Chapter 601
Chapter 601:
The tactical leader, a hardened veteran named Miller, looked pale. “It was a coordinated strike, Ms. Sterling. We underestimated their reach. We thought the Syndicate was decapitated with Lucian’s arrest p>
“The Syndicate is a hydra,” Alistair Thorne said, stepping out from the shadows in the corner of the room. His tuxedo shirt was stained with soot and sea spray, sleeves rolled up to reveal bruised knuckles. “Report on the maritime transport p>
Miller swallowed hard. “The US Navy cutter Intrepid was intercepted three miles out. It wasn’t a standard extraction. A stealth submersible breached their hull. They flooded the brig before the Marines could react. Lucian Graves and Victoria Hayes didn’t just escape; they were salvaged like deep-sea treasure. Our radar didn’t even pick up the bogie until it was submerged again p>
Skye closed her eyes for a brief second, the pain of the reversal hitting her like a physical blow. “And the prison? How did Parker get to Liam p>
“A riot,” Felix interjected, his voice grim. “Triggered remotely. All cell doors in Block C opened simultaneously. In the chaos, a SWAT team entered. They weren’t police. They were Syndicate contractors. They grabbed Liam and vanished before the warden could issue a lockdown. We found his prison transport wristband in a dumpster five miles away p>
On the massive screen behind Skye, a digital map of the coastline flickered. The tracking signal from the hacked prison wristband was dead, but Skye had managed to isolate a secondary ping—Liam’s personal cell phone, which the extraction team had carelessly reactivated.
“You lost him,” Skye said.
Her voice was not loud. It was terrifyingly level, devoid of the anger that usually accompanied such a loss. It was the voice of a woman who had nothing left to lose but the numbers.
Miller dabbed at his forehead with a handkerchief that was already soaked. “Ms. Sterling, please. The smoke from the explosion… The Syndicate’s extraction team was professional. They used military-grade jamming. If we just have more time to decrypt the flight path p>
“Get out,” Skye said.
Re𝘢𝖽𝘦𝗿 𝗰o𝗺m𝘂ո𝗶𝘁𝘺 𝗈ո 𝖻𝘦.c𝗈m
Miller froze. His mouth hung open, a black hole of excuses.
“Skye, be reasonable. We secured the perimeter, but the extraction p>
“I said get out p>
Skye picked up the file in front of her—the dossier on Blackwood found in Parker’s abandoned server room—and dropped it. The sound was a dull thud, heavy with finality.
Miller scrambled out of his chair, knocking it over. It clattered loudly against the metal floor, a jarring noise in the silent room.
“You cannot blame us!” he shrieked as Alistair opened the door. “That Blackwood family… they are ghosts! They will kill him! They will kill you too p>
Skye did not blink. She watched as Miller was escorted out.
She did not feel satisfaction. She felt a hollow ache in her chest, a void where her heart used to be, before Liam Kensington was ripped away from her just as they had found common ground.
“Prepare the jet,” Skye said to the empty room. “We aren’t staying in Port Valor. We follow that signal p>
The doors swung shut.
Skye was alone. She looked at her reflection in the dark monitor. She looked older. The lines around her eyes were deeper.