chapter 9 : the Betrayal at midnight

The safehouse was alive with quiet urgency. Nico and his men armed themselves, while Rachel hunched over a laptop, uploading the Consortium's financial records to secure servers across Europe. Alessandro checked his weapons, each movement controlled, every muscle tight with anticipation.

Then came the knock at the door—three slow, two quick, the code they'd arranged with Monroe. Alessandro signaled Nico to cover him as he opened it.

Monroe stepped inside, trench coat dripping rain. His eyes swept the room, lingering on the journal spread across the table. "You weren't kidding," he said. "This ledger could bury half the city."

Rachel handed him a drive. "If we go down, you leak this to every news outlet in the country."

Monroe nodded, tucking the drive into his coat. "I owe you both that much. But you need to know—the Consortium knows you have the ledger. They have eyes everywhere. And someone in your circle tipped them off."

Alessandro's eyes narrowed. "Who?"

Monroe hesitated. "I don't know. But they're moving on you tonight. Reinforcements are pouring into the city."

Suddenly, the sound of tires screeching outside snapped everyone to attention. Gunfire erupted, bullets punching through the warehouse walls. Sparks flew as metal ricocheted, and glass shattered over the team crouched for cover.

Alessandro shouted orders, firing through broken windows. Nico dragged Monroe to safety as Consortium soldiers advanced under the cover of darkness. The storm had returned in full fury, lightning flashing silhouettes of enemies moving between stacks of crates.

Rachel fired methodically, covering Alessandro as he sprinted to flank their attackers. Thunder boomed, masking the roar of automatic weapons. A Consortium soldier leaped from a catwalk, tackling Alessandro. They crashed hard onto concrete, wrestling for control of a knife. Alessandro twisted, driving the blade up into his attacker's chest.

Rachel screamed as another soldier aimed at Alessandro's back—Monroe shot him first, the man crumpling into a puddle of rain and blood. For minutes that felt like hours, they fought until the last of the gunmen fell.

Breathing raggedly, Alessandro scanned the ruined warehouse. "Everyone alive?"

Nico nodded, face streaked with blood. Rachel pulled Alessandro into a fierce embrace. "We need to move. They'll send more."

Monroe's eyes were grim. "You have one shot left. The steelworks meeting. End it—or it'll never end."

Alessandro looked out at the storm-lashed city. "Then we finish it," he said, voice like stone.