Kara stared at her. “Come again?”
“Every file,” she said. “Every trace that tied your name to our operations. As far as our systems are concerned, you walk away from this as nothing more than a temporary nuisance. No standing warrants. No active red flags. You’re free from us now.”
“Why?” Kara asked. “You don’t owe me anything.”
“No,” the director said. “But take it as a measure of goodwill and thanks to the Markovs for their assistance in this whole matter.”
Roman stood, closed the distance between him and Kara and hauled her straight into his chest, wrapping her up like he could shield her from every bad thing she’d ever done in ARCHEON’sname. Lev stepped in on her other side, palm finding the back of her neck, grounding her. Dmitri hesitated only a heartbeat before closing the circle, one large hand settling at her waist.
For the first time since I’d met Kara Lennox, she looked… unarmed. Not in the physical sense—she’d probably shank someone with a butter knife if she needed to—but in the way her expression cracked, eyes shining, breath catching like the weight of years had just slid off her shoulders.
Andrei folded his arms. “So Revenant is about to lose their home base. They’ve lost their drones. Their clients. Their leverage. What do you want from us?”
The British woman considered him for a moment. “Nothing,” she said. “For now.”
Viktor snorted. “You people love that phrase.”
“For now,” she repeated evenly, “you all go back to your lives. Your… unusual arrangement.” Her gaze flicked briefly between me and the three Dragunov brothers in a way that made my skin heat and then it settled on Kara and the Markov brothers. “Revenant will be occupied. ARCHEON will quietly stabilize what they broke. And if we require your… unique talents again, we’ll ask. Politely.”
“And if we say no?” I asked.
“Then we find another way,” she said. “But for what it’s worth, Ms. Volkov…” She paused. Her voice softened by a fraction. “You did more good here than you may ever realize.”
I didn’t know what to do with that. Praise from ARCHEON felt wrong. But some hidden, wounded part of me soaked it in anyway.
The director checked her watch. “Our business here is concluded. ARCHEON forces will maintain a discreet perimeter around your estates for the next ninety-six hours. After that, you’re on your own again.”
She turned toward the door. Her men fell in behind her like well-trained shadows.
“Wait,” I blurted out.
She turned and looked at me expectantly.
“I have something for you,” I said. “Data I pulled from Revenant before we escaped. Their internal communications. Their activities. Asset lists. Where their money went. Everything.”
She nodded once and held my gaze, acknowledging the weight of what she’d just acquired. “Send it to us. We can use that. It will help dismantle whatever scraps of infrastructure Revenant will have left after their headquarters are destroyed. With all of that, they willneverrecover. Revenant is as good as dead.”
“Good,” I said. “It’s what they deserve.”
For years, I’d thought taking down men like this would take an army. Turns out, it just took the right leverage and the right bastards to aim it at.
“For what it’s worth, Ms. Volkov,” the director added, “you’ve done ARCHEON and the world a significant service.” She paused, a thoughtful expression on her face. “One last thing,” she said. “When the news breaks about Revenant tomorrow, I suggest you all act surprised. It will be easier for everyone.”
Then she was gone.
The door clicked softly shut behind her.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
Viktor finally broke the silence. “So,” he said, sounding almost cheerful, “we survived Revenant, teamed up with ARCHEON, and get to watch our enemies blow themselves up tomorrow. And we keep the girl.”
“Viktor.” Mikhail sounded exasperated.
“What?” he asked. “Tell me which part of that isn’t great for us.”
Andrei glanced at me, his expression softening. “She’s not an accessory,” he said.
“I know,” Viktor replied. He met my eyes. “She’s the reason we didn’t fall apart through all of this.”
