Page 45 of The Player

“All kinds of things,” said Wyatt. “I’ll fill you in later.”

Nigel nodded. “I talked to Sawyer, and I’ve been going through the information Irene shared with us. It’s not much, but I think we’ve got something."

Hope straightened, all traces of her previous vulnerability vanishing as she shifted into professional mode. Seth found that sexy, as well.

"What is it?" she asked.

Nigel gestured for them to follow him, leading them down the hallway to the central operations room. The atmosphere inside was tense, the room filled with the low hum of conversations and the rapid clicking of keyboards. Irene, the American journalist they had rescued, was seated at one of the consoles, her eyes focused on the data scrolling across the screen.

"We’ve managed to retrieve the information Valente was trying to keep hidden," Nigel explained as they approached. "Irene’s been a huge help in decrypting the files. What we’ve found is… alarming."

Seth and Hope exchanged a glance, the tension between them now redirected toward the mission at hand. "How bad is it?" Seth asked, his voice grim.

"Bad," Irene replied, her fingers flying over the keyboard as she pulled up a series of maps and diagrams on the monitor. "The Obsidian Cartel is planning a coordinated attack using Sarin gas.”

“That jibes with what we already know,” said Hope, looking over Irene’s shoulder.

“They’re targeting the water supplies in several cities: San Francisco, Boston, Washington DC, and New York City,” said Irene. “The plan is to introduce the gas into the public water systems, which could result in mass casualties."

“I thought Sarin was a gas,” said Wyatt, who’d followed the others.

“It is,” explained Irene. “Sarin is a water-soluble chemical warfare agent. That means that Sarin can contaminate public water supplies, and people can be exposed to it by drinking or touching contaminated water.”

Seth felt a cold knot of dread settle in his stomach as he took in the scope of the threat. "Do we know when this is supposed to happen?"

Irene nodded; her expression grim. "Three days from now. They’ve synchronized the attacks to happen simultaneously. We don’t have much time."

Hope’s eyes were fixed on the screen, her mind already working through the implications. "Do we have any leads on where the Cobra is? Where this is all being coordinated from?"

"We’ve traced communications from Valente’s network to a location in the French Alps," Nigel said, pulling up another screen with satellite imagery. "It’s remote, heavily guarded, but if we can get in there, we might be able to take down the Cobra and stop the attack."

Hope’s voice was steady, but Seth could see the fire in her eyes. She was ready, focused, and determined to see this through. "Three days isn’t much time. We need to move fast."

"We’ve already started mobilizing teams," Nigel continued. "But we’ll need Seth to lead the assault…”

“No way,” said Hope. “I’m not getting left behind…”

“Your experience,” started Seth.

“May not be as recent as yours, but I was a field operative long before they brought me in. Keep in mind, I’m the one who brought Cerberus in.”

Nigel looked at Seth, who finally nodded. Sighing, Nigel said. “You two will lead the assault. This is your op, and no one knows better than the two of you what’s at stake."

Seth nodded, his resolve hardening as he looked at the satellite images. They were up against the clock, but they had a chance to stop this—to save countless lives. And there was no way he was going to let the cartel win.

He turned to Hope. “I don’t suppose you’d consider sitting this one out and staying here in London where it’s safe.”

“I don’t know, do you ever plan to use those balls of yours for something other than doing something stupid?”

“Point taken,” said Seth with a grin. “We’re in. We’ll stop the Cobra, and we’ll put a serious dent in the Obsidian Cartel."

Hope was already moving, her mind focused on the mission ahead. "We need to gather as much intel as possible before we go in. If we can stop the Sarin from getting to the States, that would be best, but if not, we’ll need to identify the specific targets in each city in order to secure them and neutralize the attacks.”

Seth nodded. “Stopping the Sarin before it gets off the ground is the safest bet."

Fitz agreed, already issuing orders to the team. "I’ll get everything ready. We leave in two hours."

As the room buzzed with activity, Seth reached out and took Hope’s hand, squeezing it gently. "We’re going to get through this," he said quietly, his voice filled with conviction. "Together."

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