Chapter 9

9

Half an hour later, Paige caught herself staring at the clock. "I can't believe Cody's not awake yet."

Mason rubbed the golden stubble on his chin, avoiding her eyes. "Musta given him a bigger injection than I thought."

She shot the man a quick glare. Seriously doubtful. Mason was precise. And pretty high on the OCD scale. The man didn't do anything he didn't intend.

Well maybe he hadn't intended to fall in love a few months back, but other than that ... She was pretty sure he'd given Cody exactly the dose he planned.

And Cody would be perfectly safe. Between Mason and Bridger and Graham, there was enough emergency medical experience in the room to save an entire battalion.

She forced her mind back to the task at hand. The soft click of keys mixed with the whir of cooling fans as she and Tai raced to activate their digital decoy.

"Hand me that signal amplifier, will you?" Paige asked, not taking her eyes off the screen.

Tai passed her the small device. "You sure this will fool their systems?"

Paige connected the amplifier to their makeshift transmitter. "It has to. We're replicating Cody's chip signal down to the last byte."

Tai leaned in, examining her handiwork. "Looks like a mess of wires and circuit boards to me."

Paige smirked. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This ‘mess' is our ticket to buying some time."

She typed in a final command sequence, and the small LED on their creation blinked to life. A steady, pulsing signal appeared on her laptop screen.

"We're live," she announced.

The aroma of something delicious wafted from the kitchen. Tai's nose twitched appreciatively.

"Hey, Gordon Ramsay!" Tai called out. "What's cookin'? Smells like you're trying to impress someone."

Fenn chimed in, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Ten bucks says it's something pretentious. Foie gras? Beef Wellington?"

Mason's indignant voice floated back. "As if you'd even know the difference. And no, you don't get to know what it is until it's ready."

The playful banter continued, filling the room with warmth and laughter. Paige leaned back in her chair, a smile tugging at her lips. She looked around at her team—her family, really. The easy camaraderie, the trust, the shared purpose ... it was everything she'd ever wanted in a family.

A twinge of old pain flickered through her at the thought of her biological family. Her mother, gone far too soon, when Paige was too small to remember her, and her father, disappearing into his work after her MIT flame-out. She pushed aside the old grief. The Lord had blessed her with this new family, one forged in shared struggles and unwavering loyalty.

A long, low moan cut through the air, startling her. Her head snapped up. "Was that ... ?"

"Train whistle," Bridger confirmed, moving to the window. "Down in the valley."

Kate's eyes lit up. "That's it! We should put the decoy on a train car."

"Brilliant," Fenn agreed, nodding enthusiastically. "Those tracks run north-south from Mexico to Canada. The Consortium will think Lassiter's on the move."

"I like it," Graham added.

As the team hashed out the details, Paige felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe they could pull this off after all.

With the plan set, Fenn and Graham departed, the newly built device tucked safely away. The remaining team members gathered around the dining table, the mouthwatering spread before them at odds with the tension in the air.

Bridger broke the silence. "We need to talk about Lassiter's chip."

Paige's fork froze halfway to her mouth. "What about it?"

"We need to disable it. Or remove it completely," he said carefully. "He's no use to us with that thing pinging the Consortium constantly."

Paige set down her fork, appetite vanishing. "It's got to be booby-trapped. The Consortium wouldn't make it easy to remove."

Tai nodded in agreement. "Yeah, messing with that thing could be like poking a hornet's nest."

Kate blew out a breath. "A risk for sure, but we can't trust Lassiter. We have no idea why he initiated contact with Paige. What if he wants the Consortium to find him?"

As the debate raged on, Paige found herself torn. The logical part of her brain screamed caution, but a small voice whispered that this might be their only chance to help Jason. If Cody died ...

She looked around at her team, seeing the same uncertainty mirrored in their eyes.

Paige's ears pricked at the sound of rustling from Cody's room. Her heart leaped into her throat as she bolted towards the noise, the others hot on her heels.

They burst into the room to find Cody stirring, his eyes fluttering open.

He blinked, taking in the crowd gathered around him. His hand flew to his neck, pressing over the device embedded there. A visible wave of relief washed over him as he sank back into the pillows.

"You didn't try to excise it," he said, his voice rough with sleep.

Bridger stepped forward. "We were thinking about it."

The color drained from Cody's face. "A good thing you didn't." He swallowed hard. "It's rigged. Serious electrical charge. Or so I've been told. Never seen a removal myself. From what I hear, cutting it out would kill me."

Tai frowned, crossing his arms. "No way to confirm that. The casing prevents any real examination with MRI or other imaging tech."

"Exactly," Cody nodded. "That's how the Consortium operates. You guys are all ‘Trust, but verify.' These people run on rumor and innuendo and flat-out terror."

A chill ran down Paige's back, settling like ice in her stomach. She'd known the Consortium was dangerous, but this ... this was a whole new level of ruthless. The room suddenly felt colder, the shadows deeper.

The reality of their situation hit her anew. They weren't just up against an organization—they were facing a force that turned its own people into walking bombs, that ruled through fear and whispers.

Cody thrashed around, clearly trying to rise, but his limbs weren't cooperating very well yet. "We've got to move."

"Relax." She put out a calming hand. "We set up an electronic field to block the signal. It should buy us some time."

He laid back down, deflating like a damaged pool toy.

Paige wrapped her arms around herself, trying to ward off the chill that had nothing to do with the room's temperature. The deadly nature of their opponents loomed large in her mind, a dark cloud threatening to overshadow their carefully laid plans. As she met the grim gazes of her teammates, she realized they were all thinking the same thing: this fight was going to be harder—and far more dangerous—than any of them had imagined.