Chapter 23: Chapter 23

Elnora’s eyes locked onto Octavia, who was deep in conversation with two agents by the control room door. The image of Mason on the big screen drew her attention, and despite the fuzziness of the picture, his bright green eyes still stirred something electric within her. A smile tugged at her lips as she took in his familiar features. How was it possible that they hadn’t yet found themselves tangled in sheets during those long, tense nights under the same roof? When she finally saw him again, she intended to take exactly what she felt was owed.

But right now, she had more pressing concerns. Octavia and her agents were still huddled in whispered conversation, as if Elnora wasn’t sitting right there, fully aware of their scrutiny. Her patience wore thin, and she leaned back in her chair, letting out a heavy sigh.

“What are you girls still whispering about?” Elnora finally asked, slouching back in her chair.

Octavia shot her a glare but didn’t immediately respond, turning back to her agents. Elnora’s gaze swept the room again, taking in the array of surveillance equipment, the cameras tracking every move. She needed to get out of here. Marcy’s involvement in the ongoing hack was driving her crazy, but there was something more—something or someone was connecting all of this back to Enrico, and by extension, to Mason. It was a tangled mess, and she couldn’t figure out from inside this sterile, suffocating bunker.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Octavia’s voice. “Alright, here’s the deal,” Octavia began, her tone businesslike. “While you’ve proven the hacks didn’t originate from you, both you and your partner are now liable for your firm’s involvement in all this.”

Elnora leaned forward slightly, barely containing a laugh at Octavia’s attempt to manoeuvrer her. She would play along, buy herself some time for the calvary to get here, and see where Octavia was trying to steer this.

“So, what’s the deal?” Elnora asked.

“If you tell me who he is,” Octavia said, gesturing to the grainy image of Mason on the screen, “I can shorten the time you’ll have to serve. Down to three years.”

Elnora stood, crossing the room with deliberate steps until she was right in front of Octavia. She could see the tension in Octavia’s posture, the way her shoulders squared like she was bracing for a fight.

“Gosh, after all that yapping, that’s all you could come up with?” Elnora chuckled.

She could see the frustration flicker across Octavia’s face, and it brought her a small, satisfying thrill.

“Please don’t make this harder than it has to be,” Octavia snapped impatiently. “I’m trying to help you here. Just give me his name and his rank in the Castelli family. I have to debrief my superiors on this situation, and I need something solid to report.”

“They call him ‘boss’ or ‘M.’ I don’t know his real name or his rank because he never told me. When I asked, he made it clear I wasn’t to pry into his business.” Elnora folded her arms across her chest.

“That’s a bunch of crap!” one of the agents barked, his grey eyes narrowing. “Not even a whisper of a name the whole time you were with him?”

“If one of his own soldiers couldn’t give you a name, what makes you think I can?” Elnora shot back, fixing her gaze on the clean-shaven agent. “He’s stayed a ghost this long because he knows how to keep it that way, and no woman’s going to change that.”

Octavia’s grunt filled the room. “Would you please just do your voodoo and find out who he is?”

“I could,” Elnora said with a nonchalant shrug.

Octavia tilted her head toward a chair and gestured impatiently. “Then get to work.”

“Don’t be silly. That kind of search requires a database and a program you don’t have.” Elnora leaned casually against the nearest table. “And in case you’ve forgotten, I don’t work for you. If I’m going to do this, I get to walk out of this crypt when I’m done.”

The sneer on Octavia’s face told Elnora all she needed to know—there was no walking out of here on her terms. “If I can’t deliver him or Enrico, I’ll hand Icarus over to my superiors. The choice is yours.”

Elnora knew Octavia was baiting her, trying to get her to slip up and reveal something about Enrico. But there was no way she would, and no way anyone could find him. She had done a damn good job scrubbing the De Lauro family from existence. She’d used a progressive AI algorithm to hide him in plain sight, manipulating the National Security satellite data to erase any trace of his presence.

The AI wasn’t just a simple program—it analysed satellite imagery to identify patterns, then altered those patterns to blend Enrico’s presence seamlessly into the environment. It continuously updated the data, ensuring that any new images captured by NSA satellites were similarly modified. It was a digital cloak that made Enrico invisible to anyone who didn’t know exactly where to look.

It was exactly why she was having trouble finding him herself.

“You don’t have tangible proof of anything, Octavia,” she said, cutting her off with a raised finger as she tried to interject. “All you have is the word of a third-rate, despicable hacker.” She paused, letting her words sink in. “I could play your game too, you know. You’ve kept me locked up in this bunker for over eight hours without cause. Do you even realize how many of my rights you’ve crapped on? I’m the last person you should try to threaten. Think about the repercussions—the files I could leak, the chaos I could unleash, the missiles I could deploy.”

Octavia’s expression hardened, but she could see the flicker of uncertainty in her eyes. “Don’t bluff me,” Octavia shot back. “You know me, El. You signed a confidentiality agreement—”

“That agreement has a clause your entire team of ignoramuses missed. A gag order would’ve been smarter, but here we are.” Elnora echoed her tone. “I don’t intend to stay here a moment longer than necessary. You’ve got nothing on me, and you foolishly gave me access to your system. You think you caught everything I did while you were standing over my shoulder? Imagine what your superiors would say if they knew you handed me top-level clearance to national security databases. Me—a person you suspect is Icarus.”

The room fell into a tense silence as Octavia stared at her. If Octavia hadn’t yet realized that she was only still here because she allowed it, then she was even less perceptive than Elnora had given her credit for.

“You’re wasting time,” Elnora continued. “There’s a good chance the one person who can lead you to Enrico is slipping through your fingers while you’re busy playing games with me. We have no business here, and frankly, you’re starting to piss me off.”

Octavia’s eyes flickered with concern, maybe, or the remnants of their past fling. “We do share a common enemy,” she finally said, her voice softer, almost coaxing. “Why don’t we work together? Get me your M friend there, and we’ll go from there. You said you’re capable of finding out who he really is.”

Elnora bit her lip, resisting the urge to snap back. Why was Octavia so hell-bent on pushing her buttons? She took a slow breath, her gaze drifting to the screen displaying Mason’s image. His piercing green eyes soothing her from the pixels.

“Unless you’re not as good as everyone thinks you are—which would make you a fraud,” one of the agents chimed in with condescension.

Elnora turned her head slowly, fixing the agent with a withering stare. “It’s hilarious that you think your tiny brain is capable of manipulating me into doing your job for you,” she said with a smirk. “All muscle and no brain.”

The agent’s face darkened with anger, his brows knitting together as he took a menacing step toward her. But before he could get any closer, Octavia’s sharp voice stopped him.

“Stand down, Anderson,” she ordered, her gaze slicing through the air like a knife.

Anderson stopped in his tracks, his eyes still locked on Elnora’s with simmering fury. Elnora blew him a mocking kiss, the smirk never leaving her face, savouring the moment of power she had over him.

“At the very least, think of this as your civic duty,” Octavia said. “Or maybe as an opportunity to prove you’re the best hacker out there, El. Like Enrico, this man is a ghost. It’s possible they’re the same person. He could’ve had plastic surgery, changed his appearance entirely.”

Elnora’s gaze flicked back to Mason’s picture on the screen, her heart skipping a beat. That wasn’t Enrico, not even if he’d gone under the knife a hundred times. She knew Enrico, had once been close enough to sense his presence in a room, to feel the familiar electricity when they kissed. Mason was different. The fact that he didn’t exist in any database made him all the more intriguing, a puzzle she was desperate to solve. But to do that, she needed her program, and for that, she needed to get to her cave.

But she couldn’t go there now. Not with Octavia breathing down her neck and those searching for Enrico likely aware of her every move. Whoever was hunting him might already be a step ahead, planning to use her to lead them straight to what they wanted.

“What do you say?” Octavia asked.

Elnora tore her gaze from the screen, fixing Octavia with a hard look. “Get me out of here. I can’t stand being underground; it feels like I’m buried alive,” she said. “I’ve done my civic duty, and for next to nothing, I might add. I don’t do charity work any more.”

Octavia’s patience snapped, her face contorting with fury. “Stop being so damn unreasonable!” she spat in a low growl. “We’re both capable of despicable things, Elnora. Keep pushing me, and I just might rip out that sharp tongue of yours.”

Elnora’s smirk widened as she leaned back, casually scanning the control room. “You might be capable of despicable things, Octavia, but I’m capable of far worse,” she replied coolly. “If you really wanted to get out of this bunker alive, you should probably have already left. By the way, I never knew there was a secret government nuclear bunker in Berkton.”

Octavia’s eyes narrowed into slits, suspicion tightening the lines of her face. “What did you do?” she asked.

Elnora snorted, shrugging as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Who said I did anything? What did you expect would happen when you gave me access to a computer?”

“Radio the tower and order an immediate evacuation,” Octavia barked into her walkie-talkie. “I cannot believe you, Elnora. Who did you send the coordinates to? Your mafia lover?”

She tucked her hands into the pockets of Mason’s jacket, feeling the warmth of his lingering scent. She watched Octavia with amusement and resignation. What did Octavia really expect from her? The woman had always underestimated just how far Elnora would go to protect herself—or to outmanoeuvre someone like her.

Octavia’s grip tightened painfully on her arm as she yanked her out of the chair. “Lima three, Lima three, this is Coyote, prepare to clear out,” Octavia ordered into the radio. “I cannot believe you.”

Really?

Elnora winced at the pressure on her arm but smiled through the pain. She knew how to play this game; she’d learned from the best.

“Commander, there’s incoming hostile from the south, standing by to receive further instructions. Over.” The voice crackled through the radio.

Octavia’s eyes met Elnora’s, a silent accusation burning in them. With a sharp gesture, she called over the two agents who had escorted Elnora earlier. “We don’t have the manpower to hold anyone off here. Get to the rest and evacuate right now,” she said. The agents nodded and left, but Anderson lingered, his gaze sliding over Elnora before he turned and hurried away.

She rolled her eyes at him. ~Weirdo.~

“Lima, do not engage. Use the machine guns to provide cover. Fall back to base and destroy all the drives now!” Octavia’s voice was clipped as she dragged Elnora toward a private loading dock, where a sleek, human-sized vacuum tube awaited. The metallic clanging of approaching footsteps made them both snap around.

“Anderson, what are you doing here?” Octavia snapped as the agent approached them, his expression unreadable. “Fall back to base and evacuate. Elnora comes with me.”

Anderson’s gaze flicked between Octavia and Elnora before a slow, unsettling smile spread across his face. Without a word, he drew a pistol from behind his back, the cold metal gleaming under the harsh lights. Elnora felt Octavia’s grip loosen slightly and she gasped.

“What the hell are you doing?” Octavia barked.

Anderson levelled the gun at them, his smile widening. “Please cinch yourself tightly to the railing, commander. If you try to be a hero, I will shoot you. I don’t need you alive.”

The unsettling calmness in Anderson’s voice sent a shiver down Elnora’s spine. She glanced between Octavia and her rogue agent, confusion and fear tightening her chest. Was he working with the mafia, or did he have his own sinister agenda? Octavia’s eyes blazed with fury as she obeyed Anderson’s command, reluctantly moving to the other side of the room.

“And you—” Anderson began, his gaze shifting back to Elnora.

“Does this have anything to do with my comment from earlier?” Elnora asked, forcing an uneasy laugh, trying to mask her rising panic.

“Get away from her!” Octavia spat, her voice trembling with barely restrained rage.

“Can it, commander!” Anderson shot right back.

Anderson stepped forward, grabbing Elnora’s arm with a vice-like grip. The cold barrel of his gun pressed into her side as he dragged her roughly toward a waiting Jeep. Elnora struggled against him, but his strength overpowered her, and she winced as he cuffed her hand to the door, the metal biting into her wrist.

“You move, and I take my knife to your pretty face,” he growled, his breath hot against her ear.

She glared at him, her defiance masking the fear gnawing at her insides. ~Would still be better than your face~, she thought bitterly, but kept the retort to herself.

Anderson walked around the front of the Jeep, sliding into the driver’s seat with a satisfied smirk. He revved the engine, glancing back at Octavia.

“You won’t get away with this, Anderson,” Octavia shouted, her voice cracking as he drove toward the exit.

With a groan, the heavy bunker gates creaked open, blinding light spilling in and flooding the suffocating underground with fresh air. Fresh air filled her nostrils as they emerged from the stifling underground bunker, accompanied by the distant roar of gunfire.

His phone rang and Elnora turned to him. He fished the device from his pocket, transferring the gun to his left hand.

“I have her, boss. Where do you want us?” he said.

~Boss?~

Was Anderson working for Mason, or was he tied to whoever was hunting Enrico?

He turned to her, his eyes locking onto hers as he held the phone out. “For you.”

Her heart pounded against her ribs as she hesitated, her mind scrambling for answers. The gun still pointed at her left no room for defiance, so she took the phone with trembling fingers.

“Hello?” she whispered, her voice betraying the fear she was desperately trying to suppress.

A chilling, familiar voice responded on the other end, sending a fresh wave of dread through her. “You.”