Chapter 5 - The Man Who Trained MeNathan Rook wasn't the only traitor inside KeystoneThe video ended.
I couldn't move.
Nathan Rook.
My mentor.
My commander.
The man who taught me how to read a room before entering it.
The man who taught me to never trust the first explanation.
The man who had once dragged me out of a burning vehicle after an operation in Prague.
Arthur had just identified him as part of the conspiracy.
Clara looked at me.
"You okay?"
"No."
She sat beside me.
"You don't have to pretend."
"I know."
That was the problem.
I didn't know how to stop.
The flash drive contained forty-three files.
Bank transfers.
Shipment logs.
Encrypted communications.
Passenger manifests.
Names.
Dates.
Locations.
But there was something else.
A folder labeled KEYSTONE INTERNAL.
I opened it.
My own personnel file appeared.
Then another.
Every operation I'd participated in over the past seven years.
Except the files had been altered.
Several missions had been classified as routine.
They weren't.
They had involved people who later disappeared.
"Arthur didn't just expose Harborlight."
I scrolled.
"He found out Keystone was compromised."
Clara nodded.
"Rook recruited people inside."
"How many?"
"Seven."
"Names?"
"I don't know."
I looked at her.
"You're lying."
She flinched.
"You know at least one."
She stared at the screen.
"My handler."
"Who?"
"Marcus Bell."
I froze.
Marcus was a senior operations officer.
A man I'd trusted.
He had saved my life twice.
"What does he do for Rook?"
"He moves information."
"Where?"
"Private channels."
"Using Croft?"
"Sometimes."
A sound came from upstairs.
I drew my weapon.
Clara stood.
"You heard that?"
I nodded.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Someone was inside.
We moved toward the stairs.
The first man appeared.
Marcus Bell.
My gun pointed at his chest.
His weapon was lowered.
"Kalin."
"Don't move."
He stopped.
Clara whispered:
"He's one of them."
Marcus looked at her.
"No."
He looked at me.
"I'm not."
"Arthur named Rook."
"I know."
"You worked for him."
"I infiltrated him."
I almost laughed.
"Everyone has a story tonight."
Marcus took one step forward.
I raised the weapon.
"Stop."
He stopped.
"I can prove it."
"How?"
He pulled a tiny black drive from his pocket.
"Because this contains the kill order."
"For Arthur?"
Marcus shook his head.
"For you."
Silence.
He tossed it onto the floor.
I didn't move.
"Who signed it?"
"Julian."
My jaw tightened.
"That's impossible."
"Read it."
I opened the file.
Digital authorization.
Croft security credentials.
Julian's biometric signature.
The order was titled:
PROJECT WIDOWMAKER
Target:
KALIN VALE
Status:
TERMINATE AFTER EXTRACTION OF KEYSTONE CREDENTIALS
I looked at Marcus.
"What credentials?"
"Your access."
"To what?"
"Harborlight."
I stared at the screen.
"Why would Julian need my credentials if Arthur already had the ledger?"
Marcus lowered his voice.
"Because the ledger is only half the key."
Clara's face changed.
"What is the other half?"
Marcus looked at her.
"You."
She went rigid.
"No."
"Yes."
I looked between them.
"What does that mean?"
Marcus pulled out another file.
Clara's photograph appeared.
Not the smiling consultant I knew.
A much younger woman.
Different name.
Different identity.
ELENA MORROW.
I looked at her.
"Who are you?"
Tears filled her eyes.
"I told you my name."
"No."
I pointed at the screen.
"Your real name."
She closed her eyes.
"Elena."
"How long have you been Clara Bennett?"
"Six years."
"Why?"
"Because Rook gave me that identity after my family disappeared."
I stepped closer.
"What happened to your family?"
She looked at me.
"They were Harborlight witnesses."
The room went silent.
"They were supposed to be moved."
She swallowed.
"They never arrived."
I understood.
She hadn't become Julian's mistress because she loved him.
She had become his mistress because he was connected to the people who destroyed her family.
"You've been investigating him."
"Yes."
"Then why help him kill me?"
She looked at my chest.
"I was told your death was necessary to access the ledger."
"But you didn't want me dead."
"No."
"You were supposed to finish me."
"I couldn't."
"Yet you sealed my wound."
Her voice broke.
"I was trying to make it look like medical treatment."
I stared at her.
"You nearly killed me."
"I know."
That honesty stopped me.
Marcus checked his watch.
"We need to move."
"Why?"
"Because Rook knows I gave you the drive."
A phone rang.
Not mine.
Clara's.
She looked at the screen.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A man's voice said:
"Kalin, you have something that belongs to me."
"Rook."
"You always were clever."
"You tried to kill me."
"No."
His tone was calm.
"I tried to force you to reveal yourself."
"For what?"
"Because Harborlight requires a Keystone operator."
"Why?"
"To open the final archive."
My eyes narrowed.
"What archive?"
He laughed quietly.
"The one Arthur never told you about."
The call ended.
Marcus turned toward the window.
"We're surrounded."
Lights appeared outside.
Vehicles.
At least six.
I looked at Clara.
"How long?"
Marcus checked his weapon.
"Three minutes."
I picked up the drive.
"Then we have two minutes to find the final archive."
Marcus stared at me.
"No."
I looked at him.
"We don't run."
"Why?"
I smiled.
May you like
Because I finally understood the game.
"Because tonight, we're hunting the hunters."
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