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Chapter Thirty-Three

Caleb

There was an even bigger mess in the Gendry house, and it was courtesy of Caleb. Just how he liked it. There were even more people crowding the space, too. A necessary element of his master plan. Scattered across the massive kitchen table were at least six different laptops, multiple tablets, a maze of charging cables, and a collection of burner phones that would have made a lesser man break out in a cold sweat. At the center of it all stood Caleb's precious padfolio. The air buzzed with the sound of incoming messages, scheduled alerts, and the occasional colorful curse word as another task was completed and queued up for execution. A cuckoo clock, of all things, chimed the midnight hour.

Caleb sat at the helm of this chaotic mess, one foot propped up on the adjacent chair as he scrolled through a long list of pre-programmed releases. Press contacts—check. Social media storm—check. High-priority encrypted email blasts to domestic and international players—check. He pushed his glasses higher on his nose with a self-satisfied sigh.

“Cay, please tell me you've got this all under control?” Elias’ voice drifted from behind him, smooth and measured but tinged with noticeable tension that came from knowing they were about to flip the entire world upside down.

Caleb didn't even look up from his list as he smirked. “Please, baby doll. If I wasn't in control, you'd be watching this place go up in flames while I cackled like a mad scientist.”

He twisted one of the laptops around to show off his impeccably color-coded schedule of destruction. “Tomorrow morning, at precisely nine o’clock, this baby sings.”

Elias leaned in, the warmth of his body washing over Caleb as he squinted at the screen. “Impressive. Terrifying, but impressive.”

“Oh, I know.” Caleb grinned, smug as ever. He cast another glance over the timetable of doom. He was proud of his work.

At precisely 8:59 am, the first social media post would hit. A perfectly worded, heavily sourced exposé on the CIA’s compromised assets. Not from one account. Not even two accounts. No, this was coming from hundreds of accounts. A veritable avalanche of leaks, whistleblower statements, and classified documents dropped in real-time. He had Theo and Taz to thank for this masterpiece. Alongside a number of former staffers still ready to throw down for him.

By 9:01 am, numerous major media outlets, already tipped off by Caleb himself, would start running the story. The pre-approved statements from ‘anonymous sources’ also known as Caleb and his meticulously planted informants would hit the airwaves like a tidal wave.

9:05 am would bring an auto-scheduled email blast that would flood the inboxes of every major politician, diplomat, and power player. He was particularly proud of the emails. The wording in them was chef’s kiss perfection… if destruction could be called perfection, anyway.

And the crown jewel in this chaotic masterpiece would hit at 10:00 am sharp. Elias would step in front of the cameras and make history on a live broadcast that most major media companies were frothing at the mouth to attend.

“And this is airtight?” Elias dragged a hand over his face with a soft exhale.

“Oh, boss man. Airtight? This bitch is bulletproof. The second this goes live, there is no putting the toothpaste back in the tube. The CIA will either have to start eating their own or go into full-blown meltdown. The options are fucked, or double-fucked. It's glorious.”

“You're enjoying this,” Elias murmured with a smile that he tried to hide. Tried and failed.”

“I live for it.” Caleb grinned up at his husband.

The room hummed with anticipation. It was a live wire of electric energy that felt like a living entity all its own. Everyone had done their part. Luke, Taz, Connor, Theo, Lily, Bella, and dozens of other contacts in their stable of resources. Matt and Cynthia had their Parker safely tucked away behind the security gates of their sprawling manor house. The Gendry boys had security on lock across the entire district. Connor’s mom and Luke’s dad had the Montgomery children on a Grand Tour of the eastern seaboard to protect them from the worst of the blowback. Beau and his ragtag ruffians lurked in the shadows, ensuring no one could preemptively kill them before the big show. It was the moment before the storm and everyone was a vital cog in the well-oiled machine of an epic takedown. Caleb was ready. Everyone was ready.

He leaned back in his chair, stretching with a self-satisfied sigh and a muffled groan. “God, I feel like I just orchestrated the world’s greatest takedown and made it look sexy. Can you see me on the cover of Time?”

Elias’ chuckle was warm like melted butter. “You're insufferable. And yes, very sexy.”

“You love it, boss man.”

His comment was met with silence. Caleb turned, expecting another snarky retort, but Elias was simply staring at him. Steady, contemplative, and stone silent. Something about it twisted in Caleb’s chest. The smugness evaporated as a flare of self-doubt crackled to life.

“What?” Caleb's eyes darted over Elias’ features as he swallowed.

“Just thinking about tomorrow.” Elias’ voice grew soft. Gentle fingertips caressed over his cheek as he smiled a subtle, reassuring grin. The apprehension in his features eased the self-doubt but replaced it with the fear he had chosen to ignore. The second Elias stepped out onto that stage tomorrow, there would be no turning back. They were about to go from playing the game to blowing up the playing table. The people they were going up against were not the type to go down quietly, either.

“Hey.” Caleb dropped his voice lower, grabbing Elias’ wrist to tug him down into the seat beside him. “This is going to work. We’re going to make it work.”

Elias settled into the chair and gathered both of Caleb’s hands in his. “And if it doesn't work?”

Caleb waggled his eyebrows with a smirk. “Then, we go to plan B. I'll leak a sex tape and distract the public for long enough to buy us time.”

“Christ, Cay.” Elias snorted but the tension eased a little as a flicker of amusement crossed over his delectably handsome features.

For a moment, they simply sat there with the world buzzing around them and the weight of tomorrow pressing down. It was a lot. Caleb knew it was a lot, but for a brief moment, they reveled in the calm before the storm. Tilting his head, Elias shifted and before Caleb could think, before he could overanalyze the moment and respond, Elias leaned in and pressed a slow, lingering kiss to Cay’s lips.

“Thank you,” Elias whispered, pulling back just enough for them to make eye contact.

Lost in the icy silvery blue gaze, Caleb swallowed. “For what?”

“For making this seem possible.” Elias nudged Cay’s nose with his own.

Something tightened in Caleb’s chest, but he forced a cocksure grin. “You realize that you’ll owe me big time, right?”

Elias’ laugh was warm and rumbly as his breath danced over the curve of Cay’s smile. “I'll figure out how to repay you tenfold, babe.”

“I'm definitely looking forward to that, baby doll.” Cay waggled his eyebrows again.

Elias chuckled, his expression exasperated but filled with fondness.

Leaning back, Caleb exhaled slowly and flicked his gaze over the meticulously arranged chaos of their operation. Everything was set. Everything was ready to roll. Tomorrow would change everything as they knew it. But for now, he let himself enjoy it—the calm before the storm, the warm weight of Elias beside him, the knowledge that, for once, they carried the burden together, as a team. At that moment, it was easy to believe that maybe, just maybe, they were going to win.