Chapter 24 Ronan
Ronan
Location: Mobile Command
Time: Same
“Holy hell,” I whisper.
It slips out before I can stop it.
Because what I’m seeing—
What I’m feeling through the system—
It shouldn’t be possible.
Aaron’s voice cuts in, sharp and immediate. “What?”
I lean forward, fingers already flying across the keys, isolating the anomaly before it disappears.
“She’s pinging the system from the inside.”
Silence.
Then one of the analysts behind me scoffs. “That’s not possible.”
I grin.
Not amused.
Not casual.
Something a little unhinged.
“Oh,” I say quietly, “it is if you’re her.”
Because this?
This isn’t noise.
This isn’t random.
This is deliberate.
Elegant.
Controlled.
I slow the feed, replay it—once, twice—watching the pattern unfold.
She’s not hacking.
She’s nudging.
Using structure.
Using behavior.
Using the system against itself without ever touching the core.
“Come on…” I murmur, tracking it deeper.
There.
A shift.
A redirection so subtle most people wouldn’t even notice it.
But I do.
Because I’m looking for her.
And she’s talking to me.
“She’s not trying to break it,” I say, more to myself than anyone else. “She’s trying to be found.”
Aaron doesn’t say anything.
But I can feel him listening.
Waiting.
I isolate the signal completely now, filtering out everything else until all that remains is her pattern.
Clean.
Precise.
Brilliant.
“She just showed me the back door,” I say, a slow grin spreading across my face.
One of the analysts leans in. “You’re sure?”
I don’t even look at him.
“Oh, I’m sure.”
Because this isn’t guesswork.
This is her.
And she just handed us the way in.
Aaron
My comm crackles, then settles into Ronan’s voice—low, focused, certain.
“Turn left. Thirty meters. Then stop.”
I don’t ask how.
I don’t hesitate.
I move.
Left.
Thirty meters.
Every step measured, controlled, silent.
The corridor narrows, walls closing in on either side, the hum of power growing stronger the deeper I go.
Then—
“Stop.”
I stop.
In front of a blank wall.
No markings.
No door.
Nothing.
Ronan exhales slowly in my ear.
“That’s her room.”
For a second—
Just one—
Everything stills.
The noise.
The mission.
The building.
All of it.
I close my eyes.
See her.
At the table.
Alone.
Then I open them again.
Cold.
Focused.
I check my weapon.
One smooth motion.
No wasted movement.
No doubt.
Then I step forward—
And go through that door like the wrath of God.