Chapter 36 – thiago
Thirty-Six
thiago
Who knew sending a simple text message could be so complicated?
If I tell her I miss her, she’ll think I’m getting too attached. And despite being exclusive, or whatever the hell we are, she’s been adamant we’re not a couple. Hell, she swears up and down we’re not even friends.
I lean against my locker, the cold metal pressing into my back as I stare at the unfinished message on my phone.
Remi can deny it all she wants. I know she feels it too. It’s there in how easily we talk, how naturally we’ve started to fit into each other’s lives, and in the way she comes apart in my arms like there’s nowhere else she’d rather be.
Which only makes what I’m doing to her worse.
“Hey, Braga.”
I glance up to see Ryan standing in the open locker room doorway.
“You joining us for drinks at Frank’s on 5th?”
My attention returns to the phone in my hand.
I haven’t even sent the damn message, yet some foolish part of me still hopes she’ll beat me to it.
A text, a call, anything that tells me she’s sitting somewhere, thinking about me too.
But it’s pushing ten, and my screen has stayed stubbornly quiet.
I guess neither of us is willing to admit we miss the other first.
“Yeah.” I push away from the locker. “I’ll meet you there.”
Before I can tuck it away, my phone lights up with a new message.
I stupidly hope it’s her, but when I see the name, any hope of hearing from Remi disappears.
ELENA: Report. Facility.
Fucking Elena.
Whatever chance I had of grabbing a drink with the guys tonight just went to shit.
I shove the phone into my pocket, pull on my shirt, and grab my bag before heading through the building and out into the night.
The drive to Helios passes mostly in silence. I keep both hands on the wheel and my attention on the road, refusing to think about why Elena wants me there so late or what she might already know.
Once I clear security, I head toward her office, and the unease I’ve been trying to ignore has settled beneath my skin.
I don’t get far.
“Operative.” An unfamiliar voice stops me.
I turn to find a man I’ve never seen before standing several feet behind me. He appears to be in his mid-forties, dressed in an expensive suit and polished leather shoes. He motions toward a slate-gray metal door leading into the training wing. “Through there.”
A familiar sense of dread crawls up my spine.
I don’t move.
“What’s this?”
The man doesn’t answer. He simply waits, and I’m reminded of my first day here and of Elena’s version of a welcome party. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Helios, it’s that nothing happens without a reason, especially when no one bothers to give you one.
“Now,” he orders.
I stare him down for another second before heading for the door. Choice has never meant much inside these walls.
Already bracing for what comes next, I drop my bag and turn.
“Elena.”
Silence answers.
The training room is dim, with only a few overhead lights illuminating the mats and leaving the edges of the room in shadow. I scan the doorways and corners for any sign of movement, but I’m alone this time.
“Operative.” Her voice comes through the speakers above me.
“Why are you playing these games?”
“Games?” Her tone carries the slightest hint of amusement. “If you think this is a game, you’ve already lost.”
I glance toward one of the cameras mounted near the ceiling. “Why did you call me here? Is this another of your tests?”
She laughs. “You say that as though you’ve passed the others.”
The jab lands exactly where she intended. Elena has a way of turning every conversation into a challenge and every challenge into a threat.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve done everything you’ve asked.”
“Have you? Because I don’t recall authorizing late-night dinners and leisurely walks with your target.”
My entire body goes still at the mention of Remi. “Your job isn’t to micromanage how I conduct my investigation.”
More silence.
“Are you compromised, Operative?”
I swallow hard and clench my fists. My gaze shifts to the surveillance camera again, and I stare directly into it.
“I repeat,” Elena says, her voice sharpening. “Operative 427, are you compromised?”
I know what I’m supposed to say. The denial should come without hesitation, clean and convincing enough to end the conversation.
But I can’t fucking say it because if being compromised means I care more about what happens to Remi than about completing this assignment, Elena already has her answer.
“Operative 427, effective immediately, you are relieved of all duties related to case number 11-C3578.”
“No.” The word is out before I can stop it.
“Operative—”
“No.” I step closer to the camera. “You can’t.”
“A replacement shall be assigned and brought up to speed—”
“Wait.”
My pulse pounds in my ears as the meaning of those words sinks in. She’s going to hand Remi’s file to someone else. Another operative will follow her, learn her routines, and get close enough to earn her trust. Just as I did.
And whoever Elena sends next might actually do everything Helios asks.
“Commander, wait.”
She continues.
“You are hereby ordered to cease all contact with—”
“I said wait!” My voice echoes through the training wing, and Elena finally goes silent.
I drag in a breath as I keep staring at the camera.
“Please,” I say before pride can stop me. “I can finish this.”
Elena makes me wait several seconds before answering.
“Can you? Because from where I’m standing, Operative, it looks like you’ve forgotten which side you’re on.”
I force myself to breathe evenly. “I can, and I will.”
She doesn’t respond right away, leaving me to wonder whether she believes me. When her voice finally comes through again, there’s no indication either way.
“At the front desk, you’ll receive an envelope. Inside, you’ll find a set of devices designed to override security protocols and bypass firewalls, biometric authentication, and encrypted passwords. You will deploy them where necessary.”
Any relief I felt at keeping the assignment disappears. She isn’t just asking me to gather information anymore. She wants access.
“Each device is equipped with a tracking mechanism.” She continues. “If you leave them sitting in a drawer somewhere, I’ll know.”
Of course they are. Elena isn’t giving me another chance because she trusts me to finish the job. She’s making sure I can’t pretend to do it while protecting Remi from the worst of what Helios wants.
“Are we clear?”
“Clear.”
“You are to respond to every phone call and message in a timely manner.”
I bend and grab my bag from the floor.
“And one more thing.”
I stop and wait.
“Since you’ve worked so hard to gain her trust, it would be a waste not to capitalize on it.”
My body stills.
“You will find a way into the Cain residence. Meet the parents. Learn the layout. Identify vulnerabilities. The devices I’ve supplied should be more than sufficient.”
I stare beyond the camera now as the full weight of the order sinks in.
Elena isn’t telling me to break into their home.
She expects me to walk through the front door because Remi invited me.
To sit across from Kai and Amalia at their table.
To smile and make conversation while their daughter sits beside me, trusting me enough to bring me into the one place she should never have to protect from me.
And while I’m there, I’m supposed to plant the devices that will give Helios access to everything her family has spent years protecting.
“Understood?” Elena asks.
I have to force the word out. “Understood.”
“Good.”
The speakers go silent.
I stay where I am, long after Elena is gone.
While I just begged her not to assign Remi to another operative because I couldn’t bear the thought of anyone else getting close enough to hurt her, now I understand what keeping the assignment means.
I didn’t save Remi from the person Helios would send to betray her. I made sure that person would still be me.