Chapter 3: Collateral Loyalty

Loyalty isn't earned once.It's earned every time you have the chance to betray someone—And don't.

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Location: Zurich Safehouse – 4:02 PM

Rain slithered down glass windows as Mira stared at the encrypted message glowing on her holopad.

Subject line:

"I know who you are, Agent K-7."

The sender's identity was masked. But the language was familiar.

It wasn't just blackmail.

It was a call-back.

To a life she thought she buried under new names, new allegiances… and the Virell siblings.

She read the message again.

"The Dominion Files weren't the only thing stolen.You were.Meet me in Prague. Come alone.Or your 'family' learns who sold out Cairo."

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Flashback – 5 Years Ago – Cairo

Operation Mirage.Mira, then known as Agent K-7, was embedded in a joint op with international intel services.The mission went south.

Twenty-three agents dead.

Someone fed coordinates to a rogue AI drone network.

The culprit was never found.

Mira walked away alive… but not clean.

And now—someone remembered.

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Present – Virell Zurich Base

Alex sat at the operations table, plotting the next interception. Lia was still in Vienna, prepping her public counterstrike. The Black Swan was vetting embassy movements.

Mira entered the room, composed.

Alex looked up.

"Good timing. We need to—"

"I need a 48-hour window," Mira said calmly.

Alex paused. "For?"

"Personal intel recovery. In Prague."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"We don't operate solo anymore."

Mira met his gaze without blinking.

"I won't compromise anything Virell. But this is mine."

Alex leaned back. He'd learned not to pry into Mira's past.But this was different.

"Anyone we need to be worried about?"

She hesitated.

Then:

"If it goes wrong, you'll never hear from me again. If it goes right—someone dangerous loses their leverage over us."

Alex held her gaze.

"Forty-eight hours. No ghosts left behind. Take Swan."

"I need to go alone."

"You don't get to need that anymore."

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Prague – 2:27 AM – Abandoned Rail Station

Cold. Fog. Silence.

Mira stood under a shattered lamp.

The man who stepped out of the mist wore a white scarf and no visible weapons—but Mira could feel the gun tucked under his coat.

"Agent K-7," he said. "You always did clean up well."

"Cut the theatrics, Viktor."

He smiled thinly.

"You think they'll trust you if they learn what happened in Cairo?"

"I didn't sell those coordinates."

"No. But you withheld what could've stopped the drone strike. You froze."

Her jaw tightened.

"That hesitation bought me a lifetime of silence."

Viktor dropped a drive.

"Here's the video. From the drone feed. You watch yourself standing still."

She didn't move.

"You've grown soft," he said. "You follow two orphans with a revenge complex, and you think you've become better?"

Mira finally spoke.

"I didn't become better. I became useful. To someone who deserved it."

She raised her hand—gloved—and tapped her ring.

A red dot appeared on Viktor's chest.

His eyes widened.

"You brought backup?"

"No," she said softly.

"I brought witnesses."

Lights flared. Three figures emerged from the dark—Black Swan, two Virell agents, and a drone streaming the meeting live to a private channel.

Viktor panicked.

"You think exposing me—"

"I'm not exposing you," Mira interrupted. "I'm recording you extorting me. And handing over proof of an international cover-up."

Viktor reached for his weapon.

Swan moved faster.

One shot. Center mass.

He crumpled.

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Back in Zurich – 6:17 PM

Mira returned.

Alex and Lia were both waiting.

She handed Alex a drive.

"Everything's clean now. I made sure."

Lia spoke softly.

"You okay?"

Mira sat down, quietly.

"No.But I'm loyal. And that has to mean something."

Alex looked at her—then nodded.

"It means everything."