Chapter One Hundred Sixty-One

Chapter One Hundred Sixty-One
Evelyn's POV
Victoria spent two weeks with the rescued children. Repairing neural damage. Stabilizing fractured consciousnesses. It was the hardest work she'd ever done.
"Some won't recover fully," she told me. "The damage is too extensive. They'll live with timeline manipulation abilities they can't control."
"Can you teach them?"
"I'm trying. But they're children. They don't understand what's happening. They just know their heads hurt and they see things that aren't there."
"What will happen to them?"
"Long-term care. Specialized facilities where they can be monitored and helped." Victoria looked exhausted. "But they'll never have normal lives. Castellan stole that from them."
"Is he talking? Giving up other Prometheus locations?"
"Not yet. But Grey's people are persuasive. He'll break eventually."
Grey had taken personal responsibility for interrogating Castellan. Said it was penance for his past mistakes. I didn't argue.
Two days later, Castellan gave up three locations. All Prometheus facilities. All actively experimenting on people.
"We hit them simultaneously," Dante decided. "Can't give them time to evacuate or destroy evidence."
"We don't have enough people," Beck pointed out.
"Then we recruit. Call in every favor. Every ally." Dante was determined. "This ends. Now. Today. All of it."
We spent three days building an army. Gang leaders. Family heads. People who owed us. People who believed in stopping evil.
Fifty people became a hundred. A hundred became two hundred.
"This is insane," Sarah said. "We're building a private military."
"We're building justice," I corrected. "Because official channels are too slow. Too compromised."
The assault was coordinated. Three facilities. Three teams. All moving at exactly midnight.
Dante led one team. Grey led another. I led the third. Beck coordinated from central command.
My target was a facility in Arizona. Smaller than Colorado. But still experimenting on people.
We breached hard and fast. No subtlety. Pure overwhelming force.
The resistance was minimal. These were scientists, not soldiers. They surrendered quickly when faced with actual combat.
"Where are the test subjects?" I demanded.
A terrified researcher pointed to a locked door. "Basement. Please don't hurt us. We were just following orders."
"Following orders to torture innocent people." I shoved past her. "That doesn't earn you mercy."
The basement was similar to Colorado. Medical equipment. People strapped down. But these were adults. Ten of them. All conscious. All terrified.
"We're here to help," I told them. "We're getting you out."
It took twenty minutes to free everyone. Another ten to secure the facility. No casualties on our side. The scientists were arrested by law enforcement we'd called ahead.
"Target secured," I reported to Beck. "Test subjects safe."
"Good. Grey's team just reported the same. We're waiting on Dante."
Five minutes passed. Ten. No word from Dante's team.
"Beck, try his comms," I said, worry building.
"Already did. No response."
"Send backup. Now."
"Already en route."
I hijacked a vehicle and drove toward Dante's target. Fast. Too fast. But I didn't care.
His facility was in New Mexico. Two hours away. Felt like two years.
When I arrived, the scene was chaos. Gunfire. Explosions. Bodies on the ground.
Dante's team had walked into a prepared defense. Heavy weapons. Trained soldiers. This hadn't been a research facility. It had been a trap.
I found Beck coordinating from behind cover. "Where's Dante?"
"Building. Second floor. He went in to extract test subjects. Got pinned down."
"How long?"
"Twenty minutes."
Twenty minutes. Too long. Anything could happen.
"I'm going in."
"Evelyn, wait for backup—"
I was already moving. Weapon up. Heart pounding.
The building was a war zone. Dead operatives. Bullet holes everywhere. Blood on the walls.
I found Dante on the second floor. He'd created a defensive position in a hallway. Three test subjects behind him. He was bleeding from a shoulder wound but still fighting.
"Evelyn!" He saw me. "What are you doing here?"
"Saving you. Like always." I took position beside him. "How many?"
"Six more operatives. Heavily armed. Professional."
"We can take them."
"We don't have a choice."
We fought together. Perfect synchronization. Years of trust and love making us more effective than any training.
The operatives fell one by one. When the last one dropped, Dante sagged against the wall.
"You're hit bad," I said, checking his wound.
"I've had worse."
"That's not reassuring."
"Wasn't meant to be."
We got him and the test subjects outside. Medical teams were waiting. Dante refused treatment until everyone else was cared for.
"Stubborn idiot," I muttered.
"Your stubborn idiot."
All three facilities were secured. Fifteen more test subjects rescued. Dozens of Prometheus operatives arrested. Their research seized and destroyed.
"It's done," Victoria said that night. "Prometheus is finished. We got them all."
"All that we know about," Grey cautioned.
"No. I scanned Castellan's mind personally. There are no more facilities. No more researchers. Prometheus is dead."
Relief flooded through me. Finally. It was over. Really over.
Dante recovered over the next week. His wound was serious but manageable. He'd have another scar to add to his collection.
"How many is that now?" I asked, tracing the newest one.
"Lost count. But each one tells a story."
"What story does this one tell?"
"That my wife is crazy enough to storm an active combat zone to save me."
"Someone has to keep you alive."
"Lucky me."
We went home. Really home. To our children. To peace.
The timeline manipulators were safe. The test subjects were being cared for. The research was destroyed. The threat was ended.
We'd won.
Finally.
Completely.
And I let myself believe it.
For the first time in years, I believed we might actually have peace.