Amateurs , she thought.

"I prefer 'strategic listener,'" Izzy said, cuffing him with a polymer zip-tie. "Now, about that pawn…"

The Collector’s face drained of color. For a long moment, neither moved. Then he laughed—a dry, defeated sound. "They say you’re a ghost. A whisper in a crowded room."

"The… the old library," he stammered.

Izzy adjusted her scarf. In this light, she looked like a weary journalist. A flicker of movement reflected in her spoon. Two men, eastern European build, ill-fitting suits. They’d been following her for three blocks.

At the National Library, a gutted shell of a building scarred by war, The Collector waited. He held the ivory rook, its base hollowed out for the chip. "Agent Izzy," he said, not turning around. "I expected someone… louder."

Tajni Agent Izzy -

Amateurs , she thought.

"I prefer 'strategic listener,'" Izzy said, cuffing him with a polymer zip-tie. "Now, about that pawn…" tajni agent izzy

The Collector’s face drained of color. For a long moment, neither moved. Then he laughed—a dry, defeated sound. "They say you’re a ghost. A whisper in a crowded room." Amateurs , she thought

"The… the old library," he stammered.

Izzy adjusted her scarf. In this light, she looked like a weary journalist. A flicker of movement reflected in her spoon. Two men, eastern European build, ill-fitting suits. They’d been following her for three blocks. For a long moment, neither moved

At the National Library, a gutted shell of a building scarred by war, The Collector waited. He held the ivory rook, its base hollowed out for the chip. "Agent Izzy," he said, not turning around. "I expected someone… louder."