39. Jax #2
I stop pacing, turning back to the team. "So someone's been guardian angel-ing us this whole time? Making sure our operations succeed?"
"Or manipulating us." Cole's strategic paranoia kicks in. "Every success we celebrated, every close call that went our way..."
The room falls quiet except for the hum of electronics and the sound of my heart hammering against my ribs.
The silence stretches until Vanessa clicks deeper into the folder structure. Her fingers pause over a subfolder marked with corporate logos I don't recognize.
"Wait." She leans closer to her screen. "This encryption signature... I've seen this before."
She opens another window, pulling up archived files. My restless energy shifts into hyperfocus as she navigates through case folders.
The same methodical way I break down racing lines. Every detail matters.
"Here." Vanessa's voice gets tight. "From Alina's kidnapping."
Alina moves from her position near the door, crossing to stand behind Vanessa's chair. Her sharp intake of breath cuts through the server hum.
"Oh my god. The meeting before my kidnapping..."
I stop pacing and turn toward them. Alina's face has gone pale.
Cole shifts his weight, moving closer to the workstation. "The fake Simon. Can you describe him?"
"Brown hair, average height..." Alina shakes her head, frustration creeping into her voice. "After the kidnapping, everything's fuzzy."
"I tried tracking him." Cole's strategic mind engages, his tone becoming more analytical. "Professional counter-surveillance. He knew exactly how to stay invisible."
Vanessa pulls up comparison windows, digital fingerprints scrolling across multiple monitors. "The encryption patterns match. Same signature, same methodology."
I run both hands through my hair, my brain trying to process the connections forming.
Someone's been playing chess while we thought we were playing checkers.
"Someone was feeding us intel from inside the operation." The words taste bitter as I say them. "Every successful mission, every piece of intelligence that came at exactly the right time..."
Asher moves away from the far wall, positioning himself where he can see both the screens and the door. "How long has this been going on?"
Kade circles behind the chairs, his command presence filling the room even as questions multiply. "We're being positioned for something bigger."
Mira takes a step closer to me, her voice cutting through my scattered thoughts. "The question is whether they're protecting us or using us."
Or both.
Cole stops his analysis, turning to face the group. "If someone's been manipulating our operations for months..."
"Then Roman's disappearance might not be what we think it is." I can't keep the edge out of my voice. "Either he found out about this and got taken, or..."
"Or he's part of it." Asher finishes the thought none of us want to voice.
The possibility hits like a physical blow. Roman, alive and orchestrating our missions from the shadows. Roman, letting me spiral into gambling addiction while he pulled strings behind the scenes.
I start pacing again, my feet finding that familiar rhythm between the server racks. The confined space makes the betrayal feel sharper, more concentrated.
"Seven months of thinking he was dead." My voice cracks despite my best efforts. "Seven months of fighting every trigger he used to help me manage."
Vanessa's fingers fly across her keyboard, opening more files. "There's communication logs here. Encrypted, but I might be able to..."
"Do it." Kade's command cuts through the tension. "We need to know who we've been working for."
And whether the man I mourned has been watching me fall apart this whole time.
Vanessa opens a folder marked with date codes that make my stomach drop. October 15th. The exact day Remy and Vanessa went undercover at that Sacramento gala.
"Wait." I stop pacing, turning toward the screen. "That's the Winchester charity event."
High-resolution photos flash across the monitor. Crystal clear images of Remy in his perfect tuxedo, Vanessa in that stunning evening gown. They look like they belong at the fancy event, but something's wrong with the angles.
These aren't security cameras. Someone was hunting them with professional equipment.
"Those aren't official surveillance photos." Asher moves closer to the screen, his tactical mind analyzing the positioning. "The angles are wrong for building security."
Cole shifts around the table, studying the timestamps. "Cross-reference with our mission reports from that night."
More images load. A waiter approaching Vanessa's table with a tray. Another guest bumping into Remy near the bar. Small moments that seemed random at the time.
Vanessa goes completely still in her chair. "The gas exposure that nearly killed me... look at the timestamp on this photo."
On screen: A fire alarm panel, someone's hand reaching toward it. The timestamp shows thirty seconds before the neurotoxin was released.
"Someone triggered the emergency ventilation." Her voice gets smaller with each word. "Right before the gas hit. That's why I survived long enough for medical intervention."
Holy shit. Someone was watching, waiting, ready to save her.
I resume my restless movement, weaving between the server racks. The patterns are becoming impossible to ignore.
"This is detailed counter-surveillance." I gesture toward the screen where more photos cycle through. "Whoever took these knew exactly where to position themselves to monitor a professional operation."
Mira steps into my path, her predator instincts fully engaged. "We're not random targets. We're investments."
"Investments in what?" The question scrapes out of my throat.
Kade circles behind us, his massive frame casting shadows across the data. "Someone's been managing our survival probability."
Cole pulls up another chair, leaning forward to examine the technical details. "Look at the quality. Military-grade equipment, professional timing, perfect positioning."
"Are we assets? Experiments? What the hell are we to these people?" My voice rises as the questions multiply faster than answers.
Vanessa scrolls deeper into the folder. "There's no indication of who was hosting the surveillance. Just the watching."
Someone powerful enough to infiltrate high-society events. Someone with resources to monitor multiple operations simultaneously.
"They've been protecting us." Mira's clinical assessment cuts through my spiraling thoughts. "But protection always comes with a price."
The room falls silent except for electronics humming and my heart hammering against my ribs.
The silence stretches too long. I can feel my team processing what we've just seen, the same way I analyze racing lines before a risky turn.
Everything we thought we knew...
Cole moves to the other side of the room, his strategic mind working. "So we've got Roman alive somewhere, and someone called Cipher playing puppet master."
"Not puppet master." Mira shifts position, always moving like she's tracking prey. "Guardian angel. There's a difference."
Vanessa pulls up another screen, her fingers dancing across the keyboard. "These videos are recent, but there's no location data. Scrubbed clean."
I start pacing again because sitting still feels impossible. The server racks create a maze, and I need to move through it.
Seven months of grieving a ghost while someone watched us stumble through missions.
"Whoever's feeding us this intel wants us to know he's alive." Mira's voice carries that clinical tone she gets when she's hunting. "But not where he is."
Asher pushes away from the wall, taking up position near the door. Always covering exits. "Question is whether Roman's working with Cipher or being held by them."
"Does it matter?" The words come out sharper than I mean them to. "Either way, he left us to figure this out alone."
Kade moves between us, his command presence filling the space. "We continue the mission. But now we know we're not alone in this."
"Alone would be easier." I drag both hands through my hair. "At least when you're alone, you know who's making the decisions."
Cole circles back toward the workstation, studying the data over Vanessa's shoulder. "The protection we've been getting... someone's been investing serious resources."
"Investments expect returns." Mira steps into my path, forcing me to stop pacing. "The question is what they want from us."
Vanessa scrolls through more files, timestamps and operation codes blurring together. "Look at this pattern. Every time we were in real danger, something shifted in our favor."
"The warehouse fire that gave us cover in Portland." Asher counts off on his fingers. "The security glitch that let us into the Seattle container yard."
"The emergency ventilation that saved Vanessa's life." My voice cracks on the last part.
Kade positions himself where he can see both the screens and the team. "Cipher's been playing the long game. Whatever they want, they need us alive and operational."
"Which brings us back to Roman." I resume my restless movement between the servers. "Is he part of their plan or fighting against it?"
Mira tracks my movement, predator instincts engaged. "When Roman's ready, he'll find us. He always does."
"If he can." Cole's strategic paranoia kicks in. "If he's not compromised."
The weight of not knowing settles over the room. Roman's alive somewhere. Cipher's been pulling strings since day one. We have proof but no answers.
"Hope." The word tastes bitter. "Whoever's been helping us gave us hope. But hope for what? And why now?"