ROY CARTER'S HOUSE – EARLY MORNING
The house is quiet. A faint hum of the fridge, the ticking of the old wall clock. Leo Carter, 10 years old, backpack slung over one shoulder, stands at the door. his hoodie slightly worn. He's got that spark in his eyes—the kind that hides a thousand questions.
LEO "Grampa Roy, I'm staying over at Jace's place for the summer break after school, okay? It's a month and a half. Don't worry—I packed extra socks!"
Leo said with a cheerful smile.
Roy Carter, grizzled and broad-shouldered, sits in his recliner with a mug of black coffee. His face is carved from stone, but his eyes flicker—just for a second. He looked up at him gruffly.
ROY "Tch don't be stupid. If anything goes wrong you call. Got it?"
ROY I left some money in your school bag. Should last three weeks.. Don't waste it all in one place. And if you run out… call."
Leo smiled softly, his smile warm and genuine with a hint of mischief.
LEO "I'll come by when I can. Promise. You won't even miss me… much."
Leo waves, his mismatched fingerless gloves — one from Dad, one from Mom — tugging at the memory of what he's lost. He stepped out into the morning light. The door clicks shut.
Roy's eyes softened slightly, his grip on the mug slackened, coffee rippling against the rim.
Three Years Earlier – The Mission
ABANDONED WAREHOUSE – NIGHT
(FLASHBACK) POV: Leo's parents, agents in their late 20s, mid-mission.
Rain lashes the broken windows. Inside, Nora Carter and Miles Carter move like shadows—silent, precise. They're dressed in tactical gear, earpieces crackling.
NORA "Target's in the northeast corridor. We extract the intel, then we're out."
Nora whispered.
MILES "Pfft, Please. This is checkmate with style."
Miles replied back with a smirk.
They exchanged a single, sharp glance.
A silent promise forged in years of partnership. Then, with the synchronized precision of a clockwork mechanism, they moved.
The quiet shattered. Gunfire erupted from above, stitching a line of jagged holes across the concrete floor. In the ensuing chaos, Nora lunged forward, her boots skidding as she dove behind a heavy steel crate. Her hand was white-knuckled around the jagged edges of a silver flash drive. the only proof they had left.
Miles stepped into the open, his weapon leveled to provide a wall of suppression. He was the shield, as he always was, but the sheer volume of lead was overwhelming. A sickening thud echoed over the roar of the rifles as a bullet found its mark. Miles buckled, his momentum dying instantly as he collapsed to the floor.
NORA "MILES!"
Nora's scream ripped through the smoke, raw and desperate.
Ignoring the crossfire, she scrambled toward him. She seized his hand, the rough fabric of her fingerless gloves immediately darkening as they soaked in the warmth of his blood. He looked up at her, his breathing shallow, a faint, defiant smile touching his lips even as a thin trail of crimson trickled from the corner of his mouth.
MILES "Nora…"
he whispered, his voice barely audible over the ringing in her ears.
MILES "I love you."
Tears blurred her vision, hot and stinging.
NORA "I love you too,"
she choked out, leaning closer to catch his fading strength.
NORA "Always. Even in the dark."
Before the words could fully settle, a second sharp crack rang out. Nora's body jolted, and the world tilted. She slumped down beside him, her fingers still locked firmly in his, refusing to let go even as the light began to recede.
With a trembling hand, she reached for her comms, her voice a fractured ghost of itself.
NORA "A... Agent Spector... we're down..."
The only reply was the cold, hollow hiss of static.
As her grip finally loosened, the flash drive slipped from her palm. It tumbled across the dusty floor, spinning slowly until it came to rest under the flickering warehouse lights. Glinting on its casing, printed in stark, aggressive red bold letters, was the final secret:
STARWOOD HOLLOW
Roy's Phone Call
ROY'S LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
Roy sits in the same recliner. The television glows with static. Then suddenly the telephone rings.
Roy picked up the headset, placing it against his ear.
ROY "Yeah?"
The voice on the other side of the telephone spoke.
VOICE ON TELEPHONE "Mr. Carter... your daughter and son-in-law didn't make it. Leo, their son is being brought to you. He'll arrive in about an hour."
Silence.
Roy doesn't speak. He just stares at the wall. The mug in his hand trembles. Outside, thunder rolls.
Back to Present
Roy grips on the mug, clutching his jaw, as he watches Leo walk to the bus with Jace through the window, who was already waiting outside for him.
ROY (muttering) "Damn it… He was just a kid. And they took everything.."