Seth ran a hand through his hair, then reached for his phone. He had to report to Cerberus. They needed to know what had happened at the Citadel, especially the encounter with Basil Hargrove. But more than that, he needed to find out if there had been any progress in identifying the mole within Cerberus. Their mission was dangerous enough without someone on the inside feeding information to the enemy.
He dialed the secure line and waited for the call to be connected. The familiar voice of their contact, a man known only as Daedalus, answered on the second ring.
“Report,” Daedalus said, his tone brisk.
Seth gave him a quick rundown of the night’s events—the dinner with Nero Valente, the scene they’d performed, the alarm, and the tense departure from the Citadel. He kept his voice low, glancing at Hope to make sure she wasn’t straining to hear every word, though he knew she was already deeply engrossed in the data.
“Did you manage to extract anything useful?” Daedalus asked, his voice edged with curiosity and concern.
“Hope’s working on it now,” Seth replied. “But there was a complication. She triggered an alarm during the download. We had to leave before she could finish.”
There was a pause at the other end, and Seth could almost hear the wheels turning in Daedalus’s mind. “And Hargrove?”
“He’s suspicious,” Seth said grimly. “He’s watching us. But we played our parts well enough that he hasn’t made a move—yet.”
“We’re running out of time, Seth,” Daedalus warned. “Those further up the food chain are getting antsy. They want results.”
Seth clenched his jaw, his frustration mounting. “We’re doing everything we can, but it’s hard to fast-track this thing, knowing we have a traitor on the inside. Have you made any progress on identifying the mole?”
There was another pause, longer this time. “Not yet. We’re narrowing it down, but whoever it is, they’re good. They’ve covered their tracks well.”
Seth’s hand tightened around the phone. “We can’t afford to be blindsided. The closer we get to the Obsidian Cartel, the more dangerous this mission becomes. If the mole tips them off…”
“We’re aware of the risks,” Daedalus said, his voice hardening. “But you need to stay the course. We’re working on it.”
Seth exhaled slowly, knowing there was no point in pushing further. “Understood. I’ll update you as soon as we have something concrete.”
“Good. And Newcomb—be careful. Valente and his people won’t hesitate to eliminate you if they think you’re a threat.”
Seth ended the call and leaned against the wall, rubbing the tension from the back of his neck. He knew the risks, had always known them. But the stakes had never felt higher, and the weight of the mission was pressing down on him like never before.
A soft sound from Hope drew his attention. He turned to see her staring intently at the screen, her fingers paused over the keyboard. There was a look of grim satisfaction on her face, one that sent a shiver down his spine.
“A-ha,” she murmured, barely audible, but the tone of her voice cut through the silence like a blade.
Seth moved quickly to her side, his heart pounding with a mix of anticipation and dread. “What is it?” he asked, keeping his voice low.
Hope didn’t look up, her eyes still glued to the screen. “I found something. I think,” she said, her voice tinged with exhaustion. “It’s a thread—a lead on an operative known as the Cobra.”
“The Cobra?” Seth repeated, the name sending a cold chill through him.
This wasn’t the first time he’d heard of the Cobra—a shadowy figure within the intelligence community. If he or she was in or closely linked to the Obsidian Cartel, things could be worse than they’d feared. The Cobra, like the cartel, was known for his or her ruthlessness and efficiency. As far as Seth knew, no one seemed to know who the Cobra really was, or even if he or she was a man or a woman.
Hope nodded, her fingers moving again as she pulled up more information. “There isn’t much on the Cobra—hmm, this is interesting.”
“What?”
“It would seem that he or she is deeply embedded in the cartel and has been responsible for some of their most high-profile operations. But this…” she trailed off, her eyes narrowing as she read the screen, “looks like the Cobra is planning something, and that something is big.”
Seth leaned in closer, his breath catching as he read the words on the screen. The plan was horrifyingly simple and devastatingly effective—a coordinated release of Sarin, a toxin gas in several major US cities. The demand was chilling: the release of a specific prisoner into the custody of the Obsidian Cartel. If the demand wasn’t met within five days of its issuance, the Sarin would be released.
“Do we know when the demand will be made?” Seth asked, his voice tense.
Hope shook her head, frustration flickering in her eyes. “No. It could be imminent, or it might have already been made. There’s no indication of timing in these files.”
“Then we’re on a clock,” Seth said, his mind racing. “We know who, what, why, and we sort of know when. We need to know if the demand has been made, and if so, when, but even if we knew that, we still don’t know how—and we need to find out where the Cobra is operating from.”
Hope nodded, her exhaustion clear in the dark circles under her eyes, but she didn’t slow down. “The information is either missing, or it’s buried deeper in these files. I need more time to break through the encryption.”
