Contents
CHAPTER 6: JAMESON
Overview
Jameson scours Prague’s secret passages but finds every entrance disabled, forcing him to a Hawthorne-built hotel suite with hidden mechanisms. A call from Alisa reframes the threat: Alice’s triad operates as ritualized vigilantes, possibly assassins, with roles and recruitment by disappearance. Alisa coordinates containment while Jameson commits to a quiet investigation. He unlocks a blacklight map, resolving to find a new way in and track Avery.
Summary
At night in Prague, Jameson searches Vinárna Čertovka and other known hidden entrances, recalling a prior disappearance from this spot. One by one, every passage he previously used fails, signaling that the network has been disabled. Fighting frustration, he heads to a Hawthorne-crafted Royal Suite to leverage its concealed mechanisms.
Inside, Jameson begins unlocking a three-line mural puzzle when a phone rings from an envelope left in the suite. Alisa is on the line. She says she has replaced their phones for security, will manage press and containment, and expects Jameson to keep her informed. She stresses discretion to protect Libby and the family.
Alisa shares intelligence from Grayson and Lyra: Alice’s triad assigns roles—Watcher, Hand, Judge—with Alice currently the Judge. The group acts in the shadows as ritualized vigilantes, possibly assassins; members advance through ranks, and recruitment requires vanishing or faking death. Alisa posits Avery may have accepted an invitation under assurances that safeguard the others and believes she might find a way back.
Jameson agrees to investigate quietly and prepare for a fight if needed. After the call, he completes the mural mechanism, revealing a hidden wall with a bust and blank blueprint. He retrieves a string of pearls from a marble table, places them on the bust, and triggers black lights that expose a secret map of Prague’s tunnels.
Resolute, Jameson studies the map for overlooked routes, reframing the crisis as a game of Hide and Seek and vowing to track Avery by any entrance still unknown to him.
Who Appears
- Jameson HawthorneSearches Prague’s disabled passages, unlocks the Royal Suite’s hidden map, and commits to a discreet hunt for Avery.
- Alisa OrtegaCalls via a planted phone, assumes operational control, shares intel on the triad’s roles and recruitment, urges discretion.
- Avery Kylie GrambsMissing; central to Jameson’s search. May have accepted recruitment with assurances, offering possible protection and a way back.
- Alice HawthorneIdentified as current Judge of the triad; part of a ritualized vigilante group possibly tied to assassinations.
- Calla ThorpNamed as a member of the triad operating with Alice; details remain limited but significant to the threat.
- Grayson HawthorneOff-page; provides background intel with Lyra on the triad’s structure and methods.
- LyraOff-page; helps determine the triad’s roles and operational patterns alongside Grayson.