Chapter 14: New Alliances

The streets of the city had a cold bite to them now, the air heavy with a sense of unease that Kara couldn't shake. Though they had stopped the Watcher and closed the rift, something still lingered. It was in the way the world felt, a crack in the foundation of everything that shouldn't have been there. The truth had been revealed: the Veil wasn't just some ancient myth. It was real. And so were the dark forces that sought to control it.

Back at the precinct, the day's usual hustle and bustle seemed distant, muffled by the weight of everything Kara had learned. No one, not even the higher-ups, knew exactly what had happened. Officially, the Lazarus Foundation had been dissolved, its records destroyed. The Watcher had been defeated, but Kara knew that this wasn't the end.

Reed, always the pragmatist, had gone back to his usual duties, but he, too, seemed unsettled. He hadn't spoken much since the night in the chamber, and Kara could tell that he was as haunted by the events as she was.

They met in her office for a late lunch. She was reviewing the files of missing persons, trying to make sense of the pattern she had uncovered before. Reed dropped a file onto her desk, breaking the silence between them.

"I've been looking into a few things," Reed said, his voice low. "There are whispers. Rumors of other organizations that have been poking around the Veil. They're just beneath the surface, hidden in plain sight. I've got a name—Evelyn Carter. She works for the FBI. I think she might know more about this than she's letting on."

Kara looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Evelyn Carter? Another agent who got wind of the Veil?" She shook her head, trying to focus on the task at hand, but there was something in Reed's voice that made her pause. "You trust her?"

Reed didn't answer immediately. Instead, he folded his arms and leaned against the doorframe. "I don't know yet. But she seems to know about the Foundation's activities. She's been digging into strange occurrences in the city, and I think she might be connected to something bigger."

Kara considered this for a moment. Evelyn Carter was a wild card, and Kara wasn't in the habit of trusting people who had their own hidden agendas. But Reed was right—they couldn't afford to ignore anything. They needed all the information they could get if they were going to stop whatever was coming next.

"Alright, let's meet her. But we keep our cards close to our chest. We don't trust anyone until we know exactly where they stand."

---

The meeting with Evelyn Carter was scheduled for the following day. She met them in a small, inconspicuous café on the edge of the city, where the hum of conversation and the clink of coffee cups barely concealed the tension that hung in the air.

Evelyn was sharp-featured, dressed in a black blazer that contrasted with her dark hair, and her eyes held an intensity that matched her no-nonsense demeanor. She offered a tight smile as she slid into the booth across from Kara and Reed.

"I've been expecting you," Evelyn said, her voice clipped but not unkind. "I knew you'd come looking. But I don't have much time. The FBI doesn't officially recognize any of what you've dealt with. But I do."

Kara studied her carefully. "You were with the FBI. You could've just reported this to them. Why didn't you?"

Evelyn's gaze didn't waver. "Because they wouldn't believe me. They never would. Not until it's too late."

Reed raised an eyebrow. "And what is it you think is coming?"

Evelyn's expression hardened. "The Lazarus Foundation wasn't the only group researching the Veil. They were only one branch, and they were too... ambitious. There are others, smaller, less known. And they're still working—still trying to control it. I've been tracking them for months, but they're very good at staying hidden. Too good."

Kara leaned forward, her eyes narrowing. "And why should we trust you?"

Evelyn met her gaze without flinching. "Because we're all in the same game now. What the Foundation started is bigger than any of us. And it's not over. If we don't stop these groups now, they'll have control of something no one should ever have access to."

Reed exchanged a look with Kara, his brow furrowed. She knew what he was thinking. Trusting Evelyn was a risk, but at this point, they didn't have many options.

"We'll work together," Kara said, her voice firm. "But if you're hiding anything from us, you'll regret it."

Evelyn nodded slowly. "Fair enough. I don't like this any more than you do, but I'm trying to help. We need to stop them before they open the next gate."

---

Over the next few days, the uneasy alliance between Kara, Reed, and Evelyn continued to grow. They worked late into the night, pouring over files and communications intercepted by Evelyn's contacts in the intelligence community. It quickly became clear that they were dealing with something much larger than just a few rogue scientists. These groups were part of a hidden network that had been studying the Veil for decades, and their influence stretched far beyond what Kara could have imagined.

They had learned that the Veil was not just a doorway to another world—it was a barrier that separated multiple realities, and there were those who believed it was a tool to be used, to manipulate and control the flow of life and death itself. Some of the groups were trying to open it wider, to tear it open completely, while others sought to harness its power for their own purposes.

Kara's head spun with the information. Every step they took seemed to lead to another layer of the mystery. Evelyn had warned them that the enemies they were facing had connections in places they couldn't even fathom—government, corporate, even criminal syndicates. No one was safe from this shadow war.

But there was one thing they hadn't anticipated: the stakes were higher now. The Veil wasn't just an object of study or power—it was a key to something much worse.

And someone, somewhere, was desperate to open it.