4. Alec

Chapter 4

Alec

A lec gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles white against the leather as he maneuvered the car through the labyrinthine back alleys of Moscow. The city loomed dark and imposing around them, the streets slick with rain and lined with towering, crumbling buildings that seemed to close in on them with every turn. The engine growled as he pushed the car faster, navigating the narrow roads with a precision born from years of experience. His senses were on high alert, every nerve in his body tuned to the possibility of pursuit.

He glanced at the rearview mirror, his sharp blue eyes scanning the darkness for any sign of movement. Nothing. Yet the uneasy feeling gnawed at him, a sensation he had learned long ago not to ignore. The attack on the safe house had been swift and brutal, and it was only by sheer luck and his honed instincts that they had escaped. Now, they were on the run, with no clear destination, only the immediate need to stay alive.

It had been meant to be a simple extraction—go in, get the girl, and get out. No fuss, no muss, but as he'd approached the safe house, he'd seen what he assumed to be FSB agents moving towards the house. Somehow, they must have gotten wind of Grier's being there. How the hell had that happened?

He'd been tasked with extracting one of the CIA's encryption analysts from a CIA safehouse in Moscow. If the FSB knew she was there and where the safehouse was located, Alec had to wonder why she was there at all and more importantly, who had tipped the FSB off? The whole thing seemed a little wonky to him.

When the attack had started, Alec had set some countermeasures and rushed to get the woman to safety. He'd been given her name and her picture to ensure he was getting the right person. When Kingston Coltraine, the head of Cerberus operations in Chicago, had handed him the file and he'd opened it, it had been like a punch to the gut. It was her. It was G—the woman who had haunted his dreams for months. They'd had an intense session and Alec had thought they'd really connected. He'd allowed himself, for that all-too-brief session, to imagine the possibilities. Only she'd shut them down by slipping away like a thief in the night.

Alec glanced at Grier as she sat beside him—her body posture rigid, her hands clutching her laptop, the glow of the city's sporadic streetlights casting her features in sharp relief. She looked more like a scared rabbit than a CIA analyst, and the frustration that had been simmering in Alec's gut since they fled the safe house flared up again. He didn't know what the hell the Agency was thinking, sending someone like her out into the field. She was out of her depth, and it was up to him to keep her alive.

"Do they even train you people before they send you out here?" he muttered under his breath, the words slipping out before he could stop them.

Grier shot him a sharp look, her green eyes flashing with indignation. "I wasn't supposed to be in the field," she snapped back, her voice laced with irritation. "I'm an analyst, not an operative."

Alec gritted his teeth and kept his eyes on the road, biting back the retort that sprang to his lips. He knew she was right. He also knew that part of his irritation had nothing to do with the CIA. Analysts were supposed to be behind desks, not dodging bullets in the middle of a foreign city. But none of that made their situation any less precarious, and it didn't change the fact that her inexperience and lack of training could get them both killed.

Alec forced himself to focus. If they were going to get out of this alive, he needed to tamp down the leftover emotions from that night at the club. They were being hunted, and he couldn't afford to be distracted. He had to think like a SEAL, like the man he had been before joining Cerberus—always one step ahead, always prepared for the worst. They needed to disappear, to find a place to lay low until he could figure out their next move.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, Grier stiffened beside him, her hand flying out to grab his arm.

"Alec, look!" she hissed, nodding toward the side mirror.

Alec glanced over and his heart skipped a beat. There, in the reflection, was the unmistakable glint of headlights, closing in fast. He cursed under his breath. He had missed it, had been too caught up in his frustration to notice the tail. But Grier had seen it. Despite her inexperience, she had spotted the danger he'd overlooked.

"Hold on," he barked, yanking the wheel hard to the right.

The car veered sharply, tires screeching as he darted down a narrow alleyway, the walls of the buildings flashing by in a blur. The car behind them followed, its engine roaring as it tried to close the distance. Alec pushed the accelerator to the floor, his eyes scanning the maze of alleyways for an escape route. They couldn't keep this up forever; they needed to find shelter, somewhere to regroup and plan their next move.

Up ahead, he spotted a large, dilapidated building, its windows boarded up, its fa?ade crumbling with age. An abandoned warehouse, by the looks of it—perfect. Alec sped toward it, turning sharply into a side street that led to the rear of the building. He slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a screeching halt behind a row of rusted-out dumpsters. They were hidden from the main road, at least for the moment.

"Get out," Alec ordered, already moving as he spoke.

Grier didn't hesitate this time. She scrambled out of the car, clutching her laptop to her chest as Alec led the way toward the warehouse. He pushed open a rusted metal door, the hinges groaning in protest, and ushered her inside. The darkness swallowed them whole.

Alec pulled the door shut behind them, securing it with a broken pipe he found on the floor. The air inside was thick with dust, the scent of mildew and rust pervasive. The warehouse was vast, filled with the ghostly remains of old machinery and stacks of forgotten crates. It was the kind of place that had seen better days, long abandoned and forgotten by the world.

"Over here," Alec said, leading Grier deeper into the shadows.

They found a corner near the back of the warehouse, where they could hunker down and avoid any prying eyes. Alec knelt beside her, his eyes scanning the darkness, his mind racing as he considered their options. The only light they had came from the faint glow of Grier's laptop as she powered it on. They couldn't stay here long—eventually, their pursuers would find the car and trace them to the warehouse. But for now, it would have to do.

Grier was already typing furiously on her laptop, her fingers moving across the keys with amazing speed and a precision that surprised Alec. She was clearly in her element now, the fear and uncertainty she had shown earlier replaced by a laser focus on the task at hand. Alec watched her, his initial frustration beginning to soften. She might not be an operative, but she was sharp, and she clearly knew her stuff.

"What are you working on?" Alec asked, his voice low.

"I'm pulling up the files I decrypted right before the attack," Grier replied, not looking up from the screen. "The information in here—it's about a mole in the CIA. Someone high up. This isn't just about the weapons shipments to Yemen, which is what I was working on before they sent me here. It's bigger than that."

Alec felt a chill run down his spine. A high-level mole within the CIA was bad news—worse than he'd imagined. And if the mole was involved in arms deals with Iranian-made weapons, it meant the situation was far more dangerous than he'd thought. He leaned closer, his eyes narrowing as he watched the lines of code and data scroll across the screen.

"Whoever this mole is, they've covered their tracks well," Grier continued, her voice tense with concentration. "But there are patterns, connections that don't add up. If I can just—there!" She paused, her eyes widening as she pointed at the screen. "Here it is. This is the link I've been looking for."

Alec looked at the data, trying to make sense of it. He wasn't an analyst, but he had seen enough classified intel in his time to recognize the significance of what Grier had found. "What does it mean?"

Grier's voice was grim. "It means the mole has been working with someone inside Cerberus. There are encrypted communications here, sent directly to one of your operatives. Whoever it is, they've been feeding the mole information for months—maybe longer."

Alec's blood ran cold. The implications were staggering. Cerberus was more than just an organization to him—it was family. The men and women he worked with were the best of the best, people he trusted with his life. The idea that one of them could be a traitor, working with a mole in the CIA, was almost too much to bear.

"Are you sure?" Alec asked, his voice barely more than a whisper.

Grier met his gaze, her green eyes filled with a mixture of determination and sorrow. "Yes. I'm sure."

Alec sat back on his heels, his mind reeling. He had seen betrayal before, had dealt with traitors in the field, but this was different. This was personal. The thought that someone he considered family could be responsible for the mess they were in now, for the attack on the safe house, for the lives lost—even if they were the enemy—it was almost more than he could process.

"Who is it?" Alec asked, his voice tight with tension. "Who's the operative?"

Grier hesitated, her fingers hovering over the keyboard as if she were reluctant to type out the name. Alec could see the conflict in her eyes, the way she wrestled with the knowledge she had uncovered. Finally, she typed a few more commands, and a name appeared on the screen.

Alec's heart sank as he read it. "No," he breathed, shaking his head in disbelief. "It can't be."

"Do you know who it is?"

"Not really. It's a code name, but it's one I recognize as a Cerberus operative."

"How can you work with people you only know by their code name?" she asked.

He quirked his eyebrow at her. "Pot? Meet kettle," he said sardonically.

She grinned at him sheepishly. "Right. Sorry."

It didn't matter that he didn't know the identity behind the code name, the evidence was there, clear as day. Alec's mind raced, trying to reconcile the name on the screen with the person he knew. It didn't make sense, and yet… it explained so much. The inconsistencies, the strange behavior, the way certain operations had gone sideways for no apparent reason. It all pointed to this.

Grier's voice broke through his thoughts, soft but insistent. "Alec, I know this is hard to believe, but we have to face the facts. Cerberus has been compromised. And if we don't act now, if we don't stop this, more lives will be at risk. We have to expose the mole, no matter what."

Alec clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms as he fought to keep his emotions in check. He wanted to deny it, to argue that there had to be some mistake, but deep down, he knew she was right. The evidence was undeniable, and if they didn't do something, the consequences could be catastrophic.

But even as he accepted the truth, a new fear crept into his mind. If Cerberus had been compromised, it meant that the circle of those he trusted had just shrunk to only those people closest to him. And that realization shook him to his core.

"How do we do this?" Alec asked, his voice rough with emotion. "How do we take down the mole without bringing Cerberus down with it?"

Grier sighed, her shoulders slumping with the weight of the task ahead. "We need proof—concrete evidence that ties the mole to the traitor inside Cerberus. Once we have that, we can go to someone we trust, someone who can help us expose the truth without causing too much collateral damage."

Alec nodded, his mind already working through the logistics. It wouldn't be easy. They would have to move carefully, avoid drawing attention to themselves while they gathered the evidence they needed. And they would have to do it quickly, before the mole realized they were onto them.

"I know someone," Alec said finally, his voice steadier now. "Someone we can trust. But we'll need to be careful. If the mole gets wind of what we're doing, we're as good as dead."

Grier looked at him, her eyes searching his face for any sign of doubt. "Who?"

Alec hesitated, the name on the tip of his tongue. But before he could speak, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the warehouse, shattering the fragile silence. Alec's heart jumped into his throat as he sprang to his feet, pulling Grier up with him.

"Someone's coming," he whispered, his eyes scanning the darkness.

Grier's breath caught in her throat as she clutched her laptop to her chest. Alec could feel the tension radiating off her, the fear that had been so palpable earlier now returning in full force. He motioned for her to stay behind him as he drew his weapon, the familiar weight of the gun reassuring in his hand.

They moved quickly, slipping deeper into the shadows of the warehouse, Alec's senses on high alert.

The footsteps grew louder, closer, and Alec tightened his grip on his weapon, his heart pounding in his chest. Whoever was out there was getting closer, and Alec knew they had only moments to act.

He motioned for Grier to stay put as he crept toward the source of the noise, his movements silent and controlled. The darkness was thick, making it difficult to see, but Alec's training had taught him to rely on more than just his eyes. He listened, the sound of his own breathing barely audible as he edged closer to the intruders.

And then, just as suddenly as it had started, the noise stopped. Alec froze, his body tense, every muscle coiled and ready to strike. The silence stretched on, the seconds ticking by like hours, and Alec's mind raced with possibilities. Were they being stalked? Had the intruders realized they were there?

A faint whisper reached his ears, the sound barely audible but enough to set Alec on edge. He moved closer, careful not to make a sound, his eyes straining to see in the darkness. The shadows shifted, and Alec caught a glimpse of movement—a figure slipping through the shadows, heading toward where he had left Grier.

Panic surged through Alec as he realized what was happening. He had to act, had to stop them before they reached her. But as he stepped forward, ready to engage, another sound stopped him in his tracks—a faint, almost imperceptible click, followed by a low hum that sent a chill down Alec's spine.

A bomb.

Alec's heart pounded as he spun around, searching for Grier. She was still in the shadows, her eyes wide with fear, but she hadn't moved. Alec didn't hesitate. He darted toward her, grabbing her arm and pulling her with him as he ran for the exit.

"Go!" he shouted, his voice raw with urgency.

They sprinted through the warehouse, Alec pushing Grier ahead of him as they raced toward the door.

The seconds stretched on, the air thick with the tension of impending doom, and Alec's mind raced as he calculated their odds. The bomb could go off any second, and if they didn't make it out in time…

They burst through the door just as the explosion rocked the warehouse, the force of the blast sending them sprawling to the ground. Alec's ears rang, his vision blurred as he tried to process what had just happened. The warehouse was in flames, the heat searing against his skin as he struggled to his feet, pulling Grier up with him.

"Run!" he shouted, the urgency of the situation overriding everything else.

As they disappeared into the shadows, Alec couldn't shake the feeling that this was only the beginning. The mole, the traitor, the explosion—everything was connected, and the answers they sought were still out there, waiting to be uncovered. But Alec knew one thing for certain: they couldn't do it alone. They needed to get back to Cerberus—to people and places he could trust. Whoever it was would be looking for them to head to London, but Chicago was his home base and being in the States would place certain constraints on the CIA. So, Chicago would be their destination.

The trust between them was fragile, but it was all they had. And Alec knew that if they were going to survive, they would have to learn to rely on each other, to trust each other—no matter how difficult it might be.

They ran, the heat of the fire licking at their heels as they fled into the night. The city loomed behind them, dark and unforgiving, but Alec's mind was already working, already planning their next move. Grier was by his side. They were in this together now, whether they liked it or not, and the only way out was forward.