pte

sper Benea

dict. Anthony's heart thudded. The man with the earpiece

ngers curling around the edge of the c

, but the man blocked his pat

aid. "You've made

split-frame St. Lazarus Chapel and a blurry photo of a woman

thing maybe a panic button, maybe not. Anthony

w. "They were never after her. T

eched. The glass shimmere

gritted h

just as the first flash o

ackled him to the floor as

begun it had reached

efore the city smelled of storm, Phil

to their sheets, the subtle aversion to touch. But Phil an observant man with a knack for d

st emotionally, but digitally. She had encrypted their private exchanges, blocked him fr

ing was

he hired a private investigator Louis Martez, a ghost in the

, and a series of crooks operating under aliases. But one thing became clea

vered, Antonia had been ensnared in a game far larger than she realized fed disinformation, nudged toward s

betrayal, but for the way she had tr

g to let his wife fal

st operative. Brian had saved presidents, led covert extractions in hostile territories, and walked out of i

they pieced

justice department. Too many compromised hands. The normal route police reports,

ose the harder path:

ngs from Istanbul, money routed through offshore accounts,

l execution. Every victim was selected with surgical precision. Antonia had been the l

hilwould discover, was the b

ames. Faces. D

ed warrants. Th

th their own grudge. They would not be seeking justice i

operation liaising with whistleblowers, handling data decryption, a

nonprofit media firm. Inside, they believed, was the nerve center wher

personal redemp

made pea

ure Antonia survived long

dni

"media compound." Inside, security lights blinke

rough Morina's earpiece. "

ds at the entrance. Four at the rear. Infrared scanners revealed

ge earlier that day. Antonia, tear-streaked, reading from a prepared

gave th

hissed in

ropped li

of ozone and bleach. Too clean. Too fake. He spotted the blinking

anted th

g," Phil said. "

la

the last guards

. "Breach. Th

Phil snapped, fingers

l hadn't heard in years, cra

t said. "Welcome

Philips knew this wasn't j

as pe