Page 94 of Playing with Fire

"That's suicide," Leo protested, gripping my arm. "You can't seriously be considering this."

I covered his hand with mine, my mind already racing through possibilities, angles, strategies. "Why should I trust that you'll release Algerone if I comply? What guarantee do I have that this isn't just an elaborate setup to eliminate both of us?"

Felix seemed to consider this, head tilting slightly. "A fair question. As a show of good faith, I'll allow you to bring one person to the exchange point. Someone to take custody of Algerone once our business is concluded. But they remain outside until I give the signal. Any attempt at heroics, any deviation from my instructions, and I promise you, Xavier, your father's suffering will be legendary."

"Me!" Maxime's voice cut through the room, brooking no argument. He'd stopped struggling against Xion's grip, his rage now crystallized into cold determination. "You're taking me to that meeting, Xavier."

"Max—" Xander started, but Maxime silenced them with a look.

"This is not a debate." His tone had returned to its usual precision, but with an undercurrent of steel I'd rarely heard before. "I'm going, and anyone who tries to stop me had better have their fucking affairs in order."

The room fell silent after Maxime's declaration, his words hanging in the air like gunpowder waiting for a spark. I kept my expression carefully blank. Felix Burns had just changed the entire game. Algerone was alive. Captured. Being used as leverage against me.

"I need time to consider your offer," I told Felix.

Felix's smile was cold, utterly devoid of genuine amusement. "You have one hour. I'll send coordinates then."

The screen went black, the connection severed from Felix's end. The abrupt termination left me staring at my own reflection in the dark screen, face tight with barely controlled rage.

"Fuck," Xander breathed into the silence. "This is bad. Really fucking bad."

"It's an obvious trap," Xion added, finally releasing Maxime's arm now that the immediate threat of the older man attacking the screen had passed. "He has no intention of letting either of you walk away."

Maxime straightened his rumpled shirt. "I don't care. If there's even the slightest chance of extracting Algerone, I'm taking it."

Leo moved to stand beside me, his concern radiating in waves I could practically touch. He'd remained silent during the exchange with Felix, but I could read the fear in the tension of his shoulders, the way his fingers gripped the edge of the conference table.

"Leo," I said, turning to him. "Contact War. I need a medical assessment of Algerone's condition based on what we just saw. Every detail, every visible injury, medication, equipment. Then pull together whatever surveillance we have of the compound from last night. I want to know exactly what happened after we left."

The relief in his eyes at being given a concrete task was immediate. "On it."

"Xion, contact Reid. Tell him to assemble his team for extraction planning. Xander, coordinate with security. I want full perimeter scans, satellite coverage of any location Phoenix might choose for this meeting."

The room erupted into organized chaos as everyone moved to fulfill their assignments. Only Maxime remained still, watching me with an expression that mingled suspicion, hope, and raw desperation.

"You're actually considering this?" he asked, voice quiet enough that only those of us closest could hear.

I met his gaze. "I'm considering all options."

"If you attempt to cut me out of this—"

"I won't," I interrupted, my tone leaving no room for debate. "But make no mistake, Maxime. If we do this, we do it my way. Which means you follow my lead, without question. Is that clear?"

Something complex passed between us, an unspoken negotiation laden with shared history and mutual distrust. Finally, he nodded once, a sharp, precise movement. "Understood. Your lead."

Leo's fingers brushed against mine, the slight contact drawing my attention. "I need to talk to you, X. Alone.”

Xavier'seyesmetmineacross the conference room, sharp and calculating despite the chaos erupting around us. He nodded once, a terse acknowledgment that carried the weight of everything unsaid between us. While Maxime, Xander, and Xion argued strategies and contingencies, Xavier took my elbow and guided me through the door into the empty corridor beyond.

My heart hammered against my ribs, adrenaline from Phoenix's call still surging through my system. Algerone was alive. Captured. Being used as bait for Xavier. The implications crashed over me in waves, each realization more terrifying than the last.

"You're not going," I said the moment the door closed behind us, cutting straight to the point. No preamble, no hesitation. Just the raw fear that had been clawing at my throat since the moment Felix's face appeared on that screen.

Xavier's expression hardened, jaw tightening in that way I'd come to recognize as a prelude to absolute refusal. "Leo…"

"No." I stepped closer, invading his space the way he so often did mine. "This is what Phoenix wants. You, alone, walking into a trap. This isn't a meeting; it's an execution."

"You think I don't know that? This is what I do, Leo. I hunt. I eliminate threats."

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