Page 88 of Rogue Hope
Zara remained perfectly still, eyes downcast in apparent defeat. Her stillness told him she’d succeeded in freeing herself, though she maintained the illusion of captivity. Across the room, Kenji’s eyes met Finn’s for a split second—a silent communication that he was ready to move when the time came.
“You miscalculated,” Finn said, keeping Reynolds’ focus. “You thought she’d never see through your manipulation.”
“And yet, here we are,” Reynolds gestured expansively. “My operation succeeds, while Knight Tactical walks into their destruction. I’d call that effective planning.”
Zara nodded. She was free.
“I call it evil,” Finn said.
He shifted his weight on the bench, preparing for what came next. His heart hammered against his ribs, but his mind was crystal clear. He trusted Zara completely, their unspoken coordination more perfect than any practiced routine.
Finn held the man’s gaze. “There’s one thing you forgot. No. There are probably a lot of things. But one important one.”
Reynolds raised an eyebrow. “And what’s that?”
Finn allowed himself the slightest smile. “Zara Khoury never gives up.”
48
Zara’s pulsehammered in her throat as she broke the last bit of plastic on her restraints. She kept her movements minimal, maintaining the slumped posture of defeat.
Lord, give me strength. Not just for my body, but clarity of purpose. Let me end this.
From across the room, Reynolds—her former mentor, the man she’d trusted with her career, her secrets, her very life—paced with the controlled energy of a predator. Two Vanguard operatives flanked the door while another stood behind Kenji, who sat with his head bowed, blood still trickling from the cut on his temple where they’d struck him during the initial ambush.
“You really should be thanking me, Zara,” Reynolds said, his tone casual as though discussing the weather rather than international espionage and betrayal. “The CIA wasted your talents. Knight Tactical underutilizes you. With me—with Cipher—you could have reshaped global intelligence.”
Zara allowed herself to look up, meeting his gaze directly for the first time since they’d been captured.
“Was it always you?” she asked, her voice deliberately rough with feigned exhaustion. “All those years mentoring me, was it just to position an asset?”
Her eyes flicked briefly to Kenji. The nearly imperceptible tilt of his head told her he’d caught her signal. Good.
She cataloged the positions of each guard, noting distances, weapons, likely reaction times. The guard closest to Finn was distracted, his attention divided between his prisoner and the ongoing conversation.
“Of course. You were genuinely talented—are genuinely talented. A talent wasted at the Agency.” He stepped closer, arms spread in a gesture that was almost paternal. “I saw what you could become with the right guidance.”
Zara shifted subtly, redistributing her weight for maximum leverage when she moved. Her joints screamed in silent protest.
She shoved down the pain. She had to keep him talking. Keep him focused. “And the Sentinel Network? Was that your endgame all along?”
“Not even close. It’s a stepping stone. A powerful and profitable one, certainly. But we have bigger plans.” Reynolds turned toward the sleek silver case sitting on a table. “The network is the beginning of our ability to reshape governments. Reshape the world.” He ran his fingers almost lovingly over the case. “Once you and Novak unlock this.”
As he reached to retrieve the biometric scanner from the case, Zara saw her opportunity—his back partially turned, attention divided, guards momentarily relaxed in the false security of their apparent victory.
She exploded from her spot on the floor.
The movement sent shockwaves of pain through her legs, but adrenaline overrode the discomfort as she launched herself at her mentor. Her shoulder connected with his midsection,driving the air from his lungs in a startled whoosh. The scanner clattered to the floor as they both went down.
Around her, chaos erupted. Kenji drove an elbow into the nearest guard’s solar plexus. The man doubled over, and Kenji’s knee connected with his face, dropping him instantly.
Unfortunately, Reynolds recovered quickly for a middle-aged man, years of field experience evident in his reflexes. His fist caught Zara in the ribs, a precise strike targeting her weakest point with the intimate knowledge of someone who had studied her medical file.
Pain exploded through her torso, white-hot and crippling. She locked her jaw against it, driving the heel of her palm upward toward his chin.
“Get Finn!” she gasped to Kenji, who had already disarmed one guard and was moving toward the restraint controls.
The remaining Vanguard operatives came at them, weapons drawn, faces set in grim determination. One moved to intercept Kenji, while the other targeted Zara, hesitating only because she remained tangled with Reynolds on the floor.
