Chapter 52 Chapter 52
I waited until Sophia stepped away to take a phone call before slipping into the bathroom. The dead burner phone was useless, but I still had my real phone hidden in my shoe. Damien had told me never to use it, but this was an emergency. Lives were at stake.
My hands shook as I pulled it out and typed a message. "Explosives in Victor's shipment. Timed to go off at dawn. Twenty containers. Need to stop them now."
I hit send and watched the message disappear. Three dots appeared immediately. Damien was typing back.
"Where are you? Are you safe?"
"Syndicate warehouse. Not safe. Cannot talk long."
"I am coming for you."
"No. Stop the explosives first. Save Victor's people. Then come for me."
I deleted the conversation and shoved the phone back in my shoe just as the bathroom door opened. Sophia stood there with her gun drawn and her eyes cold.
"Who were you talking to?"
"No one. I was just using the bathroom."
She grabbed my arm and yanked me out into the hallway. "Alexander wants to see you. Now."
My heart pounded as she dragged me back to his office. Alexander sat behind his desk with my real phone in his hand. The burner phone I could explain away, but my real phone had everything. Messages to Damien. Photos. Evidence of who I really was.
"Sit down, Lisa." His voice was calm, but I heard the danger underneath.
I sat and tried to keep my face neutral. "Where did you get that?"
"Sophia is very thorough. She checked your shoes while you were in the bathroom." He unlocked the phone and scrolled through it. "Interesting reading. Messages to Damien Kane. Plans to infiltrate my organization. Declarations of love."
"I can explain."
"I am sure you can. People always have explanations when they get caught." He set the phone down and studied me. "Here is what I think happened. Victor sent you in here knowing you would fail. Knowing I would catch you. Because the real spy is someone else. Someone I trust who has been feeding information to both Victor and Damien while I have been distracted by you."
I blinked. "What?"
"You are the decoy, Lisa. The shiny object meant to draw my attention while the real traitor operates in the shadows." Alexander leaned back in his chair. "Which means you are even more useful than I thought."
"I do not understand."
"You will keep doing exactly what you have been doing. You will report to Damien. Tell him about the explosives. Let him think he is one step ahead." Alexander's smile was cruel. "But the information you give him will be what I want him to know. You become my weapon. My way of controlling both Damien and Victor without them realizing it."
Sophia stepped forward. "And if she refuses?"
"Then her friend Mia dies. Slowly. Painfully. While Lisa watches." Alexander stood and walked around the desk. "But I do not think she will refuse. Because, despite everything, she is a survivor. And survivors do what they must to stay alive."
He was right and I hated him for it. I would do anything to protect Mia. Even become a double agent for the man who was orchestrating a war that had already killed dozens of people.
"What do you want me to tell Damien?"
"The truth about the explosives. Let him intercept the shipment. Let him think he won." Alexander handed me back my phone. "But leave out one crucial detail. The explosives in those containers are not the real threat. They are a distraction. The real attack happens somewhere else entirely."
"Where?"
"You do not need to know that yet. Just play your part. Be convincing. Make Damien believe you are risking everything to save him." Alexander's eyes were cold. "And remember that I am always watching. One wrong move and Mia pays the price."
Sophia escorted me to a small room with a bed and a single window. "You stay here tonight. Tomorrow morning, you will contact Damien and tell him about the explosives. Make it sound urgent. Make it sound real."
She locked the door from the outside, and I was alone. I sat on the bed and pulled out my phone. The message from Damien was still there waiting for a response. But now I did not know what to say. Everything I told him would be filtered through Alexander's plans. Everything I did would serve The Syndicate's goals.
I typed slowly. "Explosives are real. Twenty containers are heading to Victor's warehouses across the city. They detonate at dawn. You need to stop them."
"Where are you?"
"Safe for now. Focus on the bombs. I will contact you when I can."
"Lisa, I love you. Please be careful."
Tears blurred my vision. "I love you too."
I deleted the conversation again and lay back on the bed. Sleep would not come. My mind kept racing through scenarios. What if Damien could not stop the explosives? What if Alexander was lying and there was no second attack? What if this was all just another layer of manipulation?
Hours passed. The sun started rising and painted the sky orange and pink. Somewhere in the city, those explosives were counting down. Somewhere, Damien was racing to stop them. And I was trapped in this room, unable to help or warn him about Alexander's real plans.
The door opened, and Sophia walked in. "Get up. Alexander wants you."
I followed her back to his office, where Alexander sat watching multiple screens. Security footage from different locations across the city. I recognized Victor's warehouses. Saw Damien's men moving through them with bomb disposal equipment.
"Right on schedule," Alexander said. "Damien found the explosives exactly when I wanted him to. Now he thinks he saved the day."
"Did he? Are the bombs disarmed?"
"Of course. I had them set to simple timers that any competent team could disable. The real bombs are much more sophisticated." Alexander switched to a different camera feed. "And they are already in place."
The screen showed a building I recognized. The safe house where Damien first took me. Where we spent nights talking and planning. Where I fell in love with him.
"No." The word came out as a whisper.
"Yes. While Damien was busy playing hero, his real home was being rigged to explode. The second he walks through that door, the motion sensors trigger, and everything within a three-block radius turns to dust." Alexander looked at me. "Unless you warn him, of course. Unless you break your cover and tell him the truth."
"You said the explosives were a distraction. You said the real attack was somewhere else."
"I lied. I do that." He stood and walked over to me. "So here is your choice, Lisa. You can stay quiet and let Damien die. Or you can warn him and watch Mia die instead. You have thirty seconds to decide."
My world stopped. Damien or Mia. The man I loved or my best friend. No matter what I chose, someone would die, and I would have to live with that choice forever.
"Twenty seconds."
I looked at the screen. Saw Damien's car pulling up to the safe house. Saw him getting out. Walking toward the door.
"Ten seconds."
My phone was in my hand, but I could not make my fingers move. Could not make myself choose.
"Time is up." Alexander smiled. "What is it going to be?"
Before I could answer, his phone rang. He looked at the screen, and his smile vanished. "This is impossible."
"What?"
He turned the phone to show me. The caller ID said Marcus. Damien's right-hand man, who had been missing for days.
Alexander answered. "How did you get this number?"
Marcus's voice came through the speaker. "Because I am the real spy. And I just sent everything I know about The Syndicate to every news outlet in the city. Your war is over, Alexander. And Damien is coming for you."
The line went dead. Alexander stared at the phone, and for the first time, I saw fear in his eyes.
Then he looked at me. "I have a new assignment for you. One that will test your loyalty to The Syndicate."