The command center’s hum echoed in Jonah’s ears as he stood before the large monitor displaying live feeds from the key locations his team had identified. The night outside was thick with tension, the city seemingly holding its breath, waiting for Lucian’s next move. Jonah’s focus was unwavering, yet he couldn’t shake the feeling that Lucian was playing with them, a step ahead at every turn.
Emily, still in her field gear, stood beside him, her eyes scanning the screens. She broke the silence first.
“We’ve got everything covered, but something feels off,” she said, her voice low but firm. “Lucian’s too smart to move without us knowing. This sudden burst of activity… it’s too obvious.”
Jonah nodded. “I know what you mean. It feels like a setup. But we can’t afford to ignore it. What do you think?”
Emily hesitated for a moment, then responded. “I think it’s a distraction. Whatever he’s planning, it’s not happening here. He’s trying to draw our attention to these sites while he prepares something bigger, somewhere else.”
Ryu chimed in from across the room, leaning against a console. “Then where? We’ve scoured all possible locations. If this is a decoy, where’s the real target?”
Jonah crossed his arms, thinking. “We need to find out what we’re missing. Elias, any progress on the transmissions?”
Elias, seated at his workstation, was engrossed in the encrypted communications that had been intercepted earlier. His fingers flew over the keyboard as he tried to break the last layers of the code.
“I’m getting closer,” Elias said, without looking up. “Lucian’s using a rotating encryption scheme, but I’m almost through it. Give me a few more minutes.”
Jonah glanced back at the live feed. The industrial sector was still buzzing with activity, but something gnawed at him. Lucian had orchestrated this too well. The calm, the seeming lack of direct confrontation—it wasn’t like him. Jonah had learned over time that Lucian thrived on control, on being several moves ahead.
As the tension in the room grew, the communication system crackled to life. A voice came through, distorted at first, but quickly cleared up.
“This is Agent Kira from Sector 12. We’ve spotted movement—two unmarked vans heading toward the east side. Should we intercept?”
Jonah leaned toward the console and pressed the button to respond. “Negative. Do not engage unless there’s direct confirmation of hostile activity. Stay on them, but keep your distance. We don’t want to tip them off.”
Emily’s jaw tightened as she listened. “We need to act fast. If those vans are carrying something critical, we can’t let them slip away.”
Jonah shook his head. “No. Not yet. If we move now, we’re playing into Lucian’s hands. We need to know what those vans are for and where they’re going before we make our move.”
A few tense moments passed before Elias finally broke the silence.
“I’ve got it,” he said, triumph in his voice. “I’ve decrypted the latest transmission. It’s a meeting point—just outside the city limits. It’s set for tonight. This might be where Lucian is operating from, the real base.”
If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Jonah and Emily exchanged glances. This was the break they’d been waiting for.
Jonah quickly formulated a plan. “Alright, we’ll split up. Emily, I want you to take a small team and head to that meeting point. Keep it quiet, in and out. We need confirmation that Lucian is there before we make any big moves.”
Emily nodded, already preparing to move. “Understood. What about you?”
“I’ll stay here with Elias and Ryu to monitor the situation. We’ll coordinate from the command center and guide you as needed.”
Ryu stepped forward, concern etched on his face. “Are you sure about this? If Lucian’s there, he’s not going to let anyone get close easily.”
Jonah’s voice was steady. “I know. But we can’t just sit back and wait for him to strike. We need to stay ahead of him for once.”
Emily didn’t need any more convincing. She gathered her gear and moved toward the exit, signaling for her field team to follow her. Jonah watched her go, his gut tightening. He trusted her implicitly, but this was Lucian they were dealing with. The stakes had never been higher.
As the minutes passed, Jonah’s focus remained on the screens in front of him. He could see Emily’s team moving through the city, heading toward the outskirts where the meeting point had been located. The air in the command center was thick with anticipation.
Suddenly, the communication system buzzed again. This time, it was Lucian’s voice.
“Well, Jonah, you’ve been busy.”
Jonah’s blood ran cold as Lucian’s smooth, calculating tone filled the room. His voice was dripping with amusement, as if he’d been watching them the entire time.
“How the hell did he tap into our system?” Ryu muttered under his breath, glancing at Elias, who was already frantically checking the security logs.
“Lucian,” Jonah said, trying to keep his voice steady. “What do you want?”
“Oh, come now, Jonah. You already know the answer to that. I just wanted to check in, see how my favorite team of detectives was handling themselves.” Lucian’s voice was mocking, like a cat toying with a trapped mouse. “You’ve been doing so well, I almost thought you’d caught me.”
Jonah clenched his jaw. “Cut the games, Lucian. We know about the meeting point outside the city. We know what you’re planning.”
A low chuckle came through the line. “Do you now? I’m curious, Jonah. What exactly do you think I’m planning?”
Jonah’s eyes darted to Elias, who gave a slight shake of his head—there was no way to trace Lucian’s location through this call.
“You won’t get away with this,” Jonah said, his voice hardening. “Whatever you’re planning, we’ll stop you.”
Lucian’s tone remained calm, infuriatingly so. “Always so noble, Jonah. Always so predictable. But you’ve missed something crucial. You’re focusing on the wrong thing, as usual.”
Before Jonah could respond, the line went dead, leaving only silence in its wake.
“What the hell does that mean?” Ryu asked, his frustration boiling over. “What are we missing?”
Jonah felt a knot forming in his stomach. Lucian’s words replayed in his mind, the casual cruelty of them, the smug certainty that they had overlooked something. He had a sinking feeling that whatever they were missing was about to reveal itself, and not in a good way.
Elias spoke up, breaking the silence. “There’s something else… I’ve been running parallel decryption on another set of transmissions. They weren’t flagged initially, but after hearing Lucian, I rechecked them.”
He turned the monitor toward Jonah and Ryu, showing a set of coordinates. “These lead to an abandoned facility on the west side of the city. It’s not the meeting point, but it lines up with Lucian’s patterns. He might be splitting their attention, sending us on a wild goose chase.”
Jonah’s heart raced as he looked at the coordinates. “That’s it. Lucian’s planning something bigger, and we’ve been focusing on the wrong place. Emily’s team—”
He was cut off as the command center’s alarms blared. Ryu quickly pulled up the live feeds. On one of the monitors, a figure in the shadows approached the command center’s perimeter. It was Lucian—or someone who looked exactly like him.
“Is that…?” Ryu began, but Jonah shook his head.
“No,” Jonah said, his voice tight with realization. “That’s not him. It’s another trick.”
Lucian’s final words echoed in Jonah’s mind: You’re focusing on the wrong thing. The figure outside the command center, the misdirection toward the meeting point—it was all part of Lucian’s master plan.
Jonah’s heart sank as the pieces clicked together.
“We’ve been played.”
The true scope of Lucian’s plan was just beginning to reveal itself, and they were right in the middle of it.