Page 42 of Rogue Hope (Hope Landing: New Recruits #4)

The metal duct vibrated beneath Finn’s palms as he crawled forward, each movement carefully controlled to minimize noise.

Behind him, Zara’s labored breathing told him more than any medical scan could about her condition.

His jaw clenched. She was pushing through serious pain, and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it except keep moving.

Ahead, Kenji paused at a junction. “Left here,” he whispered. “Maintenance access point thirty meters ahead.”

They reached the access point, a narrow grate set into the ventilation shaft’s floor.

Kenji produced a multi-tool from his pocket and made quick work of the fasteners.

As the grate swung free, he disappeared into the darkness below.

Finn gestured for Zara to follow, noting how she bit her lip to stifle any sound as she lowered herself through the opening.

He slid through last, landing in what appeared to be a reinforced communications hub—one of Knight Tactical’s redundant command centers, designed for precisely this type of emergency.

The room was small but well-equipped: monitoring stations, communication arrays, and a reinforced door that Kenji immediately sealed and locked behind them.

“Secure,” Kenji announced, the word releasing a fraction of the tension in the room.

Zara straightened, her transition to commander instantaneous despite the physical strain evident in her posture. “Kenji, status check on communications. See if you can bypass whatever interference Reynolds is running.”

“On it.” The physician dropped into the chair before the main terminal, fingers already dancing across the keyboard.

Finn watched Zara, noting how she unconsciously massaged her wrist while surveying the small command center. Her breathing had steadied, but the faint tremor in her left hand betrayed the toll this was taking.

“You need to rest,” he said quietly.

Her eyes flashed to his, a spark of defiance cutting through the exhaustion. “What I need is to neutralize Reynolds and secure my team.”

Finn raised his hands in surrender, a gesture that earned him the ghost of a smile before her attention returned to Kenji.

“Anything?”

Kenji’s expression tightened as data scrolled across his screen. “Multiple security breaches. Someone’s systematically dismantling our defenses from the inside.” He pointed to a flashing schematic. “These access codes—they’re administrator level.”

Finn leaned forward, scanning the code patterns flowing across the monitor. Recognition hit like a physical blow. “Those are Cipher’s signatures. I’d know them anywhere.”

“Reynolds is Cipher,” Zara confirmed grimly.

Kenji’s head snapped toward Finn. “You knew?” Accusation edged his normally professional tone.

“Negative.” Finn’s response came sharp and immediate. “I never knew who Cipher was—to my knowledge, no one did. He operated through cutouts and digital intermediaries. I never met him face-to-face. I only knew Reynolds as Zara’s mentor, and the guy who put together the legit Paris op.”

Kenji’s shoulders slumped slightly as he turned back to his terminal.

“Someone with official clearance is definitely inside,” he reported after a moment. “These bypass sequences are methodical. Definitely targeted. He knows exactly what he’s after.”

Finn moved to Kenji’s terminal, studying the screen with intense focus.

“Look at the pattern—systems are failing in sequence, not simultaneously. That’s a physical infiltration signature, not a remote hack.

” His finger traced the progression on the monitor.

“Someone’s moving through the building, disabling systems as they go. ”

“But remote attacks can be sequenced too,” Zara countered.

“Not like this.” Finn pointed to the timestamp data. “The intervals are irregular—slightly longer at junctions, shorter in corridors. These are human walking patterns.”

“There’s more,” Finn added grimly. “This facility has biometric verification points that require in-person override. No remote hack can bypass them.” He pulled up another screen. “And these access points were just cleared using high-level credentials. Reynolds’ credentials.”

“But why come personally?” Zara asked, her analytical mind cutting through the chaos to the essential question. “Why expose himself after maintaining anonymity for so long?”

“Because what he wants can’t be accessed remotely,” Finn replied, realization dawning. “Reynolds is coming for us. He needs us,” he said finally, the words tasting bitter on his tongue. “Both of us. Alive.”

A distant sound reached their ears—the unmistakable soft thud of a suppressed weapon.

“He’s closing in,” Zara stated.

A cold realization settled in his gut. Paris. The unfinished business. The truth he’d been avoiding since discovering Reynolds’ identity.

Zara’s eyes narrowed, her intelligence officer instincts locking onto his discomfort like a targeting system. “Why both of us?”

Finn’s mind raced through the possibilities, each more disturbing than the last. The pieces were there, but the complete picture remained frustratingly blurred. “It has to connect to Sentinel Network. Nothing else would justify this level of risk.”

“You’re holding something back.” It wasn’t a question. Zara’s gaze bored into him, searching for the truth beneath his words.

The weight of their shared history pressed down on him—his betrayal in Paris, her justified distrust, the fragile alliance they’d forged in the aftermath of Reynolds’ frame-up. He couldn’t afford to shatter that tenuous connection, not when their lives depended on it.

“I have theories,” he admitted. “Nothing concrete enough to act on.”

Zara held his gaze a moment longer, clearly sensing the deeper currents he wasn’t voicing. “We’ll sort it out later,” she said finally, the brief softening in her expression telling him she understood more than he’d said. “Right now, we need a plan.”

“Communications are still jammed,” Kenji announced, frustration evident in his voice. “I’ve tried every override protocol in the system. Nothing’s getting through.”

“Vanguard technology,” Finn supplied. “Military-grade signal suppression. They’ve effectively cut us off.”

“Then we adapt,” Zara said, the decision crystallizing in her expression. “Kenji, stay here. Keep working on communications—if you can reach Ronan and the team, warn them it’s a trap.”

The medic nodded, determination settling over his features. “I won’t stop trying.”

Zara turned to Finn, her stance squaring despite the pain he knew each movement caused her. “You and I are going after Reynolds.”

“Direct confrontation?” Finn raised an eyebrow, concern warring with admiration.

“He wants us both,” she replied, her voice hardening. “Let’s give him what he wants—on our terms.”

The corner of Finn’s mouth lifted in grim appreciation. This was the Zara he’d always admired—brilliant, adaptable, fearless in the face of impossible odds.

“Lead the way,” he said simply.

As they prepared to leave the secure room, Finn checked his weapon one final time. The weight of it in his hand was both comforting and inadequate against what they faced. Reynolds—Cipher—had orchestrated this entire scenario perfectly. Every move anticipated, every reaction calculated.

Except, perhaps, for this. The two people he’d manipulated most thoroughly trying to break them apart, teaming up and fighting together.