Chapter 21: Her Game
“Sterling,” I said, the name tasting like poison. “It was all you.”
“He’s a useful cutout,” she said, descending the stairs, her movements fluid and confident in this space. “He allowed me to guide you without revealing my hand.”
“Guide me?” I laughed, a harsh, bitter sound. “You pointed me like a gun. You used me to fight your war for you.”
“The Mongols are a cancer, Jack. I’m using every tool I have to cut them out of my town,” she said, her voice dangerously quiet. “You just happen to be the sharpest tool I’ve found in a long time.”
Maybe I should take that as a compliment, but I don’t. I took a step toward her, the rage coiling in my gut. “What about the saloon? The chase in the desert? What did we do in that mine? Was that just part of the game? A way to keep your ‘tool’ sharp and pointed in the right direction?”
For the first time, a flicker of something real crossed her face—a flash of anger, or maybe regret. “The dangers were real. My feelings… are a complication I can’t afford.” She stopped a few feet from me, the glowing monitors painting her in cold, shifting light. “I needed a detective. I needed a ghost. I needed someone who could get close to them in a way I couldn’t. It worked.”
“It’s over,” I said, my voice low. “Whatever this was, it’s over.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Is it? You know everything now, Jack. You know about the Oracle. You know about me. You think the Mongols will just let you walk away? You think Brody will? You have nowhere to go. The only safe place for you in this town is right here, at my side. Because if I wanted you dead, you would already be."
She was right. And that was the most brutal part of the betrayal. She hadn’t just used me. She had maneuvered me into a cage, and the only person with the key was my captor. The trust between us wasn’t just broken; it had been a lie from the very beginning.
The air in the command center was thick with the ghosts of lies. I stared at Maddie—at the Dark Rose—and felt a cold, clean rage replace the shock. She stood her ground, the queen in her underground castle, expecting me to fall in line now that I knew the truth. “So what now?” I asked, my voice a low snarl. “Do I get a uniform? A codename? Or do I just keep being your attack dog?”
“What happens now is we survive,” she shot back, her eyes flashing with anger. “The game hasn’t changed, Jack. You just finally see the whole board.” This whole board of hers reminds me of someone I met before Sarah died. Someone like Maddie who lives in both the shadows and the light. Is there some connection between all of this?
Before I could answer and ask more questions, a piercing alarm blared through the room, flashing red across the monitors. On the tactical map, a half-dozen red icons labeled ‘MONGOLS’ were converging on our position. Not a patrol. A strike team. They were moving with precision, surrounding the Chronicle office from all sides.
Maddie’s composure finally cracked. A flicker of disbelief, of genuine shock, crossed her face. “No,” she whispered, staring at the screens. “They know. They know exactly where we are. This entrance is supposed to be clean.” She glares at me. "You led them here!"
I shook my head. "No, Maddie, I didn't, and you know that. To me, it looks like one of your ‘Kings’ isn’t so loyal,” I sneered, the betrayal still fresh and raw.
“It’s not my people,” she snapped, her mind already working, analyzing. She pointed to the screen. “Look at their formation. They’re not storming the building. They’re creating a perimeter, leaving one escape route open to the east. They’re not trying to kill us here. They’re flushing us out. This isn’t their style. This is… corporate.”