Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

SETH

T he quiet of the townhouse was punctuated only by the soft clicking of Hope's fingers on the keyboard and the occasional rustle as Seth paced the length of the room. It was late—far too late for either of them to be awake—but sleep was out of the question. The adrenaline from the night's events still coursed through Seth's veins, keeping him on edge and alert to every sound, every shift in the atmosphere.

Hope was hunched over the small laptop, her face illuminated by the screen's pale glow. She was focused, her brow furrowed in concentration as she sifted through the data she had managed to download before everything went sideways. Seth knew she wouldn't stop until she found something—anything—that would give them an edge, something that would justify the risk they had taken.

Seth ran a hand through his hair, then reached for his phone. He had to report to Cerberus. They needed to know what had happened at the Citadel, especially the encounter with Basil Hargrove. But more than that, he needed to find out if there had been any progress in identifying the mole within Cerberus. Their mission was dangerous enough without someone on the inside feeding information to the enemy.

He dialed the secure line and waited for the call to be connected. The familiar voice of their contact, a man known only as Daedalus, answered on the second ring.

"Report," Daedalus said, his tone brisk.

Seth gave him a quick rundown of the night's events—the dinner with Nero Valente, the scene they'd performed, the alarm, and the tense departure from the Citadel. He kept his voice low, glancing at Hope to make sure she wasn't straining to hear every word, though he knew she was already deeply engrossed in the data.

"Did you manage to extract anything useful?" Daedalus asked, his voice edged with curiosity and concern.

"Hope's working on it now," Seth replied. "But there was a complication. She triggered an alarm during the download. We had to leave before she could finish."

There was a pause at the other end, and Seth could almost hear the wheels turning in Daedalus's mind. "And Hargrove?"

"He's suspicious," Seth said grimly. "He's watching us. But we played our parts well enough that he hasn't made a move—yet."

"We're running out of time, Seth," Daedalus warned. "Those further up the food chain are getting antsy. They want results."

Seth clenched his jaw, his frustration mounting. "We're doing everything we can, but it's hard to fast-track this thing, knowing we have a traitor on the inside. Have you made any progress on identifying the mole?"

There was another pause, longer this time. "Not yet. We're narrowing it down, but whoever it is, they're good. They've covered their tracks well."

Seth's hand tightened around the phone. "We can't afford to be blindsided. The closer we get to the Obsidian Cartel, the more dangerous this mission becomes. If the mole tips them off…"

"We're aware of the risks," Daedalus said, his voice hardening. "But you need to stay the course. We're working on it."

Seth exhaled slowly, knowing there was no point in pushing further. "Understood. I'll update you as soon as we have something concrete."

"Good. And Newcomb—be careful. Valente and his people won't hesitate to eliminate you if they think you're a threat."

Seth ended the call and leaned against the wall, rubbing the tension from the back of his neck. He knew the risks, had always known them. But the stakes had never felt higher, and the weight of the mission was pressing down on him like never before.

A soft sound from Hope drew his attention. He turned to see her staring intently at the screen, her fingers paused over the keyboard. There was a look of grim satisfaction on her face, one that sent a shiver down his spine.

"A-ha," she murmured, barely audible, but the tone of her voice cut through the silence like a blade.

Seth moved quickly to her side, his heart pounding with a mix of anticipation and dread. "What is it?" he asked, keeping his voice low.

Hope didn't look up, her eyes still glued to the screen. "I found something. I think," she said, her voice tinged with exhaustion. "It's a thread—a lead on an operative known as the Cobra."

"The Cobra?" Seth repeated, the name sending a cold chill through him.

This wasn't the first time he'd heard of the Cobra—a shadowy figure within the intelligence community. If he or she was in or closely linked to the Obsidian Cartel, things could be worse than they'd feared. The Cobra, like the cartel, was known for his or her ruthlessness and efficiency. As far as Seth knew, no one seemed to know who the Cobra really was, or even if he or she was a man or a woman.

Hope nodded, her fingers moving again as she pulled up more information. "There isn't much on the Cobra—hmm, this is interesting."

"What?"

"It would seem that he or she is deeply embedded in the cartel and has been responsible for some of their most high-profile operations. But this…" she trailed off, her eyes narrowing as she read the screen, "looks like the Cobra is planning something, and that something is big."

Seth leaned in closer, his breath catching as he read the words on the screen. The plan was horrifyingly simple and devastatingly effective—a coordinated release of Sarin, a toxin gas in several major US cities. The demand was chilling: the release of a specific prisoner into the custody of the Obsidian Cartel. If the demand wasn't met within five days of its issuance, the Sarin would be released.

"Do we know when the demand will be made?" Seth asked, his voice tense.

Hope shook her head, frustration flickering in her eyes. "No. It could be imminent, or it might have already been made. There's no indication of timing in these files."

"Then we're on a clock," Seth said, his mind racing. "We know who, what, why, and we sort of know when. We need to know if the demand has been made, and if so, when, but even if we knew that, we still don't know how—and we need to find out where the Cobra is operating from."

Hope nodded, her exhaustion clear in the dark circles under her eyes, but she didn't slow down. "The information is either missing, or it's buried deeper in these files. I need more time to break through the encryption."

Seth watched her work, the glow from the screen casting shadows on her face. He could see how worn out she was, the hours of stress and tension taking their toll. But he also knew she wouldn't stop, wouldn't rest, until she had uncovered every last piece of the puzzle.

Feeling more protective than he feared he should, Seth placed a hand on her shoulder, gently but firmly. "Hope," he said quietly, "you're exhausted. You need to rest."

She shook her head, not taking her eyes off the screen. "I'm fine. I just need to?—"

"Hope," Seth interrupted, his voice soft but insistent. "If we don't get some sleep, we'll be useless tomorrow. We'll pick this up in the morning. Right now, we need to rest."

She hesitated, torn between the drive to keep going and the undeniable exhaustion that was pulling her down. Finally, she exhaled, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "You're right," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "But I hate leaving this unfinished."

"We're not leaving it," Seth reassured her, reaching over to close the laptop. "We're just pausing. You've done incredible work tonight, but we can't afford to burn out. We need to be sharp when we move forward."

Hope gave him a weary smile, the fight draining out of her. "Okay," she murmured. "But first thing in the morning, we dive back in."

"First thing," Seth promised, sending a secure message to Cerberus with a summary of what they'd discovered. Once that was done, he gently took the laptop from her, set it aside out of reach, and powered it down.

Seth led her up to the bedroom in silence, holding her hand as they went. The tension of the day slowly gave way to the need for rest. When they entered the room, Hope turned her back to him, lifting her hair and offering him her back for help with the zipper. He leaned forward and kissed the nape of her neck as he pulled the zipper down and helped her to undress. Turning back the covers, he helped Hope into bed, removing his own clothes and sliding in beside her.

"This is nice," he said, pulling her into his arms. As he did so, some of the tension left her body, her breathing slowing as she began to relax.

Remembering she liked the feeling of being bound in his ropes, Seth wrapped his arms more tightly around her. He could still feel the adrenaline buzzing just beneath his skin, but as he held her, the edges of that urgency began to soften. The warmth of her body, the steady rhythm of her breathing—it was all a reminder of what they were fighting for, of what they couldn't afford to lose.

He brushed a strand of hair away from her face, leaning down to press a gentle kiss to her forehead. Hope looked up at him, her eyes half-lidded with fatigue but still filled with that ferocity of spirit he'd always admired so much.

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice soft and full of emotion.

"For what?" Seth asked, his hand running down her back in a soothing motion.

"For being here. For… for everything," she murmured, her eyes drifting closed as exhaustion finally claimed her.

Seth's heart ached at her words, a deep, powerful feeling of protectiveness swelling within him. He didn't respond with words—there were none that could adequately convey what he felt for her. Instead, he leaned down and kissed her, a slow, tender kiss that spoke of promises and devotion.

Hope responded with a soft sigh, her body relaxing further into his embrace. And then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, they moved together, their bodies finding a rhythm that was as old as time itself.

It wasn't rushed or frantic. It was slow, deliberate, every touch, every caress, a reminder of the connection between them. Seth poured all of his emotion into that moment, into the way he kissed her, the way he moved against her, the way he held her as if she were the most precious thing in the world.

And she was. To him, Hope was everything.

As they reached the peak together, Hope buried her face in his neck, her breath hot against his skin as she whispered his name over and over like a prayer. Seth held her tightly, his own release shuddering through him, leaving him breathless, his heart pounding in his chest.

For a long time after, they lay together, tangled in each other's arms, the silence of the night wrapping around them like a blanket. Seth could feel Hope drifting off to sleep, her body finally succumbing to the exhaustion that had been building all night.

But as he lay there, listening to the steady sound of her breathing, his mind was still racing. The information they'd uncovered was terrifying, the implications too vast to fully comprehend. The Cobra was planning an attack that could devastate cities, take countless lives, and they were the only ones who could stop it.

They had the who, what, why, and would know the when once they knew when the Sarin would be released. They also needed to uncover the how and the where. And they needed to do it fast.

Seth tightened his grip on Hope, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. He knew she would fight tooth and nail to get that information, just as he would. But he also knew they were walking a razor's edge, and one wrong move could send them both plummeting into the abyss.

He closed his eyes, willing sleep to come. But even as he began to drift off, the weight of what they were facing lingered in the back of his mind, a constant reminder of the danger that loomed just beyond the horizon.

In the middle of the night, Seth woke to the sound of Hope shifting in her sleep. He opened his eyes to find her trembling beside him, her body curled tightly against his, her breath coming in short, uneven gasps.

Without thinking, he pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her and murmuring soothing words into her hair. Slowly, her breathing steadied, and the shivering subsided. Seth held her until she settled back into a deeper sleep, the tension finally leaving her body.

He stayed awake for a long time after that, holding her close, his mind racing with the gravity of what they were up against. They had five days—maybe less—to stop a catastrophe that could change the world forever. As he finally drifted back to sleep, he knew one thing for certain: the Cobra wouldn't know what hit him.