The End of the Beginning

The air in the safehouse was thick with tension. Reed's revelation changed everything. If someone had been using Maya's credentials to track them, it meant their enemy was closer than they'd ever imagined.

Tricia paused, her mind racing. Voss wasn't the only one playing them. Someone else had access to Maya's past, and worse, they had manipulated Reed's credentials to set them up.

"We don't have time for theories," Jared said sharply. "Whoever is behind this is still watching us. We need to move."

Nathan's fingers tapped against the laptop. "There's another problem."

Tricia turned. "What?"

Nathan exhaled. "I decrypted a partial file from Lorne's flash drive. It contains coordinates."

Jared frowned. "To what?"

Nathan's expression darkened. "A location linked to Project S.O.L.A.C.E. But there's more." He hesitated. "The files mention you, Tricia. And your real name."

Tricia's breath hitched. Her real name. The one she had never known.

She swallowed hard. "Where is it?"

Nathan hesitated before turning the screen to her. The coordinates blinked back at her.

Langley, Virginia.

The location wasn't just anywhere, it was in the heart of CIA territory. If Project S.O.L.A.C.E. had ties to Langley, it meant this went deeper than she had ever imagined.

But it also meant one thing: she needed help.

Jared was already shaking his head. "No way. You're not going in there alone."

Tricia turned to him. "We don't have a choice."

Nathan crossed his arms. "What's the plan?"

Tricia exhaled. "We make a trade."

Reed frowned. "A trade for what?"

Tricia tapped the flash drive. "We have data from Lorne's files, evidence of what Voss has been doing. We use it as leverage."

Nathan's eyes narrowed. "You're talking about handing this over to the CIA?"

Tricia met his gaze. "If it gets us answers, yes."

Jared looked at her like she had lost her mind. "Tricia, the CIA isn't our friend. If S.O.L.A.C.E. has connections in Langley, they'll bury this. And us along with it."

Tricia clenched her jaw. "Then we make sure they can't."

The Meeting

Twelve hours later, Tricia stood outside a non-descript government building in D.C., her heart pounding. Nathan and Jared were in the van down the street, monitoring everything.

Reed was next to her, tension written all over his face. "You sure about this?"

Tricia exhaled. "No."

Then she stepped inside.

A woman in a black suit was waiting in the dimly lit conference room. Her sharp green eyes locked onto Tricia the moment she entered.

"Miss Hale," the woman said smoothly. "Or should I say, Subject T-045?"

Tricia stiffened.

The woman smiled. "I'm Director Evelyn Rhodes. And I've been expecting you."

The Final Choice

Tricia didn't sit. "Then you know why I'm here."

Rhodes leaned back. "You want answers. And you're willing to trade for them."

Tricia placed the flash drive on the table. "This contains evidence of Project S.O.L.A.C.E. of the experiments, the human testing, the disappearances."

Rhodes studied her. "And what do you want in return?"

Tricia's voice was steady. "The truth."

Rhodes smirked. "That's a dangerous thing to ask for."

Tricia didn't flinch. "So is keeping it from me."

Rhodes was silent for a long moment. Then she folded her hands. "Very well."

She reached into her desk, pulling out a file. "Everything about you, your real identity, your connection to Maya, even why you were spared."

She slid it across the table.

Tricia stared at it.

"This is what you wanted, isn't it?" Rhodes said.

Tricia's hands trembled as she reached for the file.

And then,

Rhodes pressed a button under her desk.

Alarms blared.

Tricia's stomach dropped. It was a setup.

The doors burst open, armed agents flooding in.

And in that moment, Tricia realized, this wasn't the end.

It was just the beginning of something far worse.