Unmasking the Truth

Inside the warehouse, the air was damp and full of dust and the smell of oil-soaked concrete. The circle of people sat around a dimly lit lantern, and the shadows reached out to run on the walls, distorted and long. Elliot Cross stood at its center, his hands resting against the back of the metal chair.

Ethan leaned forward, his patience thin. "Enough games. Who's pulling Riverton's strings?"

Elliot let out a slow breath, his gaze shifting between them. "Ever heard of The Covenant?"

Sophie frowned. "Sounds like a cult."

Elliot shook his head. "Not exactly. The Covenant isn't just a group. It's a network—corporate executives, politicians, military officials, intelligence operatives. They don't operate like Riverton. Riverton is just a tool. They are the ones writing the playbook."

Marcus scoffed. "You're saying some secret society is running everything from the shadows?"

Elliot smirked. "Sounds ridiculous, right? But tell me—how did Riverton always seem to be one step ahead? How did they get away with everything they've done?" He paused. "Because they were never acting alone."

Sophie exchanged a glance with Ethan. This changed everything. They had spent months gathering evidence to bring down Riverton, thinking it was the head of the snake. But now, it was clear—Riverton was just a puppet.

Clara folded her arms. "So what's their endgame?"

Elliot hesitated before speaking. "Control. They do not demand influence. They demand absolute power over industries, governments, and international security. They manipulate the stock markets, a ministry decides elections, funds wars. And Riverton? They were just an enforcement wing. A tool to eliminate obstacles."

Ethan's jaw clenched. "Like my father."

Elliot nodded grimly. "Your father was getting too close to exposing them. He wasn't the only one.

Sophie sat back, her mind reeling. It was no longer about revenge anymore. It was bigger. If The Covenant was as powerful as Elliot claimed, taking down Riverton was only scratching the surface.

Marcus tapped at his laptop with a furrowed brow. "I dug up some deep financial records related to Riverton. There is a shell company—Aurora Holdings. It's been pumping billions of dollars into offshore accounts. Could be the financial backbone of The Covenant."

Elliot nodded. "Aurora Holdings is their central hub. If you want to take them down, that's where you start."

Sophie blew out a sigh. "We cut the head off the beast.

Elliot gave a dark chuckle. "Easier said than done."

New Targets, New Risks

Elliot walked over to a duffel bag and unzipped it, revealing a stack of files and a tablet. He handed the tablet to Ethan. "That's a list of Covenant board members. Some of the most powerful people in the world."

Ethan scrolled through the names, his stomach turning. CEOs of multinational corporations. Senior government officials. Military leaders.

"These people control everything," he muttered.

Sophie leaned over his shoulder. "If we go after them, they'll come after us hard."

Elliot gave a humorless smile. "They already are."

Marcus's laptop pinged with an alert. His face paled. "Uh… I think they just found us."

Before anyone could react, the warehouse's security alarm blared to life. A red light flashed overhead.

Clara grabbed her gun. "How the hell—"

Marcus cursed under his breath. "They must've tracked our last data pull. I thought I masked it, but these guys aren't amateurs."

Elliot pulled out a handgun. "We need to move. Now."

Sophie's pulse spiked. They had been in this situation before—on the run, hunted. But this time, it felt different. It wasn't just Riverton. They had declared war on something much bigger.

And war was exactly what they were going to get.

The Escape

Ethan sprinted toward the back exit, pulling Sophie with him as Clara and Elliot covered their retreat.

BOOM!

An explosion ripped through the side of the warehouse, sending a wave of heat and debris crashing into them. Sophie hit the ground hard, her ears ringing.

Ethan pulled her up, his face set in determination. "Come on!"

Outside, black SUVs slammed on their brakes and disgorged heavily armed operatives. Not just Riverton. This was something different. More tactical. More precise.

Sophie ducked behind a stack of shipping crates, firing two quick shots at an approaching enemy. Clara and Elliot returned fire, their movements efficient and controlled.

Marcus stumbled out into the air. "I called for extraction!" he yelled back. "Just hold them for a few minutes more!" "We don't have a few minutes." Ethan gritted through his teeth.

Sophie gazed about her and noticed an abandoned motorcycle resting against a half-built building with a sign labeled "Construction." She elbowed Ethan gently. "Can you ride?

He gave her a sideways glance. "Do you really have to ask?"

Sophie smirked. "Good." She fired at the closest SUV, shattering its windshield and buying them a moment's distraction. "Get to the bike. I'll cover you."

Ethan grabbed Marcus, shoving him toward the bike. Clara and Elliot kept the attackers pinned down as Sophie followed.

Just as they reached the motorcycle, another black SUV roared into view, heading straight for them.

Elliot raised his gun and fired three precise shots into the driver's side. The SUV veered off course, slamming into a concrete barrier.

"Go!" Elliot shouted. "I'll hold them here!"

Ethan hesitated. "You won't last—"

"I'll be fine," Elliot cut him off. "But you need to get out."

There was no time to argue. Ethan revved the bike, and Sophie hopped on behind him, gripping his waist as Marcus clung on for dear life.

Tires screeched as they shot forward, weaving through the gunfire and into the night.

A New Mission

By the time they reached the safehouse, the adrenaline was still coursing through Sophie's veins.

Ethan parked the bike, breathing heavily. "That was close."

Marcus slides off, like he's about to puke. "I'm never doing that again," he says.

Clara rides up a few minutes later, in a purloined vehicle, with a new scrape across her cheekbone. "We lost them. at least for a little while longer."

Sophie runs a hand through her hair, exhaling slowly. "This is much bigger than I thought."

Ethan nods. "If the Covenant is responsible for everything we've seen and experienced, this isn't a revenge fight any longer.

Marcus looked at them, then at the stolen hard drive in Ethan's hand. "Then what are we fighting for?"

Sophie met Ethan's gaze.

"The truth."

And for the first time since this all started, they knew exactly what needed to be done.

No more running.

No more hiding.

It was time to bring the entire system crashing down.