Chapter 13
Back at our safe house, the tension was palpable. The air was thick with smoke and sweat as we regrouped, bruised but alive. Athena patched up Cloud’s wounds while I checked our communication lines for any security breaches.
"We underestimated them," Cloud muttered, wincing as Athena cleaned a cut on his arm. "They knew we’d come after him. They wanted us there."
"Which means they have bigger plans," I said. "This was just a warning."
Athena exhaled, tossing the bloodied gauze aside. "Then we don’t wait for them to make the next move. We go straight to the source."
Cloud looked at her, eyes sharp. "You mean SynerTech’s headquarters?"
"Exactly. We stop playing defense," Athena said. "We take the fight to them."
The room fell into a tense silence as Athena’s words settled over us. Cloud flexed his injured arm, testing the bandages, while I leaned over the comms console, running through encrypted channels for any chatter that might clue us in on SynerTech’s next move.
“They won’t expect us to retaliate so soon,” Cloud said, his voice still edged with pain but laced with determination. “If we move fast, we can catch them off guard.”
I nodded. “We need intel first. Charging in blind will only get us killed.”
Athena crossed her arms, her jaw tightening. “Then we get intel. We have contacts inside. People who owe us favors.”
I glanced at her. “Who do you have in mind?”
A slow, knowing smirk crept onto her face. “Reed.”
Cloud let out a humorless chuckle. “Reed? He’s a wildcard. If he even picks up the call, there’s a fifty-fifty chance he sells us out.”
“Or,” Athena countered, “he tells us exactly what we need.”
I exhaled. Reed had worked with us in the past, but he had always been in it for himself. If the price was right, he’d trade information—or betray us.
Still, we were out of options.
“I’ll contact him,” I said, already opening an encrypted line. “We don’t have time to be picky.”
The call rang three times before Reed’s face flickered onto the screen. He was in a dimly lit room, his usual cocky smirk in place. “Well, well, if it isn’t my favorite group of troublemakers.”
“No time for pleasantries,” I said. “We need information on SynerTech. Now.”
Reed sighed dramatically. “You people never call just to catch up. What’s in it for me?”
Athena stepped in, her voice cold. “How about the part where we don’t turn you over to SynerTech for double-crossing them last year?”
Reed’s smirk faltered, and he let out a low chuckle. “Ah. That. You always know how to twist my arm, Athena.”
“Talk,” Cloud said. “What’s SynerTech planning?”
Reed leaned forward, his expression turning serious. “You’re not going to like this. They’re moving something big. A prototype. Military-grade. I don’t have the details, but it’s going to their secure facility downtown in two days. Security will be tight.”
“What kind of security?” I asked.
Reed shrugged. “The kind that will turn you into Swiss cheese if you’re not careful. But if you’re serious about going after them, I might have a way in.”
Athena exchanged a glance with me. “Go on.”
“There’s an access tunnel beneath the facility. Old maintenance shafts. Mostly forgotten. It’s risky, but it’s your best shot.”
Cloud scoffed. “Let me guess. You want something in return?”
Reed’s grin returned. “Naturally. A little insurance. There’s a data drive inside the facility. You get me that, and we’re even.”
I hesitated. Whatever was on that drive was valuable—maybe too valuable to hand over. But we didn’t have time to negotiate.
“Fine,” I said. “Send us the schematics.”
Reed nodded, his fingers moving off-screen. “Sending now. Try not to get yourselves killed.”
The call cut off, and a moment later, blueprints flickered onto our display. I scanned them quickly, tracing the tunnels Reed mentioned.
“This is it,” I said. “If we’re doing this, we move in tomorrow night. Get in, find out what SynerTech is working on, and get out.”
Athena tightened the straps on her gear. “Then we should start preparing. We won’t get a second chance at this.”
Cloud cracked his knuckles, a determined look in his eyes. “Let’s bring the fight to them.”
As I studied the map, a familiar feeling settled over me. The rush before the storm. The moment before everything changed. We were walking into fire.
But this time, we weren’t running.
This time, we were striking back.
The room fell into a tense silence as Athena’s words settled over us. Cloud flexed his injured arm, testing the bandages, while I leaned over the comms console, running through encrypted channels for any chatter that might clue us in on SynerTech’s next move.
“They won’t expect us to retaliate so soon,” Cloud said, his voice still edged with pain but laced with determination. “If we move fast, we can catch them off guard.”
I nodded. “We need intel first. Charging in blind will only get us killed.”
Athena crossed her arms, her jaw tightening. “Then we get intel. We have contacts inside. People who owe us favors.”
I glanced at her. “Who do you have in mind?”
A slow, knowing smirk crept onto her face. “Reed.”
Cloud let out a humorless chuckle. “Reed? He’s a wildcard. If he even picks up the call, there’s a fifty-fifty chance he sells us out.”
“Or,” Athena countered, “he tells us exactly what we need.”
I exhaled. Reed had worked with us in the past, but he had always been in it for himself. If the price was right, he’d trade information—or betray us.
Still, we were out of options.
“I’ll contact him,” I said, already opening an encrypted line. “We don’t have time to be picky.”
The call rang three times before Reed’s face flickered onto the screen. He was in a dimly lit room, his usual cocky smirk in place. “Well, well, if it isn’t my favorite group of troublemakers.”
“No time for pleasantries,” I said. “We need information on SynerTech. Now.”
Reed sighed dramatically. “You people never call just to catch up. What’s in it for me?”
Athena stepped in, her voice cold. “How about the part where we don’t turn you over to SynerTech for double-crossing them last year?”
Reed’s smirk faltered, and he let out a low chuckle. “Ah. That. You always know how to twist my arm, Athena.”
“Talk,” Cloud said. “What’s SynerTech planning?”
Reed leaned forward, his expression turning serious. “You’re not going to like this. They’re moving something big. A prototype. Military-grade. I don’t have the details, but it’s going to their secure facility downtown in two days. Security will be tight.”
“What kind of security?” I asked.
Reed shrugged. “The kind that will turn you into Swiss cheese if you’re not careful. But if you’re serious about going after them, I might have a way in.”
Athena exchanged a glance with me. “Go on.”
“There’s an access tunnel beneath the facility. Old maintenance shafts. Mostly forgotten. It’s risky, but it’s your best shot.”
Cloud scoffed. “Let me guess. You want something in return?”
Reed’s grin returned. “Naturally. A little insurance. There’s a data drive inside the facility. You get me that, and we’re even.”
I hesitated. Whatever was on that drive was valuable—maybe too valuable to hand over. But we didn’t have time to negotiate.
“Fine,” I said. “Send us the schematics.”
Reed nodded, his fingers moving off-screen. “Sending now. Try not to get yourselves killed.”
The call cut off, and a moment later, blueprints flickered onto our display. I scanned them quickly, tracing the tunnels Reed mentioned.
“This is it,” I said. “If we’re doing this, we move in tomorrow night. Get in, find out what SynerTech is working on, and get out.”
Athena tightened the straps on her gear. “Then we should start preparing. We won’t get a second chance at this.”
Cloud cracked his knuckles, a determined look in his eyes. “Let’s bring the fight to them.”
As I studied the map, a familiar feeling settled over me. The rush before the storm. The moment before everything changed. We were walking into fire.
But this time, we weren’t running.
This time, we were striking back.
We spent the next few hours preparing. Athena double-checked our weapons, ensuring every magazine was loaded and every suppressor was secured. Cloud paced near the entrance, stretching his injured arm, determined not to be a liability. I stayed glued to the blueprints, memorizing the layout and plotting multiple escape routes.
“We need eyes inside,” Athena said, snapping her pistol’s slide into place. “A scout to confirm the tunnel is still accessible.”
“I can handle that,” Cloud volunteered. “I’ll go in alone, check for motion detectors or recent activity.”
I hesitated. His injury was fresh, and I didn’t like sending him in alone. But he was the best at recon.
“Fine,” I said. “But keep radio contact. If you see anything off, you pull out immediately.”
Cloud gave a mock salute before slipping out the door into the night.
Athena and I worked in silence, the weight of what we were about to do pressing down on us. Every step we took against SynerTech brought us closer to a war we might not win, but hesitation wasn’t an option.
Cloud’s voice crackled through the comms. “Tunnel’s still here. No new security, but it’s tight quarters. If we get pinned down, we’re screwed.”
I exchanged a glance with Athena. “We go in quiet, get what we need, and get out. No unnecessary firefights.”
Cloud’s low chuckle echoed in my earpiece. “You say that now.”
I checked my watch. “We move in one hour. Be ready.”
The city was eerily quiet as we approached the facility. The entrance to the tunnel was exactly where Reed’s schematics indicated—a rusted maintenance hatch behind a row of abandoned storage units. Cloud pried it open with a grunt, revealing a dark shaft leading downward.
I switched on my night vision. “Let’s move.”
We slipped inside, the air growing damp and stale. The tunnel was narrower than expected, forcing us to move in single file. Every step echoed, reminding us how little room for error we had.
Halfway in, Athena froze. “Hold.”
A faint red light pulsed ahead—tripwire sensor.
Cloud cursed under his breath. “That wasn’t in the blueprints.”
I crouched, analyzing the sensor. “They upgraded security. I can disable it, but it’ll take a minute.”
“Make it fast,” Athena whispered, gripping her weapon.
As I worked, a sound echoed down the tunnel—a distant clatter of boots on metal.
Someone else was here.
Athena tensed. “We’ve got company.”
Cloud gripped his pistol, eyes sharp. “Looks like we’re not the only ones interested in SynerTech’s secrets.”
I disabled the sensor with a final twist of my tool. The red light faded.
“Move,” I whispered. “Before they get here.”
We crept forward, deeper into the tunnel, knowing that whatever waited for us ahead was far more dangerous than we had anticipated.