Chapter 122 Carter
Carter
We gathered around the scarred kitchen table, the fire burned down to coals, maps and laptops spread across the surface.
The team moved like they always did after a fight—sharp, efficient, every man knowing the weight of what came next.
But this time, it wasn’t just another mission. This was the one.
“This is their hub,” Gideon said, tapping the glowing screen.
“Hidden in the backcountry, shielded by terrain, and they’ve got defenses stacked—patrols, cameras, automated guns.
But their biggest weakness?” He zoomed in on a cluster of buildings.
“They centralize too much. Take out the control node here, and their whole system collapses.”
Cyclone leaned forward, his bad arm stiff but his grin all teeth. “So we storm the gates, tear it down brick by brick.”
River’s gaze flicked up. Calm. Calculated. “A frontal assault will bleed us dry. We go in quiet, surgical. Hit them where they don’t expect it. Precision, not brute force.”
I listened, my fists curled tight on the table, the hum of Harper moving quietly in the background grounding me more than any of the intel. She didn’t sit with us, but she stayed near—eyes steady, listening. Not afraid. Not anymore.
“Both of you are right,” I finally said.
My voice came out low, hard, steady. “We need precision to break in. But once we’re inside?
We hit hard, fast, and final. Redwood has been hunting us, bleeding us, marking the people we love.
” My jaw clenched, the words tasting like fire.
“This time, we finish it. No more running. No more waiting.”
River studied me for a long moment, then gave one sharp nod. Cyclone’s grin widened. Gideon’s fingers flew over the keyboard, already building a path through firewalls and alarms.
I leaned back, my eyes cutting toward Harper. She caught my look, and in hers I found the strength I’d been running on since this started.
This wasn’t just a mission. This was the fight of my life. And I wasn’t going in for orders, or for vengeance.
I was going in for her.
And God help Redwood when I got there.