His words were comforting, but the threat loomed large in Clara’s mind. She couldn’t shake off the feeling of being watched, her eyes scanning the faces in the restaurant, wondering if any of them were more than they seemed.
“Just promise me you’ll be careful. Don’t back down until you’ve caught whoever is behind this. Do it for me, and for your mother,” her father urged, his voice firm.
Clara nodded, a renewed sense of purpose coursing through her. “I promise, Dad. I’ll be careful. And I won’t stop until this is over.”
As they left the restaurant, Clara felt a mix of rage and determination. The stakes were higher now—her father’s life hanging precariously in the balance, and she knew that the path ahead would be fraught with danger. But her father’s trust in her, and the memory of her mother fueled her resolve. If whoever had sent the note thought that they could frighten orintimidate her they had another think coming. The only thing they had accomplished was to make her even more determined to finish the job she had begun. She would uncover the mole, bring Ortega to justice, and dismantle CN-6 even if it was the last thing she did on this earth.
Chapter Seven
Seb
In the dimlight of early evening, Seb, Clara, Logan, and Carter were huddled in a van parked discreetly in a covert location across the street from one of Ortega’s premises. The van’s interior was a makeshift command center, cluttered with monitors and surveillance equipment. Outside, the city hummed quietly, oblivious to the high-stakes operation that was unfolding within.
Seb, seated in front of a bank of screens, adjusted the dials, fine-tuning the images from various surveillance cameras they had set up. The operation to flush out the mole had been meticulously planned, and now it all came down to execution. Beside him, Clara was cross-referencing information on her laptop, her face illuminated by the screen’s glow. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, a subtle display of the emotions that had to be swirling inside her.
Carter leaned back in his chair, eying the monitors. “Everything’s set up on our end, and Max just confirmed that Team Two is in position and ready to rock at the other location.” His voice was calm, but an undercurrent of tension ran through it.
Seb checked his watch for the umpteenth time, each glance fueling his growing anticipation. This operation wasn’t just crucial for their mission—it was deeply personal. Not only for Clara and Seb and the chance of a happy future together, but for her father’s safety too. Clara had already lost one parent. Seb wasn’t going to let her lose another one, not if he had anything to do with it.
Logan looked up from his task of checking the communication lines.
“We’re all set,” he said. “If anything goes down at either location, we’ll know instantly who our guy is.”
Clara glanced up from her laptop, her expression serious. “I hate the idea that someone we thought we could trust is feeding information to a scumbag criminal like Ortega.”
Seb looked at Clara, admiration mixing with concern. Her eyes burned with a fierce intensity. Her resilience in the face of danger was remarkable. “We’ve got this. We’ll catch the mole, and we’ll keep your dad safe. That’s a promise.”
Seb only hoped it was a promise he was able to keep.
The van was filled with the soft hum of electronics and the occasional whispered conversation. Each team member was acutely aware of what was at stake.
Seb’s thoughts turned to the plan. They had told both Miller and Lopez that CN-6 was to carry out a raid on one of Ortega’s properties imminently, but each man had been given a different location. If Ortega’s men showed up at either site, it would reveal which CIA officer was the mole.
Carter broke the silence. “You think they’ll take the bait?”
“Let’s hope so,” Seb replied. “Because if he has information about a raid, I’m pretty sure that Ortega will act on it, just like he did at the warehouse.”
“Ifhe has anything at the location worth taking,” Clara added thoughtfully.
The team remained vigilant, watching the screens for any sign of movement, any indication that their plan had worked. The night air outside grew colder, but inside the van, the warmth of their shared purpose kept the chill at bay.
All too soon, hours had ticked by—each minute seeming to have stretched out endlessly. Seb’s eyes seldom strayed from the monitors, and he maintained a constant communication with the other team.
“Anything happening on your end?” he asked periodically.
“Quiet as a graveyard here,” came Max’s voice from the other location. “You guys seeing anything?”
“Nothing yet,” Seb responded, his gaze fixed on the screens showing live feeds of the empty street outside the building. If he was being honest, he was beginning to lose hope that their plan had worked.
Beside him, Clara shifted in her seat, the tension evident in her posture. Logan and Carter exchanged glances, the strain of the waiting game evident on their faces. But they were all used to this, having been on countless surveillance stakeouts during their time in the CIA.
Seb checked his watch again, then, without warning, the stillness of the night was shattered. Headlights pierced the darkness as a vehicle approached their location, the one tied to the information they had fed to Lopez. Seb’s heart leaped into his throat.
“Heads up, we’ve got something,” he announced, his voice tense with anticipation.
The four of them leaned closer to the monitors to watch, collectively holding their breath. The vehicle—a nondescript black sedan, pulled up near the building. Two men emerged. Their movements were quick, and they kept looking over their shoulders with hasty, worried glances as they hurried into the building.
“I know them,” Clara hissed. “They work for Ortega.”
