Chapter 49 Mila
Mila
The storm finally starts to ease.
Not gone.
Just… quieter.
Like the world is catching its breath after everything we just survived.
Inside the safehouse, the air is heavy with it—gunpowder, rain, adrenaline still clinging to every surface.
Delta Five moves slower now.
Not relaxed.
Just… resetting.
We all are.
But I don’t let myself settle.
Not yet.
Because this—
This is what we risked everything for.
I step back toward the table, the device still active, still humming with quiet, controlled power.
Waiting.
Ethan joins me.
Ronan just behind him.
Jase at my side—close enough that I can feel the heat of him, the steady presence that hasn’t left me since this started.
Daniel stands across from us.
Watching.
Not pushing.
Not interfering.
Just… there.
A part of this now.
I set the device down carefully.
My fingers hover over the interface.
“One shot,” I murmur.
Jase’s voice is low beside me.
“Make it count.”
I don’t look at him.
Don’t need to.
I already know where he stands.
With me.
Always.
I exhale once—
Then activate the response.
The screen flickers.
Static.
Then—
It clears.
A secure video feed locks in.
Not pre-recorded.
Live.
And when the image stabilizes—
The room goes completely still.
The President of the United States is looking straight at us.
No delay.
No distortion.
Direct.
Real.
And very, very aware.
His expression is calm.
But there’s steel under it.
The kind that doesn’t bend.
“Identify,” he says.
Ethan steps forward slightly.
“Delta Five SEALs,” he says. “Alongside independent operatives. We initiated the Omega channel.”
The President’s gaze shifts.
Finds me.
Then Jase.
Then—
Daniel.
And something flickers in his eyes.
Recognition.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
“Report,” he says.
I don’t hesitate.
“Sir, we have confirmed evidence of a large-scale financial and operational network embedded within government systems,” I say. “Military contracts, judicial ties, offshore accounts—billions redirected through layered organizations.”
Jase steps in beside me.
“Director Hayes is involved,” he adds. “And he’s not the top.”
The President doesn’t react immediately.
But I see it.
That slight tightening in his jaw.
He already suspected.
Now he knows.
“How far does it reach?” he asks.
Daniel speaks before anyone else can.
“Farther than your current intel suggests,” he says calmly.
Every head turns slightly.
But the President doesn’t look surprised.
He looks… focused.
“Agent Voss,” he says.
Not a question.
A statement.
And just like that—
The last piece clicks into place.
Daniel doesn’t flinch.
“Mr. President.”
Well.
That explains a lot.
Jase shifts slightly beside me.
Yeah.
We’re all recalibrating.
Fast.
“Then you’re already aware of the situation,” the President continues.
“Yes, sir,” Daniel replies. “But not the full scope. Not until now.”
The President nods once.
Then his gaze sharpens.
“All compromised personnel are being flagged as we speak,” he says. “But containment is already failing.”
A chill runs through me.
“Sir?” Ethan asks.
The President leans forward slightly.
“Your transmission triggered a failsafe,” he says. “One we didn’t know existed.”
Of course it did.
Nothing about this is simple.
“What kind of failsafe?” I ask.
The President’s voice lowers.
“Data purge protocols,” he says. “System-wide. Financial records, personnel files, operational logs—everything tied to this network is being wiped.”
“No,” Jase mutters.
Exactly.
No.
“If that happens,” Jonah says, stepping closer, “we lose the proof.”
“We lose everything,” Cal adds.
The President nods.
“Yes,” he says. “You do.”
Silence slams into the room again.
Harder this time.
Because now—
We’re not just fighting enemies.
We’re racing time.
Daniel steps forward.
“This wasn’t just a corruption ring,” he says. “It’s a self-protecting system.”
The President’s gaze locks onto him.
“Explain.”
Daniel’s voice is steady.
“Someone built this to survive exposure,” he says. “If triggered, it erases itself—and anyone connected to it.”
My stomach drops.
“They’re cleaning house,” I breathe.
“Yes,” Daniel confirms. “And they’re doing it fast.”
The President straightens slightly.
“Then we don’t give them time,” he says.
I look at him.
Really look at him.
And I see it.
The decision already made.
“What do you need from us, sir?” Ethan asks.
The President’s gaze moves across all of us.
Measured.
Deliberate.
“You’re no longer just witnesses,” he says.
My pulse spikes.
“You’re now the only ones who can stop this.”
There it is.
The weight.
The mission.
The point of no return.
“You will locate the source of the purge protocol,” he continues. “You will secure whatever remains of the data.”
“And if we can’t?” Jase asks.
The President doesn’t hesitate.
“Then there will be nothing left to prove this ever existed.”
The room goes still.
Because we all know what that means.
They win.
They disappear.
They do it again.
“No,” I say quietly.
Everyone looks at me.
I meet the President’s gaze.
Steady.
Unshaken.
“We stop them.”
Something shifts in his expression.
Approval.
Respect.
“Good,” he says.
Then—
His voice drops.
And what he says next changes everything.
“The origin point has been partially identified,” he says. “A secured data facility operating under a private defense contract.”
Daniel’s jaw tightens.
He already knows.
“Location?” Ethan asks.
The President pauses.
Just long enough to make it hit harder.
“Zurich,” he says.
Of course.
International.
Untouchable.
Until now.
“You leave immediately,” the President continues. “A transport is already being arranged. Full authorization granted.”
Jase lets out a quiet breath.
“Straight into the fire,” he mutters.
I glance at him.
A small smile touches my lips.
“Wouldn’t be us otherwise.”
His eyes meet mine.
Yeah.
He agrees.
The President’s gaze sharpens one last time.
“Agent Voss will coordinate with you,” he says. “His access will get you inside.”
Daniel nods once.
“Understood.”
“And one more thing,” the President adds.
We all look back.
His expression hardens.
“Trust no one outside that room.”
A beat.
Then the screen cuts.
Gone.
Just like that.
Silence lingers.
Heavy.
Electric.
I exhale slowly.
“Zurich,” I murmur.
Jase shifts beside me.
“You ready for round three?”
I glance at him.
Storm still fading outside.
War just beginning inside.
“Always.”
And this time—
We’re not just surviving.
We’re going after the source.