Episode 2: The Test

The next morning, Eleanor barely had time to change her burner phone before the second message arrived:

"Lunch. Private room. 1PM."

The sender: Kayleigh.

Short. Clean. No location needed. She knew the place — The Red Lily, one of Kayleigh's fronts dressed up as an upscale seafood joint. She had only been summoned there twice before. Both times had ended with someone disappearing afterward.

This wasn't lunch. This was a test.

At 12:45PM, Eleanor sat in the corner of the private room, her fingers wrapped around a glass of water she hadn't touched. The windows were blacked out. Heavy curtains sealed the light away. The smell of grilled shrimp and expensive cologne barely masked the tension suffocating the air.

She wore a black blouse, simple but precise. Subtle. Controlled.

Her pulse hammered inside her chest.

Kayleigh arrived right on time, flanked by two men — neither of them Corsa. That was unusual. Corsa was his shadow. His absence made Eleanor's stomach churn.

"Eleanor." Kayleigh's voice was soft, familiar. Deceptively kind.

"Kayleigh." She offered a polite nod.

She sat across from her, folding her napkin with delicate care. Her gold watch gleamed under the recessed lighting.

For a long moment, she simply studied her — like a jeweler inspecting a diamond for cracks.

"You've been working hard," she said finally. "I trust business has remained smooth?"

"Yes."

"Nothing unusual?"

"No."

She smiled slightly. "I appreciate loyalty. Especially in times like this." She tapped her fingers lightly against the table. "Because we have... leaks."

Her throat tightened, but she said nothing.

"Feds are getting bolder. Task force keeps breathing down our necks." Kayleigh leaned in, voice dropping lower. "I've always been good at sensing rot inside my house."

She let that hang.

"I understand."

"You do," she nodded. "And because I trust you, I want you to handle something for me. Personally."

Eleanor's stomach coiled.

"What do you need?"

Kayleigh pulled a flash drive from her jacket pocket. "Take this. Deliver it to our friend downtown, tonight. Quietly. No calls. No messages. Direct handoff."

Eleanor hesitated for a breath — barely a second.

Then nodded. "Understood."

She watched her closely. "Good. This will prove where you stand."

There it was. The trap.

If she handed the drive to Daniela or Vasquez, she'd know she was the leak. If she delivered it, she would be complicit.

No right choice. Just survival.

She slid the flash drive into her pocket, smiling faintly. "You can trust me."

Kayleigh's eyes twinkled. "I know."

That night, Eleanor stood on a rooftop overlooking the drop point, heart hammering.

The flash drive burned in her coat pocket.

Vasquez was on standby. The task force was ready to intercept. One signal from her — one nod — and they'd sweep in.

But she knew better.

Kayleigh wasn't just testing her loyalty.

She was watching the task force too.

If they moved too soon, Kayleigh would know Daniela had compromised herself for Eleanor — and both of them would go down.

Her radio buzzed softly.

"Raven, confirm position. Ready to breach your mark."

It was Vasquez's voice. Calm. Waiting.

Eleanor pressed the earpiece in, breathing heavily.

"No," she whispered. "Abort intercept."

"Repeat?"

"Abort. We're being watched."

A long pause.

"Understood. Pulling back."

She closed her eyes, fighting the bile rising in her throat. She couldn't risk Daniela. Not like this.

Instead, she walked down the fire escape, crossed the empty street, and delivered the flash drive exactly as ordered.

The courier didn't say a word. Neither did she.

When it was done, she walked back into the night, feeling like she'd just murdered a version of herself.

Hours later, her burner buzzed again.

This time, it was Daniela herself.

"You're safe?"

Eleanor exhaled, leaning against a cold brick wall, her knees weak.

"For now," she whispered. "But she knows, Daniela. Not yet. But soon."

"Then we finish this. No more delays."

Eleanor closed her eyes.

"You sure?"

"Yes," Daniela said. "I'm not losing you."

The quiet certainty in Daniela's voice steadied her, if only briefly.

Eleanor opened her eyes, staring out into the rain-soaked city.

The countdown had started.

.

.

.

.

To be continued