CHAPTER 33

The Warning

The hum of the underground base was steady, punctuated by the low murmur of hushed voices and the occasional flicker of the old fluorescent lights overhead. My fingers drummed restlessly against the metal table as I stared at the decrypted message on the screen in front of me. A series of numbers and letters, seemingly random, but when pieced together, they formed a single, chilling phrase.

The Execution Protocol.

My stomach coiled tight. The words reeked of finality, of something catastrophic brewing beneath the surface. I clenched my jaw, my mind racing through possibilities. Julian had always been ruthless, but this… this felt different.

"They're moving faster than we thought," Riley's voice cut through the tension like a blade. She was pacing, her boots clicking against the concrete floor. Her short, fiery red hair barely brushed her shoulders, and the fierce determination in her eyes made my pulse quicken. "We have to hit them first, Nathan. We can't sit on this."

I exhaled sharply. "We don't know what it means yet."

"We know enough," she snapped, slamming a fist against the table. "Julian doesn't name things lightly. If he's calling it 'Execution,' then people are going to die."

She wasn't wrong. But something about this still felt off. Julian was calculated, always five steps ahead. If this was a move against us, why let us intercept it so easily?

"What if this is a trap?" I said, pushing the laptop away. "What if he wanted us to find this?"

Silence settled between us. Across the room, Jude leaned back in his chair, arms folded over his chest. The scar running down his temple deepened as he frowned. "You're thinking too much, Nate. Either way, we can't afford to hesitate."

"I'm thinking because if I don't, we're dead." I shoved my chair back, standing up. The weight of their eyes on me was suffocating. "I'm not leading people into an ambush."

Riley's frustration boiled over. "And what if waiting costs us everything? If Julian activates this, we won't have time to stop it."

A dozen eyes flicked toward me, watching, waiting. They needed an answer. They needed a leader.

And I wasn't sure I could be that.

Doubt clung to my ribs like iron chains. Every decision I made carried the weight of lives. One wrong move, and it wasn't just my mistake—it was their blood on my hands.

I rubbed a hand over my face, inhaling deeply. "Give me time to think. I'll have an answer by morning."

Riley's mouth opened, but Jude shot her a look, shaking his head. She scoffed and stormed out.

The others followed suit, filtering out one by one, leaving me alone with the glow of the screen and the pounding in my skull.

I didn't sleep that night.

---

By dawn, my decision was made.

I called for a meeting in the main hall, where rows of Resistance fighters gathered in tense silence. Shadows clung to tired faces, uncertainty hanging in the air.

"I've thought this through," I began, my voice steady despite the storm inside me. "We don't move yet. Not until we confirm exactly what The Execution Protocol is."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Riley's glare burned through me, but I held firm. "We have one chance at this. If we strike blindly, we lose everything."

A hand shot up. "And if waiting means Julian wipes us out first?"

"Then we make damn sure that doesn't happen."

I turned to Tech, our lead hacker, who was already hunched over his screen. "Scrub every frequency. Julian wouldn't put all his trust in one coded message. There's more—we find it."

Tech gave a sharp nod, fingers flying over the keyboard.

As the meeting broke, Riley pulled me aside.

"You're making a mistake," she hissed.

"Then let me make it." I met her glare, unflinching. "You want me to be a leader? Then trust me to act like one."

Her jaw tightened, but she didn't push further. Instead, she exhaled sharply and walked away.

For the first time in days, I felt the tension in my chest ease. Maybe—just maybe—I'd made the right call.

I should have known peace wouldn't last.

---

The attack came at night.

Alarms shrieked through the underground corridors, the sharp scent of burning metal filling the air. I jolted awake to the sounds of shouting and gunfire.

Heart hammering, I grabbed my sidearm and bolted toward the control room.

Tech was already there, fingers flying over the keyboard. The screen flickered with distorted security footage—masked figures flooding the entrance, a breach in our defenses.

"How the hell did they find us?" I barked.

Tech's face was pale. "We have a mole."

The words hit harder than any bullet.

Before I could respond, the door burst open. Riley and Jude stormed in, rifles at the ready. "They're inside," Jude growled. "We're losing ground."

My blood turned to ice.

We'd been compromised.

A setup. A trap.

And I had walked us right into it.

My mind spun through possibilities. We couldn't fight them head-on—not with our numbers. We had to fall back.

"Evacuate in waves," I ordered, gripping my radio. "Get civilians out first. Fighters hold the line."

Jude nodded, already barking orders into his comm. Riley stepped closer, eyes sharp. "Nathan… if there's a mole—"

"I know," I said grimly. "And when I find them, they'll wish they had never been born."

A blast rocked the base, sending dust and debris raining from the ceiling. My ears rang, the air thick with smoke and fear.

Julian had found us.

And I wasn't sure we'd survive the night.