Chapter 34: The Inside Man

The atmosphere in the safehouse was thick with tension. The team sat gathered around the large table, papers and files scattered haphazardly, as they poured over the intel they had gathered in their ongoing investigation into Tenebris Industries. Despite their progress, something felt off. The closer they got to the truth, the more elusive it seemed, and James couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched.

"Something's not right," he muttered, staring at the file before him. "We've been digging for weeks, and every lead seems to just... disappear."

Lila leaned forward, her brows furrowed. "That's because they're covering their tracks too well. Tenebris has their fingers in everything, from technology to media. But we can't afford to stop now. We're so close, James. I can feel it."

James nodded, though his mind kept returning to one nagging thought: Why were they being allowed to get so close? No one could stay hidden forever, especially not with the kind of resources Tenebris had. It didn't make sense. Why hadn't they been discovered yet? Surely someone had to be monitoring their every move.

Zoe, as usual, was bouncing with restless energy. "We've been digging through their financials, but all we've found are fake companies and offshore accounts. There's nothing solid. No names. No leads. It's like they want us to get stuck."

Claire, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke up. "Maybe we've been looking in the wrong place."

James turned to her, a sharp edge in his voice. "What do you mean?"

Claire's fingers drummed against the table nervously. "I mean… We've been focusing on their operations, on the money. But what if we've been missing something bigger? We haven't even scratched the surface of their internal network. What if one of us has been compromised?"

A chill ran down James's spine as the room fell silent. The idea that someone on their team could be working for Tenebris was a horrifying one, but it was a possibility they couldn't ignore. They had all seen the way the organization operated—through deception, manipulation, and infiltration. They had turned friends into enemies before, and it was entirely possible they had done it again.

"Impossible," Lila said, though her voice lacked conviction. "We've been careful. No one's had access to anything critical. We've all been on the same page."

"Have we?" James's voice was calm but firm. "Has anyone here felt like we were one step ahead of Tenebris? Or that we've been working on the same goals this entire time?"

The question lingered in the air, heavy and unnerving. Claire's idea had planted a seed of doubt in James's mind, and he couldn't shake it. He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms.

"Let's be real here. This whole time, we've been playing defense. We've been reacting, cleaning up after Tenebris's messes, but we've never been able to get ahead. Maybe it's time we start thinking like they do. We need to stop being reactive and start being proactive."

Zoe's eyes widened as the realization hit. "You mean—"

"I mean," James said, interrupting her, "we find out who's working for them before they find out who we are."

The Plan Begins

The next few hours were spent with the team working in overdrive. The weight of suspicion hung over them all, but they couldn't afford to let that cloud their judgment. They needed to keep pushing forward.

James decided to take the lead on this one, understanding the gravity of what they were up against. "I'll start with the comms logs. Claire, Zoe, I need you two to check every external contact we've had in the last month. If anyone's been feeding information back to Tenebris, we need to know. Lila, you're with me—let's go through the financial transactions again. Someone might have missed something. One slip-up is all it takes."

As the team dispersed to carry out their tasks, the atmosphere was more intense than it had ever been. No one spoke about the possibility that one of them could be the traitor, but the thought hung in the air like a storm cloud, waiting to break.

Hours later, the team reconvened. The hours had passed slowly, and the sense of unease had only grown. As they gathered, each of them knew that they were closer than ever to the truth—but also that they might be one step away from a deadly betrayal.

Lila was the first to speak. "I've gone through every line in the financial records. Nothing. No inconsistencies. No hidden accounts. Nothing out of the ordinary."

James's eyes narrowed. "That's what they want you to think."

Claire adjusted her glasses and looked up from her laptop. "I found something... but it's not what we expected. It's in the external communications logs. There are encrypted messages we didn't catch before. They're brief, but they're there. Someone's been using burner phones and hidden email addresses. And there's a pattern. All of them lead back to one address."

A chill ran through the room. James felt his heart race as Claire pulled up the details on the screen. The address she revealed was one he recognized—Tenebris headquarters, the black hole of the organization.

Lila's eyes widened. "That's impossible. How could they have gotten to us? We've been careful."

Claire's fingers hovered over the keyboard, her face pale. "There's more. The messages… they're not just sending information. They're asking for instructions. We're not the only ones being watched."

James's mind was spinning. He didn't know who the traitor was, but the answer seemed so obvious now. Someone was inside. Someone had access.

"I'm going to confront them," James said, his voice low and steady. "We can't waste any more time. Whoever is working for Tenebris needs to be stopped before they do any more damage."