The cold weight of betrayal settled deep in Maya's chest as she stared at the empty alley where Jax had vanished. Rain soaked her hair, dripped down her face, mixing with the sting of frustration and exhaustion. How had everything unraveled so fast?
She pressed her back against the damp brick wall, pulling her comm closer. Static hissed through the earpiece before Callen's voice broke through, low and urgent.
"We lost him, Maya. And without the Protocol, we're blind."
She clenched her jaw. "He knew something. He was part of this… or at least connected."
Callen sighed, tension thick in his words. "Trust is a luxury we don't have."
Maya glanced toward the city's shadowed skyline, the lights blinking like distant stars, mocking her. Every ally could be an enemy now, every secret a trap.
The door behind her creaked open.
"Looking for me?"
Maya spun. There stood Leena.
The woman who had burned their trust, who had destroyed their chance at control.
But her eyes held something unexpected—regret.
"What do you want?" Maya demanded, keeping her pistol trained.
Leena raised her hands slowly, eyes pleading. "I know where the Protocol is. But I can't tell you if you don't let me prove I'm on your side."
Maya hesitated, the storm inside her raging.
Could she risk trusting the one who had already betrayed them?
Outside, thunder rolled, echoing the turmoil that lay ahead.
Because in this game, loyalties were as fractured as the lives at stake.
And the next move could cost them everything.