The fallout was immediate.
Within twenty-four hours of the Equinox breach, the world began to shift. Financial regulators launched emergency inquiries. Anonymous leaks surged across encrypted forums. The term HYDRA trended globally—though no one in the media could verify what it meant.
That was by design.
HYDRA couldn't be traced back to a single person. It was an infection in the bones of power. But Evelyn and Wolfe had shattered the spine.
Still, Rhys had escaped.
And now, he was cornered.
---
"We've located him," Conrad reported from the satellite relay room. "He's in Marrakesh. Private compound. Heavily guarded."
Wolfe stood beside Evelyn, reviewing the surveillance feed. "How long before he disappears again?"
"Hours. He's already routing crypto through blind accounts. If we want him, it's now."
Evelyn didn't hesitate. "Then we go now."
---
They flew under diplomatic cover.
No manifest.
No paper trail.
Just Evelyn, Wolfe, and two trusted operatives—Rafe and Janek—both former intelligence ghosts with no digital fingerprints.
The compound sat on the edge of the Atlas Mountains. Heat shimmered above its high walls. Inside: a small army, and Rhys Kellan.
The mission was surgical.
Rafe neutralized external comms. Janek looped internal surveillance.
Evelyn and Wolfe moved through the west wing under night's cloak.
She spotted Rhys first—in a glass solarium, talking to someone over a secure line. He looked agitated.
"Get the extraction team here now," he barked. "I don't care what it takes. We're compromised."
Wolfe moved to flank. Evelyn entered directly.
Rhys turned. Smirked.
"You never knew when to quit."
Evelyn didn't blink. "And you never learned when to run."
She tossed the signal jammer onto the table. "You're done."
But Rhys wasn't going quietly.
He reached for the side drawer—
Wolfe fired.
One shot.
Shoulder hit. Non-lethal.
Rhys staggered. Screamed.
"You shot me!"
"You tried to erase me," Wolfe said coldly. "This is mercy."
Evelyn moved in, handcuffed him, and pulled a drive from his safe.
Final insurance. HYDRA's deepest layer.
Wolfe stared down at his former partner. "You built something monstrous, Rhys. But you forgot one thing."
Rhys laughed bitterly. "And what's that?"
Wolfe glanced at Evelyn. "You underestimated the woman who could destroy it."
---
They flew back with Rhys sedated.
The drive Evelyn took from the safe contained everything: confirmation of identities, methods, and locations. It was the key to collapsing the network entirely.
Wolfe turned to Evelyn.
"This is the final stretch."
She nodded.
"No more towers," she said.
"No more ghosts."
"Just truth."
And for the first time since it all began, Wolfe smiled—not the dangerous, practiced smirk.
A real smile.
Because now, there was no way back.
Only forward.