Chapter 69 – thiago
Sixty-Nine
thiago
The Helios building rises from the Philadelphia skyline, looking like every other federal office in the city.
Behind its walls, an entire global operation hides in plain sight while everyone outside remains oblivious.
The sun is already high, traffic moves through the streets below, and people go about their lives as though mine didn’t fall apart last night.
I haven’t allowed myself to think about what happened with Remi beyond cleaning the blood from my skin and doing what I could to close the wound in my abdomen. I couldn’t risk going to a hospital, so a needle, surgical thread, and enough gauze to stop the bleeding had to be good enough.
It wasn’t.
Every movement pulls at the stitches beneath my shirt, and my ribs still burn where her knife sliced my skin. My lip is split, two of my fingers are bandaged, and the cut beneath my brow opens whenever I forget and touch my face.
There’s no escaping what happened, even when I refuse to think about it. If I let myself remember the way she looked at me when I told her I loved her, I won’t make it through those doors. I owe it to her to make sure she’s no longer a target.
As I pull into the parking garage, Ryan’s contact lights up the dashboard.
“Ryan, I really can’t talk right now.” I reach for the door handle.
“Braga, the commander’s missing.”
I freeze. “What do you mean she’s missing?”
“Exactly that. She didn’t report for a callout last night, didn’t show this morning, and she won’t answer her phone. Grey is conducting a welfare check as we speak.”
The pain in my abdomen becomes irrelevant.
Elena disappeared hours after handing Remi that file.
“Fuck.”
“Thiago...”
Ryan and I have gotten close since I arrived at the precinct, close enough that I know the usual lightness in his voice, even when things get serious, and there’s none of it now.
“You don’t, um...know what could’ve happened to her, do you?”
There it is.
He thinks I had something to do with her disappearance. I understand why. Emotions were high in her office that day, then came my confrontation with Grey, followed by the small detail that Elena fired me.
The accusation still catches me all wrong. Ryan should know me, except he doesn’t. None of them do.
“No, I don’t. I haven’t seen or spoken to her since I left her office.”
The line stays quiet for too long, long enough for me to wonder whether he believes me, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is where Elena is now and whether Remi is the reason she disappeared.
“I have to go,” I say.
“Wait. Braga, talk to me.”
I squeeze the steering wheel. “Listen, I already told you I don’t know...”
“No. I read the report on what happened to your girl, and I just want you to know that despite what it says, I believe you. I did some digging, and that intel was bogus. Grey only followed through to get in good with the commander. I would’ve told him to shove it, too.”
I drag a hand over my face and immediately regret it when my palm catches the cut beneath my eyebrow. The sharp sting gives way to warmth on my skin, and I pull my hand away to find fresh blood on my fingers.
“Ryan, I fucked up. I fucked up the one thing in this world I give a damn about, and all I can do now is try to fix it.” I wipe the blood off my pants. “Even if she never forgives me, I need to know she’s safe.”
Ryan goes quiet, and I can only imagine what he’s making of what I just said. With Elena missing, I don’t have time to explain any of it.
“You love her?”
“More than you could possibly understand.”
I end the call before he can say anything else, then climb out of the SUV. The movement tugs at my stitches, forcing me to brace a hand against the door until the pain eases enough to move.
Making my way through the garage to a side entrance, I pull my badge from my pocket. The bandages around my fingers make it harder to grip, but I manage to swipe it through the reader and wait to see whether Elena has revoked my access.
A quiet chime, and the panel flashes green. At least one thing is going my way.
Security is posted throughout the building, and I make a mental note of every position as I pass. I didn’t walk in here expecting to need an escape route, but years with Helios taught me that complacency gets you killed.
I skip the elevators and enter the stairwell to climb to the seventh floor. The steady rhythm of my boots on the concrete gives my mind too much room to wander, but I refuse to let my thoughts drift back to Remi when I need to stay focused on keeping her alive.
By the fifth floor landing, every breath pulls at the cut across my ribs. The stab wound throbs with every step, and halfway up the final flight, damp warmth has spread beneath the bandage.
I put pressure on it and keep climbing.
At the seventh floor, I swipe my badge through another reader, and the lock disengages with a soft click.
I’m in.
“Sir, can I help you?”
A brunette stands behind the reception desk, wearing a practiced smile that falters when she gets a good look at me. Her gaze flicks briefly to the cuts on my face before dropping to the bandages around my fingers.
“I need to speak with Mr. Miller.”
Her eyes return to mine. “Mr. Miller is fully booked for the evening. If you’ll give me your badge number, I can try to schedule something for next week.”
Next week isn’t an option when Remi might not have that long.
“That’s not going to work.” I turn and head down the hallway.
“Sir! You can’t go in there!”
Her voice follows me as she speaks quickly into the microphone clipped beneath her collar, alerting security before I’ve made it halfway down the hall.
I pick up my pace. The office door is only a few yards away when hurried footsteps echo behind me.
“You can’t go in there!” Another shout joins hers from farther down the hall. I reach the office, wrap my hand around the doorknob, and swipe my badge through the reader. The lock disengages, and I push through the door.
Five men seated around an oval conference table turn toward me as all conversation stops.
“I’m Thiago Braga.” I shut the door behind me. “Operative 427. Precinct Nine, undercover. Elena Duvall is my handler.” I look around the table. “I need to file a complaint.”
The oldest man rises from his chair. Like the receptionist, he looks over my wounds before returning his attention to me.
“Did my assistant authorize this meeting?”
“No, sir.” I step farther into the room. “But it’s imperative that you hear me out.”
He gives me nothing in return, so I continue.
“Agent Elena Duvall has gone rogue. She has repeatedly violated protocol, withheld operational information, and disclosed classified intelligence to a potential target.”
The last two words nearly stick in my throat, but I force them out.
No one says a word.
“She’s no longer acting in the organization’s best interests. This stopped being about the mission a long time ago. It’s personal now.” I glance around the table. “Her actions have compromised operational security, jeopardized Helios, and put innocent civilians at risk.”
The five of them exchange measured glances before the man at the head of the table gestures toward the empty chair opposite him.
“Have a seat, Agent Braga.”
I remain standing. “With all due respect, sir, I’d rather not waste time.”
His attention lingers on me for another second before he nods. “Very well. Continue.”
I tell them everything relevant to Elena’s conduct, starting with her growing fixation on Remi. I leave out anything that could further expose Remi, then explain Elena’s decision to hand over classified intelligence. No one interrupts or gives any hint of what they’re thinking as they take notes.
When I finish, the man at the head of the table folds his hands in front of him.
“You’re alleging that Agent Duvall knowingly violated operational protocols.”
“Yes, sir.”
“She disclosed classified information to a civilian.”
“Yes.”
“And you believe her judgment is compromised.”
“I do.”
He nods. “Very well.”
For one brief second, I think they understand why I came here, then his next question changes everything.
“Can the civilian identify the organization?”
I grip the backrest of the empty chair beside me.
“Yes.”
“Can she identify personnel?”
“She knows my identity and Agent Duvall’s.”
“Has she shared that information with anyone else?”
The question puts me on alert.
“No.”
He waits a beat before asking, “You’re certain?”
“Yes.”
The woman beside him taps the tablet in front of her, bringing something up on the screen.
“Remi Cain lives within minutes of several immediate family members and maintains frequent contact with them. Are you asking us to believe that after Agent Duvall disclosed classified intelligence to her, she told no one?”
My stomach twists.
I never gave them her name.
They knew exactly who Elena had compromised before I ever walked through the door.
“I’m telling you I have no evidence that she shared anything.”
“Do you believe she did?”
I don’t answer quickly enough, and the woman makes another note on the tablet.
“Are these family members capable of acting on that information?”
I feel the trap closing around me.
“That’s irrelevant. Remi isn’t a threat to Helios, nor is her family.”
The man at the head of the table leans back in his chair. “You just confirmed that Agent Duvall exposed this organization to a civilian linked to a highly organized criminal enterprise, and you cannot assure us that the information did not go beyond her.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“It’s what you told us.”
My jaw tightens as the purpose behind every question becomes clear. I came here to put an end to Elena’s operation against Remi, but instead I gave them another reason to look at her.
He turns toward the woman seated next to him. “Begin containment procedures.”
My entire body tenses. “Sir?”
His attention returns to me. “The compromise extends beyond Agent Duvall.”
I shake my head. “No, with respect, that isn’t necessary.”
“Explain.”
“Remi isn’t a threat.”
A crease forms between his brow. “That’s an emotional assessment.”
“It’s an accurate one.”
“She possesses classified knowledge.”
“She won’t use it.”
“You cannot guarantee that.”
“I can!”
His attention drops to the bandages around my fingers before moving to the ones on my face. “Did she do that to you?”
I grit my teeth. “That has nothing to do with this.”
“I disagree.” He gestures toward me. “You walked into this office with multiple injuries, yet you’ve made no attempt to explain them. Now you’re asking me to accept your assessment that the civilian responsible poses no threat to this organization.”
“She was angry with me, and she had every fucking right to be.”
“Was she armed?”
I don’t answer.
Miller’s eyes narrow. “Did she use a weapon on you?”
My silence answers for me. The woman beside Miller is still working that fucking tablet.
“Don’t.” I look directly at her. “You don’t know what happened.”
Miller’s voice remains calm. “Then tell us.”
I can’t tell them she stabbed me and pointed her gun at me with every intention of firing because every detail I give them would become another mark against her.
Miller looks at the hand I still have pressed near my abdomen.
“You’re protecting her.”
“Yes,” I say without hesitation.
“And you expect me to believe that makes your assessment reliable?”
“I know her.”
“You were assigned to observe her for months, Operative. We have years’ worth of intelligence on the Cain family.”
“You have files. I know the woman.”
He pauses, letting that sit between us. “The woman you claim poses no threat attacked a trained Helios operative badly enough that you arrived here visibly injured, yet you are still willing to hide the extent of what she did.” He pauses.
“That doesn’t make her less dangerous. It makes you compromised. ”
My fist slams against the table. “She is not your fucking enemy.”
“No, Operative. But she is now a security risk, and you have demonstrated that you are incapable of assessing her objectively.”
He glances toward the two agents standing against the wall. “Disarm him.”
The men start toward me.
I know what happens if I surrender my weapon. They detain me, containment teams move on Remi and her family, and I lose any chance to warn her before they arrive.
There’s no walking this back once I make my choice. I also know there’s nothing left for me to choose. My weapon clears its holster before either guard can reach theirs. I fire, and both men hit the floor before they can draw. Two of the executives spring to their feet.
“Braga, wait.”
I don’t. They’ve already decided Remi is expendable, and surrendering would give them the chance to act on it. The moment one reaches beneath his jacket and another lunges for the alarm mounted beside the door, I fire before either of them can finish the move.
Gunshots tear through the room as the others scramble for weapons, but within seconds, only Miller remains standing. He backs away from the table, his gaze fixed on the gun in my hand, before darting toward the door.
“You can’t do this.” His voice has lost some of its calm. “The entire organization will come down on your head, Operative. Is that what you want?”
“It doesn’t matter anymore.” I move toward him. “Don’t you get that?”
A slow smile pulls at his mouth. “No, Agent Braga.” His eyes shift toward the surveillance camera mounted in the corner. “I don’t think you do.”
I turn toward it.
“From the moment you entered this office, everything has been streamed directly to Central Intelligence.” As if we’re discussing nothing more serious than tomorrow’s weather, he smooths a hand over the front of his jacket.
“You can kill me if that’s what you want, but it won’t change what’s already in motion.
” He looks me directly in the eye. “You will be classified as compromised, and Agent Duvall will answer for initiating the Cain file without authorization. There was never an operational directive against that family. She acted independently and, in doing so, exposed Helios to a civilian with ties to a criminal organization.”
Cold spreads through me as the truth becomes clear.
Elena did all of this on her own.
“Your testimony confirmed the extent of that compromise.” Miller takes another cautious step back. “By the time this conversation ends, Central Intelligence will already be mobilizing containment teams.”
I came here believing I could protect Remi by exposing Elena, but all I’ve done is give Helios everything they need to justify targeting her.
Miller’s smile widens just enough to make my stomach turn. “You didn’t come here to save her, Agent Braga. You just ensured she’d become our problem to fix.”
That does it.
“Then you better kill me first.”
He barely has time to react before I fire. Three rounds slam into his chest, driving him back into the corner before he crumples to the floor.
I move fast, stripping the spare magazines from the guards’ belts and shoving them into my pockets before heading toward the door.