Page 12 of Rogue Hope (Hope Landing: New Recruits #4)

Finn stood motionless at the center of Knight Tactical’s conference room, a gazelle surrounded by lions who hadn’t yet decided whether to pounce.

No exit remained uncovered, no angle unprotected.

Their collective combat experience likely exceeded a century, and every ounce of it was currently focused on him with laser intensity.

Even at full strength, no way he could fight his way through these specimens. With messed up ribs … ? Yeah. No.

The renovated hangar might maintain its industrial facade, but the interior bristled with the kind of security architecture that would make Pentagon officials nod in appreciation.

Retinal scanners, pressure-sensitive flooring, and the faint electromagnetic hum of countermeasure systems revealed Knight Tactical’s paranoia was backed by serious capital.

These were people who understood that in their world, paranoia was just good planning.

Which only made his job harder. Because after seeing Zara last night, the truth had smacked him upside the head. He hadn’t drawn Cipher to her door.

The man had already arrived.

Cipher needed Zara. She was the quickest way for him to get what he wanted. And now Finn had to persuade the woman, and her loyal band, to believe him.

So far, things weren’t going well.

Zara sat as far from him as physically possible, eyes betraying what her neutral expression masked—anger, wariness, and something deeper he couldn’t identify. She hadn’t addressed him directly since their confrontation, happy to let her friends deal with him.

The team’s leader, Ronan Quinn, stood at the head of the table, arms crossed over his broad chest, radiating the unmistakable presence of someone who’d commanded men in combat. His gaze flickered over Finn’s healing eye.

“Let’s cut straight to it,” Ronan said flatly. “You’re supposed to be seven years dead. Talk.”

Axel Reinhardt—mission specialist. “Agency confirmed the kill. Dental records. DNA. The works.”

“Agency confirmed what they thought was true,” Finn replied. “I had a friend on the inside. One friend who was able to construct an airtight fiction. She’s gone now.”

“She,” Zara repeated, her first acknowledgment of his presence. “Of course.”

“Current threat,” Finn said, ignoring the jab and reaching slowly for his tablet. “Cipher went dark five years ago after I gutted his infrastructure. Since then, four attempted restarts, each more sophisticated.”

He didn’t mention it took him two years after betraying Zara to come to his senses. Two more years of working for Cipher before he saw the light.

He activated the tablet, sending files to the giant display screens surrounding them. Timeline data, surveillance photos, intercepted communications appeared in sequence.

“Three months ago, I detected movement from known associates.” Finn highlighted data points rapidly. “Money flowing through dormant channels. Recruiting of cyber specialists. Specialized gear acquisition.”

“Vanguard,” Deke Williams said, eyes locked on the display.

“Bingo,” Finn confirmed. “Self-contained elite unit. Cyber, infiltration, tactical, and psyops capabilities in one package.”

Axel squinted at the closest screen. “Like us, only working for the Dark Side.”

“That how you got the shiner?” The big guy, Deke asked.

Finn shrugged. “Close enough.”

“The threats Zara’s been receiving,” Kenji noted.

Zara’s sharp glance confirmed Finn’s suspicion—she’d briefed them before his arrival.

“Convenient timing,” Axel leaned forward aggressively. “Messages start, you show up. For all we know, you’re working with Cipher.”

“Or he is Cipher,” the quiet one, Griffin, said.

Zara punctured that balloon. “He’s not that smart.”

He let the jab go. “If I were Cipher’s boy, I wouldn’t have taken down three of his hired operators yesterday. Or spent years dismantling his network.”

He swiped to surveillance photos from the previous day.

“These Vanguard hostiles hit town seventy-two hours ago. A day before I got here. Set up surveillance on your headquarters and Zara’s residence.

” He expanded an image. “Viktor Kosta. Former Serbian special forces. Six countries, ten years. Only does high-value grabs or wet work.”

“You tangled with them yesterday?” Ronan asked, studying the images.

“Eastern edge of parade route. Three-man team. Took one down temporarily, evaded the others.”

Griffin pushed an evidence bag forward. “Pin checks out. Advanced surveillance tech consistent with Cipher’s signature.”

“What’s Cipher want with you?” the female detective, Maya Chen, demanded. “And what’s Zara got to do with it?”

“From me? Payback,” Finn answered simply. “Seven years messing with his operation tends to make a guy grumpy.”

“And Zara?” Ronan pressed.

Finn glanced at her briefly. “Initially I figured they’d use her as leverage against me. Emotional pressure point.”

“That’s laughable,” Zara cut in coldly. “A few months, seven years ago, ending with your betrayal. Not exactly lasting emotional ties.”

“But I revised my assessment,” he continued, the barb landing cleanly. “Based on Vanguard’s composition and recent intel, I think they’re chasing her, too. Cipher needs her skillset.”

“For?” Griffin asked.

“They’re trying to infiltrate the Sentinel Network. It’s an international database that compiles highly sensitive intelligence from multiple countries’ agencies.”

“I’ve heard whispers,” Zara confirmed. “Apparently, it’s a central repository of encrypted dossiers, covert operatives’ identities, and classified intelligence on terror cells, drug cartels, and human trafficking networks designed to provide instant intel to member agencies across the world.”

At least half Zara’s team blinked. Hard.

The big man, Deke, shook his head. “So this would be the motherlode for an extortionist.”

Ronan paled. “Or an enterprising snake willing to sell data to any terrorist cell that can meet his price.”

“Pretty much,” Finn acknowledged. He displayed additional data. “Of course, the network’s equipped with black-site level security. Cipher needs Zara’s unique combination of skills and clearance history to bust in.”

A tense silence followed.

“The messages have been escalating,” Kenji observed. “Latest one indicated an ‘assignment’ today.”

“Hence this chat instead of more verification,” Ronan nodded. “If Cipher makes contact today, we need to be ready.”

“Anyone consider this might be exactly what he wants?” Zara interjected sharply. “Bringing Finn here, involving my team—perfect reaction to provoke.”

“Valid concern,” Finn acknowledged. “But isolation makes you more vulnerable. His hired muscle is already here, surveillance established. Question isn’t if they’ll move—it’s when and how.”

“Your solution, Cipher whisperer?” Axel challenged.

“Controlled engagement,” Finn replied instantly. “When he makes contact, we set parameters that appear to give him what he wants while creating openings to identify and neutralize.”

“Just that simple,” Zara’s voice dripped sarcasm. “Play patty-cake with a psychopath. What could possibly go wrong?”

“I didn’t say ‘simple.’ I said ‘controlled.’”

“And we trust your judgment?” She leaned forward, eyes flashing. “The same stellar judgment that had you working for Cipher in the first place?”

Finn maintained his composure despite the direct hit. “You don’t need to trust me. How about you trust your team? Trust your instincts? I’m offering intel and experience, not asking for the keys to the kingdom.”

“I wouldn’t give you the keys to the bathroom,” she muttered.

Before he could respond, a sharp chime from her phone sliced through the tension.

“It’s him,” she said, casting a screenshot onto the large monitors.

When the monitors came alive, every voice in the room fell silent instantly. Zara’s phone screen—now mirrored across every monitor—displayed an incoming message.

She braced herself. Here it came. Cipher, outing her medical history.

But he didn’t. For some reason, Cipher changed the threat. Not that she believed for a second he wouldn’t destroy her for his own ends.

Prove you can breach Sentinel’s first gate. Nothing sensitive yet. Just pull the encrypted header from tonight’s Ops Summary. Harmless, but impossible to fake. Awaiting confirmation.

Refuse, and intel on Knight Tactical operations will be disseminated to … hostile entities.

Finn’s stomach tightened into knots. It sounded simple, innocuous even.

But he understood exactly what the enemy was after.

A small breach, something as seemingly harmless as a document header, was enough to trigger alarms throughout Sentinel’s outer perimeter.

Zara would leave a digital footprint behind—one Sentinel would find and pursue relentlessly.

She would risk everything: her freedom, her reputation. Maybe her life.

Finn clenched his fists, fighting the surge of protective anger. Cipher had them where he wanted them—cornered, desperate, and facing an impossible choice.

Ronan pushed back in his chair. “What intel could they possibly have?”

“We can’t risk finding out.” Zara replied tightly.

“Sentinel Network’s supposedly nonexistent,” Griffin noted, studying the message. “Black boxed even to most intelligence agencies.”

“Yet Cipher knows exactly what it is and believes Zara can access it,” Finn pointed out. “That’s deliberate.”

“Could you do it?” Deke asked her directly.

She hesitated. “Theoretically. I helped design some security methodologies during my agency days. With the right equipment and enough time ... maybe.”

“Then maybe we do what Novak suggested. We comply,” Kenji said calmly. “Superficially, at least.”

Zara’s jaw dropped. “You want me to help Cipher access covert operative identities?”

“No! I’m suggesting,” Kenji clarified, “appearing to comply while implementing a controlled operation. Like Finn suggested. Give Cipher what he thinks he wants—for now—while positioning to neutralize the threat permanently.”

Yes! Her team, at least, understood. Finn clamped down on the premature celebration. “We comply, but we add a little surprise of our own. Along with the confirmation data, we feed Cipher a little electronic tracer cocktail.”

“Honey trap.” Griffin nodded. “I like it. Use what they want against them.”

“Suicidal,” Zara objected forcefully. “Cipher isn’t easily played, and Vanguard has resources beyond what you’re anticipating.”

Ronan’s calculating gaze moved between them. “What if we had all of it? Finn’s Cipher expertise, our operational capabilities and Zara’s skills?”

The room fell silent as implications settled. Finn looked across the table to find Zara already watching him—eyes wide, conflicted, filled with reluctant recognition that their fates had just become inextricably linked once more.

The universe, it seemed, had a particularly perverse sense of humor.