Page 20 of Victorious: Part 3
Clover looks around the room for the first time, taking in the faces and the tension. “What did we miss?”
“Chase was Atlas’ cellmate,” I explain. “He’s got intel on what Atlas wasreallyup to.”
Phoenix clears his throat, his arm automatically sliding around Clover’s waist, pulling her to him, and away from me in a gesture so natural it’s clear this isn’t new for them. The protective movement doesn’t escape my notice, but instead of making me angry, it actually reassures me.
Whatever else I might think about this marriage, Phoenix’s instinct to shield her is genuine.
Everyone turns to look at him, and Clover settles against his side like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
“I learned some shit from the Cartel soldier I interrogated in Vegas too. Interestingly enough, it’s also about Atlas,” Phoenix states matter-of-factly.
“What soldier?” Alpha asks.
Phoenix steps deeper into the room, his hand never leaving Clover’s waist. “When Clover was taken, I captured one of Javier’s men. Sin and I used their own truth serum on him, and we got the fucker talking.”
“And?” I prompt.
“Atlas wasn’t just a recruiter,” Phoenix says grimly. “He was the starting point for something much bigger. The soldier told me Atlas was responsible for introducing drugs into the women’s prisons, specifically to the adult birds who were already trained assassins… but that was just the beginning. Therealoperation was happening underneath the prison. They were taking women, vulnerable women that Atlas had identified and targeted, and the Cartel is forcing them into breeding programs.”
The room goes dead silent.
“Breeding programs?” Montana repeats, his voice cracking a little with the thought.
Phoenix cranes his neck to the side, seeming uncomfortable. “The soldier told us that Government officials, CEOs, and powerful men have beenpaying for the privilege.Femaleinmates are impregnated by these men beneath the prison, then once they give birth, the female babies are taken to be trained as the next generation of assassins. The male babies…” he pauses, swallowing hard. “They’re disposed of. I’m not sure exactly how, but I have a couple of guesses.”
Haven’s face goes pale. “Oh my God. So, when Atlas was targeting women on the outside…” Haven says slowly, piecing it together out loud, “… he was blackmailing them, to force them into prison. Once inside, they were either recruited to work the drug trade and trained to become birds, or, if they didn’t make the cut, they were used.”
Her voice turns sharp. “The trained birds would lace them with his drugs and push them into Javier’s breeding program. And those women, they didn’t even realize they were breeding future assassins. They were too doped up to know or care what was happening to their newborns.”
Phoenix exhales. “Exactly. And the prison system has been completely compromised to support it. Guards, administrators, medical staff… all bought and paid for.”
“Atlas wasn’t just a random fuck-up who got in over his head,” Chase adds grimly. “He was a tool. A kamikaze piece in a much larger game.”
The full scope of what we’re facing hits the room like a physical blow. This isn’t just about Cartel drugs or territorial disputes. This is about building a private army of genetically selected, professionally trained killers, funded by the elite, and protected by corrupted government systems.
“Jesus-fucking-Christ,” I breathe out. “This is bigger than anything we imagined.”
“It’s a complete takeover,” Alpha says, his voice hollow. “Government, prisons, law enforcement. All of it is compromised to serve the Cartel’s agenda. So Javier has complete control over everything and a team of elite assassins totake out anyone who opposes him.”
“And we walked right into it,” Montana adds, his hands clenching into tight fists on the table. “Every move we made, every decision we thought was ours, it was all part of their fucking plan.”
“What do you mean?” Clover asks.
Montana lets out a mocking laugh. “Everything Atlas did, kidnapping Rhyan, causing the shit that led to the club going after Javier’s Uncle Rico, it was orchestrated. Javier knewexactlyhow Alpha would respond. Actually, hecounted on it.”
Montana goes completely still, his mind racing back through events, viewing them in a new light.
“The conversations I had with Atlas,” Montana says slowly, his voice barely above a whisper. “Before our truck run to blow up Rico and his Cartel, Atlas said, “through to the end” when I told him to see it through.”
Alpha nods grimly. “Atlas wasn’t talking about making it up toyou. He was talking about the endgame.Javier’s endgame.”
My eyes widen as I begin to follow what they’re saying, but Montana continues his frantic ranting. “And when Atlas stalled the truck on the way to killing Rico for us,” Montana continues, his breathing getting faster. “We thought he was nervous because he was an idiot. But he was nervous because he knew he was about to die for the fucking cause.”
I watch my brother work through the implications, seeing the pieces fall into place.
“‘Checkmate, Montana. Checkmate,’” Montana quotes Atlas again from just before we blew Atlas up in the truck, his voice getting stronger. “Atlas wasn’t laughing because he was going to die. He was laughing because he knew it was only the beginning. The fuckerknewJavier would come for us after Rico was dead. Atlas knew we didexactlywhat Javier wanted.We fucking took out Rico for Javier!”
The room falls silent as the full scope of how thoroughly we’ve been played settles over everyone. It’s not just that we were outmaneuvered, we were components in a machine we didn’t even know existed.
