The following hours passed in a blur of motion. Cipher worked with relentless precision, hunting down every shred of information he could find on Dr. Lisbeth Kane. His fingers flew across the keyboard, the hum of the laptop the only sound in the dim, windowless basement. Alan and Mara, meanwhile, tried to rest, though I could see the tension in their eyes.
I couldn't rest. The idea of confronting someone with the power to turn the tide against Zenith—someone who could either be our ally or our downfall—kept me wide awake. The weight of the decision felt heavy on my chest.
When Cipher finally spoke, his voice was low but sharp, breaking the silence like a crack of thunder. "Got her. She's in Chicago. But it's complicated."
"Complicated how?" Mara asked, rising from her seat and stepping closer.
"She's not alone. According to some recent intel, she's got a bodyguard—a former special forces guy—who's been following her around. And she's not hiding, either. She's active, doing interviews, speaking out against Zenith in certain circles."
"That could work in our favor," Mara said, her tone thoughtful. "If she's already making waves, she might be more willing to help us."
"But it also means Zenith's already got their eyes on her," Cipher added. "She might be a target. If we make a move, we could push her further into their crosshairs."
"Then we move carefully," Mara said. "No direct contact. We need to get close to her—no more, no less."
I wasn't entirely sure what Mara was planning, but she had a knack for making the impossible sound plausible. "How do we get to her without alerting anyone?"
Cipher tapped a few more keys, pulling up a map of Chicago. "There's a conference in a few days. Lisbeth is one of the keynote speakers. If we get in and blend in with the crowd, we can approach her directly. But there's a catch—security's going to be tight. They'll be expecting trouble from people like us, which means we'll have to be even more careful."
Mara's eyes narrowed. "We don't have the luxury of waiting for her to make a mistake. We'll need to make ours count."
Cipher was already digging into logistics, marking possible entry points on the map. "I'll handle the tech side of things. We need to disable their surveillance systems for long enough to get her alone."
I nodded, my thoughts already racing through potential risks. "We'll need a distraction. Something big enough to pull security away without drawing attention to ourselves."
Mara looked at me, a flicker of something dangerous passing through her gaze. "You're thinking of something more than just a diversion, aren't you?"
"I'm thinking we give them something to chase," I said, a slow smile creeping across my face.
She paused, considering me for a moment. "It's risky, but it could work."
Alan, who had been sitting in silence, finally spoke. "You're both crazy. But I'm in."
Cipher smirked, a devilish gleam in his eye. "This is going to be fun."
We spent the next few hours putting together a plan—one that was dangerous, but necessary. The conference would be our best shot at getting close to Lisbeth Kane, but it also meant walking into the heart of Zenith's territory.
As we made our final preparations, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were marching straight into a trap. But there was no turning back now.
At dawn, we packed our things, ready to move out. I took one last look at the safehouse, the place that had been our refuge for the past few days. It no longer felt safe. It was just a place—soon to be abandoned.
Mara clapped a hand on my shoulder, her expression unreadable. "Ready?"
I didn't answer right away. Instead, I looked at her, then at Cipher and Alan. "Yeah. Let's bring this down."
We left the basement and slipped into the early morning light. The city was waking up, the streets already buzzing with activity. It was a false sense of normalcy—one that Zenith had carefully cultivated.
But we weren't playing by their rules anymore.
We weren't afraid. And we wouldn't stop until the empire they'd built crumbled beneath their feet.
....
https://shshorturlshor