16. BACKFIRE
SIXTEEN
backfire
Hudson
The night tastes like rain is on its way—thick with tension, humidity, and the metallic bite of something unfinished.
It’s been hard to shake feelings of abandonment and isolation today.
Enzo and Pippa both left quickly after our tryst on the couch.
I tried not to take it personally. Neither of them handles feelings well and if they felt anything to the extent that I did, I’m sure as shit that they needed to process it all.
I’m hoping after we complete tonight’s mission, they’ll at least be looking to blow off some steam. And maybe Enzo and I will—
“CCTV and adjacent security feeds are scrubbed,” Eva’s voice slices into the silence over comms. “No eyes on the property, no digital trail. As far as the grid’s concerned, no one was ever here.”
Jules, Enzo, and I are approaching the back door of Malin’s house to disarm the alarm. Niko's team swept the perimeter of the sprawling estate. The heat signature indicates only one person on the property—Malin. And he has been lying still in bed for the last twenty minutes.
Pippa is in the van with Luca keeping watch. Eva and Luna work tech and comms from the mansion. If we do this right, we’ll be in and out in ten minutes.
The plan is for Enzo to run a sweep in the office so Eva and Luna can tap in, while Jules delivers the fatal injection to Malin.
I’ll be with her to sweep his room and serve as backup.
We are looking for any tech or safes we can hack into.
Now that we know Malin works with the Russians, we are all hoping there might be intel that can serve everyone’s various needs.
“You’re good to enter,” Pippa confirms. “Heat sig still reads one body, main bedroom, zero movement. He’s either asleep or dead.”
“Dead would save us some trouble,” I joke.
We learned during our surveillance rounds that there’s a nightly window when Malin is alone. His team takes off between one and six a.m., giving us the opportunity to keep casualties at a minimum.
As we enter the back door, Jules approaches the security panel. “Luna, Eva, we’ve got an NX2R touchpad. Mid-tier commercial grade, not hardwired. Secondary cellular backup.”
“Copy that,” Luna says, fast and calm. “NX2R has a six-digit override window, basic duress code, and…hold up, does it have the blue LED ring or red?”
“Red.”
“Good. That’s the older firmware. Eva, you got eyes?”
“Already tapped into the backend. Keypad’s linked to a local node, not central dispatch. No video feed. You’ve got a ninety-second bypass before it pings secondary.”
“Use the 3629 code sequence, hold the last digit down for three seconds,” Luna instructs. “That’ll stall the signal loop. Then swap to manual override and kill the ping. Easy peasy.”
Jules nods once, fingers already moving. “On it.”
No alarms. No lights. But the door doesn’t unlock.
“No luck.” Jules frowns and eases off the panel. She tests the handle anyway. It doesn’t move.
Silence for a beat, then Eva says sharply, “Stand by. Signal went through. Panel reports unlocked.”
Jules braces a shoulder against the door and leans in again, reporting that it’s not budging. The three of us make eye contact, ready to consider our contingency options, if needed.
“Then it’s not software,” Luna says. “It’s mechanical.”
Jules shifts closer to the door. “What do you need from me?”
Luna answers without missing a beat. “We need to time the push with the input.”
“Enzo and I can do that while you walk Jules through the keypad again,” I say.
“When I say ‘now,’ you push. Not before. Not after,” Eva says.
A pause.
Jules confirms that the three of us are ready and in place.
“Okay,” Eva murmurs. “Rerouting LED power...”
The keypad’s red ring flickers, dims.
“On my count,” Luna starts, “One…two…now.”
Enzo and I lean in, controlled, steady.
Clack.
It’s muted, but unmistakable. The door gives.
“Nice work, team,” Enzo says.
The three of us step into the hall. The mansion sprawls before us, drenched in shadows and silence. Malin’s taste is gaudy and overcompensating. Gold fixtures, mirrored walls, furniture that screams wealth without taste.
We move silently, careful not to wake the sleeping dragon. We know our positions and responsibilities—all there’s left to do is execute. Literally and figuratively.
Enzo peels off toward Malin’s office. He’ll work with Luna and Eva to scrape the hard drives clean.
Jules and I press toward the bedroom. I’m equipped with a syringe of poison intended for Malin in case anything goes sideways and Jules can’t take him out. I agreed to it, but having this damned syringe in my vest isn’t my favorite feeling.
“Bravo One, stop,” Pippa instructs over the comms. “Target’s on the move. Just got out of bed, heading to the bathroom.”
Jules and I pause outside the bedroom door.
“Switch to shadow play,” Jules whispers.
I nod once. Shit. This is getting a little more complex. Now that he’s not in bed, we can’t risk him having time to react and defend himself once he sees us. As long as it looks like he died of natural causes in his bed, we should be in the clear.
We enter the bedroom and approach the closed bathroom door. My job is to distract Malin as he exits while Jules injects him. He’ll have immediate cardiac arrest, and we’ll move him to the bed.
We aren’t yet in position when the bathroom door explodes open. Malin charges out like a cornered animal, gun raised.
I try to pivot, but he’s too fast.
Pop!
The crack of a gunshot splits the air.
Jules moves so fast, I don’t register what is happening as I hit the floor.
“Hudson’s been hit,” Jules says into comms, calm and clear, so the team doesn’t misinterpret the gunshot they just heard.
Then, I see Malin’s body seize and twitch, folding to the ground next to me. I look up to see Jules placing the empty syringe into her vest.
Suddenly, pain blooms in my chest before I can register the blood pouring from my ribcage.
Jules kneels at my side, examining me. “Target down,” Jules reports. “Hudson’s bleeding. No exit wound. Chest hit.”
“I’m fine.” I have no idea if that is fucking true, but I gotta keep it light.
Enzo bursts in and drops to his knees beside me, hands moving, assessing.
My eyelids grow heavy.
“We need to move. Now!” Enzo shouts.
Jules and Enzo haul me up, draping an arm over each of their shoulders, walking me through the house.
“Niko, get to the house. Secure the scene. Cleanup starts now. Luca, we are headed your way, get ready. Eva, call Doc.”
“Keep pressure on the wound,” Pippa instructs in my earpiece.
I feel queasy and lightheaded as we make our way through the house. Pain spreads through me, keeping pace with the amount of blood I’m losing.
Fuck, that’s not good.
My head lolls back, and Enzo adjusts his hold so my head rests on his shoulder. His hand is pressing into my chest, over the wound. Our eyes lock, and I see his concern. “Stay with me,” he whispers.
Like I would ever leave this man.
“Van’s ready,” Pippa announces.
Niko and his crew are waiting at the door to help get me to the van.
Pippa runs up to us and places her hands on either side of my face. They’re so soft. “You’re not dying on me tonight, Johnny, okay? Stay awake.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, Janey. I’m too pretty to die, we both know that.”
She looks worried. It must be bad.
They pull me into the van. Jules reminds everyone that she, Pippa, and Luna have medical and EMT training. Pippa takes command in the van, while Jules takes command of the men outside.
“Listen, Hudson’s DNA is on file at the Bureau,” Jules says. “This must be the most detailed clean up job we have ever done, understood? It has to look like Malin died in his sleep. Let’s get to work.”
The van door closes.
Luca hops into the driver’s seat and we speed off.
Eva’s voice comes in tight and calm. “Doc’s en route, ETA fifteen minutes. Luca, I’ll have the south gate open.” It’s the fastest route to the clinic entrance.
“I’m not reading any police on your course,” Luna adds. “Move fast.”
“Jane, after you and Doc fix me up, will you give me a sponge bath?”
She snorts and shakes her head. “If you’re still flirting, you should be fine.”
I sure hope so.
I force my eyes open and tell myself to stay awake and keep fighting…because one night with Pippa and Enzo wasn’t nearly enough.