his eyes and saw something that made her nod slowly. "Okay. But we do this smart. No unnecessary risks."

"Agreed." Leo stood and moved to a wall calendar, marking the current date. "Operation begins tomorrow night. Rex follows the same pattern every Friday—Murphy's Tavern from seven to nine, then the Rusty Cue until closing. We'll coordinate from here, maintain radio silence except through the burner phones, and document everything."

"Radio silence?" Ben asked.

"No contact on our regular phones, no social media posts, no deviation from normal routines. As far as the world knows, we're not involved in whatever happens to Rex Vance."

Leo looked around the table at his friends—Marco with his fierce loyalty, Ben with his technical skills, Chloe with her moral compass. They weren't soldiers, but they didn't need to be. They just needed to be smart, patient, and precise.

"Any questions?" Leo asked.

There were none. For the first time since leaving the military, Leo felt the familiar satisfaction of a well-planned operation. Rex Vance had made the mistake of thinking his victims would stay victims forever.

He was about to learn otherwise.