Page 23

I stumbled through the Sentinel's reinforced entrance, my body operating on autopilot while my mind remained trapped in that ruined room with Algerone. The taste of dust and blood lingered on my tongue, mingling with the acrid remnants of the explosion that had changed everything. Commander Reid and his team flanked me, their faces grim with the weight of what we'd left behind.

As we entered the main foyer, Leo came running, his face pale. The moment he saw me, something in him seemed to collapse, as if the strings holding him upright had suddenly been cut. He launched himself at me, arms wrapping around my torso with bruising intensity.

"You're okay," he whispered against my neck, his breath warm and alive and everything I needed. "You're actually okay."

I held him, my arms tightening around his familiar frame, drawing strength from his solidity, his realness. For a moment, we stood frozen in that embrace, neither willing to be the first to let go.

"I heard the explosion," Leo said, pulling back just enough to scan my face, his fingers tracing the cuts and bruises. "The comms went dead. I thought..."

"I'm here," I assured him, pressing my forehead to his. The words felt inadequate, but they were all I had. "I came back. Just like I promised."

Movement caught my attention over Leo's shoulder. Xander and Xion stood in the doorway to the command center, their expressions shifting from relief to confusion as they registered the state of our returning party. Their eyes scanned the team, counting, realizing who was missing.

"Where's Algerone?" Xander asked, their voice uncharacteristically subdued.

The question hung in the air, heavy and impossible to avoid. I released Leo, though my hand remained on his lower back.

"There was a trap," I said, the words tasting like ash. "A bomb. It brought down part of the building. Algerone was pinned under the debris."

"And you just left him there?" Xion's voice was sharp, accusing. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, body coiled with sudden tension.

"He ordered me to go," I replied, meeting my brother's gaze. "There was a piece of rebar in his back. Near his spine. He couldn't feel his legs."

Xander's hand flew to their mouth, a gesture so authentically shocked it stripped away all their usual dramatic armor. For once, there were no quips, no deflections, just raw emotion bleeding through their carefully cultivated facade.

"But he was alive when you left?" Xion pressed.

"Yes. He stayed behind to buy us time. To cover our escape."

A harsh sound from the far side of the foyer drew our attention. Maxime stood frozen, his tablet sliding from suddenly nerveless fingers to clatter against the marble floor. His professional mask had shattered completely, leaving naked grief in its place. In that moment, he looked decades younger, vulnerable in a way I'd never seen before.

"Monsieur Etremont is... gone?" The question emerged broken, his accent thickening with emotion.

"We don't know for sure," I said, though the words felt like a lie even as I spoke them. "The building was compromised. Burns' security forces were closing in. But Algerone was armed and he's... resourceful."

Maxime's face went through a complicated series of expressions, landing finally on a brittle composure that seemed one wrong word away from shattering. "I see. Thank you for the information." His voice was mechanical, devoid of the subtle inflections that usually characterized his speech. "I should notify the necessary parties."

He turned away, back military straight, shoulders rigid with the effort of maintaining control. Three steps, and his knees buckled. He caught himself against the wall, one hand pressed to his mouth, the other flat against the smooth surface as if that connection to something solid was all that kept him upright.

Commander Reid moved forward, his hand settling on Maxime's shoulder with unexpected gentleness. "Let me help you, Max."

Maxime nodded once, a jerky motion that betrayed how close he was to breaking. Reid guided him from the room with careful efficiency, murmuring something too low for the rest of us to hear.

In their absence, silence descended, heavy with implications none of us were ready to process. Algerone had always been a complicated figure in our lives. Not quite father, not quite enemy, but undeniably connected to us by blood and circumstance. His potential loss opened questions none of us had answers for.

"So that's it?" Xander finally broke the silence. "Algerone's just... gone? After everything?"

"He gave me something before I left," I said, reaching into my pocket to extract the tactical pad containing the access codes Algerone had entrusted to me. "Full access to Lucky Losers. All of it. Resources, personnel, intelligence networks. He said he'd been planning for this possibility since the day he found us."

Xion's brow furrowed. "Why would he do that?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "But whatever his reasons, we now have access to resources that could help us end Phoenix once and for all."

The words hung in the air, a promise and a threat rolled into one. Whatever complicated feelings we harbored about Algerone, we all understood the value of what he'd given us.

"I'll start the analysis," Leo offered, taking the pad from my hands. "See what we've got to work with."

I nodded, grateful for his practical approach. Leo understood, without my having to say it, that I needed action. Needed to move forward rather than dwell on what we'd lost.

Reid returned and surveyed the room with a frown. “We need to debrief you. This way."

He led us down a corridor to a meeting room I hadn't seen before. It was smaller than the main command center but well-equipped, with a central table surrounded by comfortable chairs and screens on every wall. We settled around the table, our expressions grim. Leo took the seat beside me, his thigh pressing against mine, a silent reminder of his presence. Xander and Xion sat across from us, unusually quiet.

"Start from the beginning," Xion said, his voice tight. "What exactly happened out there?"

"It was a trap," I said, meeting their eyes across the table. "The whole facility was rigged to draw us in and then eliminate us. Phoenix wanted us to find that room, to see what he'd been planning. He wanted us to know how thoroughly he'd been watching us."

"And the bomb?" Xander asked.

"Triggered when I tried to move something from his desk. It looked like a simple paperweight, but it was anchored to something beneath. When I pulled, it detonated." I paused, the memory of Algerone shoving me aside flashing vividly before my eyes. "Algerone... he realized what was happening faster than I did. He pushed me clear of the worst of the blast."

The admission hung in the air, its implications clear. Algerone had saved my life. Had made a split-second decision to protect me at his own expense. I didn’t know how to process that.

Two staff members carrying trays of food and drinks. The spread was impressive given the late hour: sandwiches, fruit, an assortment of pastries, and a large carafe of coffee alongside a pot of tea. The staff members set everything down efficiently before withdrawing.

"Burns' security forces converged immediately after the explosion,” Reid said once they were gone. “Very coordinated. Very professional. This was not an amateur operation. These were hired mercenaries, for certain.”

"So Burns has his own private army," Xion concluded, his expression darkening. "Great."

"Not an army," I corrected. "But a well-trained security team, yes.”

"And he left Algerone to them," Xander said, his voice unusually subdued. "After ensuring the building would collapse on him first."

The bluntness of their assessment hit like a physical blow. I hadn't wanted to articulate it so plainly, but Xander was right. Phoenix had orchestrated the entire scenario, from the trap to the security response. Had calculated exactly how to separate us, weaken us, and potentially eliminate one of our strongest assets.

"Algerone gave me full access to Lucky Losers," I said, glancing at Reid. Since Maxime wasn't there, he was the highest-ranking member of Lucky Losers present.

Reid shifted uncomfortably in his chair, fingers tightening around his teacup. "With all due respect, Monsieur Laskin, I think you should discuss this with Maxime first."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why? Algerone gave me the codes directly. Full access."

"Oui, and I do not question that. But Maxime has run many day-to-day operations for years. He knows systems better than anyone except Monsieur Etremont himself. It would be... inconsiderate to cut him out completely. Especially now."

The unspoken implications hung in the air between us. I'd seen Maxime's reaction to the news about Algerone. The broken composure, the naked grief. There was clearly more between them than a purely professional relationship.

"Reid is right," Leo said quietly, his hand finding mine under the table. "Maxime deserves some consideration here. Whatever was between him and Algerone..."

"Was complicated," Xander finished for him. "But real. We all saw it."

I stared down at my untouched food, weighing my options. Part of me wanted to forge ahead immediately, to use these new resources to hunt Phoenix without delay. Every second we waited was another second Burns had to prepare his next move. But Reid was right. Maxime had decades of experience with Lucky Losers. His knowledge would be invaluable, and alienating him now would only create unnecessary complications.

"Fine," I conceded. "I'll talk to Maxime in the morning."

"In the meantime," Leo suggested, "I can start a preliminary analysis of what we found at the compound. The photographs, the surveillance data Phoenix collected. There might be something useful there."

I nodded, grateful for his practical approach. "Good. Focus on patterns, recurring locations. Phoenix has been watching us for months, maybe years. There has to be something in his surveillance that reveals his own movements."

"I'll help," Xion offered. "Two sets of eyes are better than one."

"And I'll coordinate with the security team," Xander added. "Make sure the Sentinel's defenses are at maximum. Phoenix has already proven he can penetrate our security once. We can't let that happen again."

The easy division of tasks, the immediate rallying of support from my siblings and Leo, eased something tight in my chest. This was what family meant. Not blood relation or shared DNA, but people who stepped up without hesitation when things got hard. People who knew exactly what needed to be done without being told.

"We should all get some rest," I said, suddenly aware of the bone-deep exhaustion settling into my limbs. The adrenaline crash was hitting hard, making every scrape and bruise from the explosion throb with renewed intensity. "We'll regroup in the morning."

Leo's hand tightened on mine, a silent reminder of his presence. Of his steadiness when everything else felt like it was falling apart.

As the others filed out, quiet conversations already forming about next steps and security protocols, Leo remained beside me, his thumb tracing soothing circles against my wrist.

"You should see War about those cuts," he said gently. "Some of them look deep."

I nodded, too tired to argue. "In the morning. Right now I just need..." I trailed off, not quite sure how to articulate what I needed. Sleep, yes. But also something more fundamental. Something only Leo seemed capable of providing.

"I know," he said, understanding without my having to explain. "Come on. Let's go to bed."

He led me from the room, his hand a warm anchor against my lower back. As we walked through the quiet corridors of the Sentinel, the events of the night kept replaying in my mind. The explosion. Algerone pinned beneath the rubble. The final glimpse of his face, determined and resigned, as I left him behind.

"He pushed me out of the way," I said abruptly as the elevator doors closed behind us. "When the bomb triggered. Algerone saw it happening, and he pushed me clear. That's how he ended up taking the worst of it."

"He saved your life."

"Yeah." The admission felt raw, exposing questions I wasn't ready to confront. "I don't know why."

Leo was quiet for a moment, considering. "Maybe because that's what fathers do," he finally said. "Even complicated ones."

I had no answer for that. The elevator arrived at our floor, the doors sliding open with a soft whisper. As we stepped out, I made my decision.

"I'll talk to Maxime first thing tomorrow," I said. "Not just because Reid suggested it, but because it's the right thing to do. Whatever Algerone's intentions were with those access codes, Maxime deserves to know about them." I paused, sorting through the complicated tangle of emotions the night had created. "And I want to tell him what Algerone's last words were. About wanting him to be happy."

Leo nodded, the gesture full of understanding. "That's important. Especially now."

As we reached our door, I hesitated, suddenly unsure. The events of the night had shaken loose something I'd kept carefully contained for most of my life. The recognition that connections mattered. That the people we chose to surround ourselves with defined us more completely than the blood in our veins ever could.

"Leo," I said, my voice rougher than intended. "Thank you. For being here. For..." I gestured vaguely, unable to articulate the depth of what I meant.

He smiled that soft, understanding smile. "Always," he promised, opening the door to our quarters. "Now come on. Let's get some rest while we can."