Chapter 15 - The Judas Protocol
We reached the outskirts of Darby by midday, entering through the rail yard where rusty boxcars sat abandoned in the frozen weeds. Claire’s hands were stained with motor grease and dried blood from hotwiring a rusted 1998 Dodge Ram parked behind an abandoned timber mill.
The dashboard heater blew tepid air, barely cutting through the bone-chilling cold that filled the cab.
"Why would the Marshals betray us?" I demanded, staring out the cracked windshield as we idled in an alleyway two blocks from Darby Elementary. The school playground was empty; the children were inside for afternoon classes. "We gave them the Archive! We gave them Vance! The Attorney General personally signed off on our immunity!"
"You're a lawyer, David, but you still think in terms of courtrooms and statutes," Claire replied, her voice laced with bitter exhaustion as she tapped into the captured tactical tablet. "To the Directorate, governments are not sovereign entities. They are holding companies. The Attorney General who signed my immunity was replaced four months ago. The new Director of National Intelligence was Julian Vance’s biggest client."
She turned the tablet toward me. A file had been decrypted using the dead sniper's biometric key.
On the screen was an operation order codenamed *JUDAS PROTOCOL*.
Target: Helena Cross (Status: Terminate on site).
Secondary Asset: Emily Mercer (Status: Secure and transport to Facility Omega, Zurich).
Authorized by: Special Agent in Charge, Marcus Cole.
The air evaporated from my lungs. "Marcus Cole? Your old handler? The man who brought you in from the cold in Berlin?"
"The only man on earth who knew every alias, every safehouse protocol, and every psychological flaw I had," Claire whispered, her knuckles whitening against the steering wheel. "He didn't just sell us out. He organized the hunt. He knows how I think. He knows I would immediately come for Emily."
Suddenly, the captured satellite radio on the console beeped twice. A calm, cultivated voice with a transatlantic accent crackled over the speaker.
"I know you took out the northern scout, Helena," the voice said smoothly. "And I know you're sitting in a stolen vehicle within five hundred yards of Darby Elementary. You always favored tactical proximity over strategic retreat."
May you like
Claire reached out and pressed the transmit button. "If your men touch my daughter, Marcus, I will spend the rest of my life hunting you to the ends of the earth. You know what I did in Belgrade."
A quiet chuckle came through the static. "I was the one who cleaned up Belgrade, my dear. Look through your binoculars. Front entrance of the school. Look right now."
