The Safehouse Betrayal

Tricia clenched the blood-stained flash drive, her mind racing. Dr. Lorne had died giving her this, proof that Voss was already ahead of them. But the sniper attack proved something worse. Someone had tipped him off.

They weren't just being hunted. They had a traitor in their midst.

Jared dragged her to cover as another bullet ricocheted off a rusted beam. Nathan fired back, his expression tight with fury. The shooter was skilled, their position shifting after every shot. They weren't just killing Lorne. They were covering their tracks.

"We need to move, now!" Reed shouted.

Tricia didn't argue. She stuffed the flash drive into her pocket and ran.

The train depot was a death trap. Bullets whizzed past as they darted between abandoned carriages, their boots slamming against the damp concrete.

Nathan led the way, guiding them through a collapsed tunnel that reeked of mildew. They emerged behind a crumbling brick wall near the street, just as a black SUV screeched around the corner.

Jared shoved Tricia into the back seat before diving in after her. Nathan slid behind the wheel, slamming his foot on the gas.

Reed was the last to enter, his face grim. "That wasn't just some random hit squad."

"No," Tricia muttered, gripping the flash drive. "Someone told Voss we'd be there."

Silence filled the car. No one denied it.

Someone inside their circle had betrayed them.

The Warning

Nathan took them to a safehouse, a rundown cabin deep in the Wisconsin woods, the tension was suffocating. The second Nathan killed the engine, Tricia stormed inside.

"We need to talk," she snapped.

Jared locked the doors behind them. "Yeah. We do."

Nathan folded his arms, his sharp gaze sweeping over them. "Who knew we were meeting Lorne?"

"Only us," Reed said.

Jared's eyes darkened. "Then one of us set him up."

Tricia pulled out the flash drive and set it on the table. "Lorne died for this. If Voss wanted it destroyed, he would've made sure it didn't get to me."

Nathan leaned forward. "Then why didn't the shooter kill you?"

That question hit like a punch to the gut.

Tricia's pulse quickened. Someone had wanted Lorne silenced, but not her.

She looked at the faces around her. Nathan, Jared, Reed. She had trusted them with her life.

Had one of them been working against her all along?

The Betrayal Revealed

Nathan pulled out his laptop and inserted the flash drive. Files flickered across the screen, encrypted data, old reports, surveillance logs.

Tricia leaned in. "Can you break it?"

"Give me a second."

Jared and Reed stood on opposite ends of the room, their hands close to their weapons. No one spoke. The air was thick with distrust.

Then the screen changed.

Accessing last known log…

Authorized by: Reed Calder

Tricia froze.

Her heart pounded in her ears as she turned to Reed. His name was on the system.

Reed stiffened. "That's not possible."

Nathan's fingers flew over the keyboard. "It's pulling up login records. You accessed the database two nights ago. Directly from our last safehouse."

Jared drew his gun. "Tell me you have a damn good explanation for this."

Reed's face hardened. "I didn't sell us out."

Tricia clenched her fists. "Then how the hell did Voss know exactly where we'd be?"

Reed's jaw tightened. "You think I planned this?"

Nathan's voice was cold. "I think you have two seconds to convince us otherwise."

Reed exhaled sharply, then lifted his hands. "I didn't betray you. But someone used my credentials."

Tricia narrowed her eyes. "Who else had access?"

Reed hesitated. Then his expression shifted, realization hitting him like a freight train.

"Wait," he muttered. "That's not possible."

Jared's grip on his gun tightened. "What?"

Reed swallowed hard. "The only other person who knew my access codes…"

His voice dropped.

"Was Maya."

A Ghost in the System

Silence.

Tricia felt the ground shift beneath her. Maya. The woman who had left behind recordings, clues, secrets.

Jared's voice was sharp. "Maya's dead, Reed."

Reed shook his head. "That's what I thought, too. But what if, what if she left something behind?"

Nathan's eyes narrowed. "What are you saying?"

Reed turned to Tricia. "What if Voss isn't the only one playing us?"

Then their enemy wasn't just Voss.

It was someone who knew Maya.