Page 94 of Tag
My stomach tightened. “You think they kept tabs on you after that?”
“I think Chimera keeps tabs on anyone who’s ever gotten too close.” He met my gaze, steady. “But I never worked for them. And if they’ve got a file on me, it’s because they wanted me gone, not because I was one of them.”
I studied his face — the same face that had protected me more times than I could count. I believed him. I wanted to believe him.
Still… Tessa’s smirk wouldn’t leave my head.
“She wanted me to doubt you,” I said quietly.
Faron nodded. “Then don’t give her what she wants. We take her apart piece by piece, and if Chimera still thinks it has a game to play… we finish it for good.”
From inside, Tag’s voice called out. “Aponi? You need to see this!”
I exchanged a look with Faron. Whatever was coming next, it wasn’t over.
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Ifollowed Faron inside, the tension in Tag’s voice already telling me this wasn’t good.
He was in the ops room with Kaylie, both of them leaning over the glowing screens. A half-dozen files were open, lines of code scrolling as Kaylie’s fingers flew over the keys.
“What is it?” I asked.
Tag looked up, his eyes sharp. “Kaylie pulled the metadata off one of Tessa’s encrypted drives. It’s a list of shipment manifests, hidden under fake relief agency paperwork.”
Kaylie tapped a folder on the screen. “Every file has the same final destination. Remote coordinates in northern Arizona — no listed facility, but the sat images tell a different story.”
The map zoomed in, and my chest tightened.
A sprawling structure in the middle of nowhere. Fenced. Guard towers. And a helipad.
Gideon’s voice came from behind us. “Looks like The Nest had a bigger sister.”
Kaylie nodded grimly. “If I’m reading this right, this site isn’t just storage — it’s where they cycle their recruits before selling them off. And it’s active. There’s movement.”
“How much movement?” Faron asked.
“Enough to fill two transport planes,” Kaylie said. “If we wait, those kids disappear.”
The room went still.
I didn’t have to look at Tag to know what he was thinking — it was the same thing pounding in my chest.
No more running. No more bait-and-wait games.
“We end it,” I said.
Faron’s jaw set. “Golden Team moves in tonight.”
Tag stepped closer to me, his voice low but certain. “You’re not walking into this one alone, Aponi. We all go in, and we all come out.”
I met his gaze and felt the steel in my own. “Then let’s shut this thing down for good.”
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