Page 49 of Code Name: Admiral

She pulled out a bundle of dried white sage and a ceramic bowl. “Do you mind?”

I shook my head, watching as she lit the bundle and moved around the space with practiced grace. The fragrant smoke reminded me of the ceremonies I’d witnessed in various parts of the world—different cultures, different beliefs, but all seeking protection, clarity, and purpose.

I glanced over at the windows and saw Diesel coordinating with his team. The lake where I’d spent so many summers stretched beyond them. This place had always been my sanctuary, but now, it was something more—a fortress protecting the woman who was quickly becoming the center of my world.

“And the hacking?” I asked as she continued setting up. I took another sip from my cup and grimaced.

The look on her face was more smirk than smile. “Not any good?”

I glanced up at her. “I hate cold coffee, which more often than not, is what I’m left with by the time I get around to drinking it.”

She nodded. “Anyway, you asked about hacking.”

“When did that start?”

“I was already good with computers. But after losing my parents, I needed more than just skill. I wanted purpose.”

“That’s when you met Tex?”

“He caught me trying to breach a firewall. A good one too—took me three days to find a way in.” Her expression softened with the memory. “I guess he saw something in me, so instead of having me arrested, he became my Zen master, if you will.”

I moved closer, drawn by the passion in her voice. Military training had taught me to read people—their movements, their tells, their underlying motivations. Everything about Alice spoke of someone driven by a deep sense of justice.

“Tell me more about him.”

“He’s amazing. He saw past the angry teenager trying to prove something and recognized my potential.” She looked up at me. “Besides Sarah, he’s the closest thing I have to family.” Alice shook her head. “Who I’ve never met.”

I watched in awe as she accessed the dating app’s back-end architecture, her fingers dancing across the keyboard with almost musical precision. Lines of code filled the screens, and patterns emerged where I saw only chaos. Her crystals caught the morning light, throwing rainbow refractions across the walls.

“Here,” she said, highlighting a section of text. “As I suspected, Sarah was using the messaging system to document everything.” Her expression changed, and I couldn’t read it.

“Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“This is why she had me set up a profile. My sister, who always said she couldn’t tell the difference between a kilobyte and a gigabyte, used it to back everything up to my system. Man, if she were here right now…”

“What would you do?”

“Tell her she was fucking brilliant and how proud I was of her.”

“What else?”

Her eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head. “I wish the two of you had met.”

“Me too.”

My comms crackled again. “Boss, you need to see this,” Tank said. “Northwest corner.”

I moved to the window, using my field glasses to check the position. A flash of movement in the trees caught my attention—just a deer, but it highlighted how exposed that section was.

“Add another sensor package,” I ordered. “And get Blackjack to adjust the overwatch. I want redundant coverage.”

“Already on it.”

I turned back to find Alice deep in Sarah’s data, multiple windows populating her screens. She was tracking the bureau leaks. The timing, money movement, large amounts moving into offshore accounts, then smaller sums seemingly resurfacing in domestic banks—everything I’d found, she did too.

I thought about my years in the bureau, the cases I’d worked and the people I’d trusted. The cousin I’d failed to save. How many others had been compromised? How deep did the corruption go?

“How about a break?”

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