Page 26 of Rogue Hope
The lupus remained her secret—one she intended to keep until this operation concluded. The team needed her focused, capable, not distracted by concerns about her health. Finn especially didn’t need any additional information that might be interpreted as vulnerability.
“Ready to get back to constructing the tracer?” Finn asked, his voice neutral but not unkind. “Timer’s running.”
She straightened her shoulders, pushing away physical discomfort through sheer force of will. “On it.”
The screens brightened, code sequences resumed, and they settled back into their uneasy partnership—two expert operators with shared history and divergent agendas, united only by the common enemy hunting them both.
15
Finn watchedZara work her keyboard with the touch of a concert pianist. Despite their mutual wariness, he couldn’t help but admire her technical proficiency.
“Your southern quadrant has a gap,” he pointed out, careful to keep his tone neutral.
She didn’t look up. “It’s intentional. A vulnerability that looks accidental.”
“Smart.”
“Elementary tradecraft,” she replied, though the slight upturn at the corner of her mouth betrayed satisfaction.
“Coffee?” he offered, rising from his station.
She glanced up briefly. “Black. Two sugars.”
“Your team’s good,” he said, returning a few minutes later with two steaming mugs.
“They’re the best.” The fierce loyalty in her voice was unmistakable. “And they’re not just my team. They’re family.”
Which he wasn’t. The implication struck harder than he’d like to admit.
A sharp electronic tone sounded, originating from Zara’s workstation. Both froze as a communication window automatically opened.
“That’s impossible,” Zara whispered, fingers already moving to trace the intrusion. “This system is hardened. Air-gapped.”
Words began appearing line by line.
The deadline approaches.I trust Knight Tactical is providing adequate resources for our collaboration.
Mr. Novak’s presence is an unexpected but not unwelcome development.
“They’re inside our system,” Zara said, voice tight with controlled alarm.
Don’t waste energy on trace attempts. This is merely a demonstration of capabilities.
She read the messages aloud.
Ronan’s response was immediate. “Physical breach?”
“Digital only so far. But they’ve penetrated the secure system.”
“On our way.”
Zara breathed, executing emergency procedures. “There’s no intrusion pathway. No breach point.”
“Has to be hardware,” Finn concluded grimly. “Something physically present.”
Her head snapped up. “The new coffee machine. Delivered three days ago.”
Ronan, Axel and Deke blasted out of the room, Finn on their heels.
