“Leave her out of this,” Jack said.

  “Screw you, Jack. I didn’t get into this to play second fiddle. I’ve been positioning myself to take over.”

  Jack raised an eyebrow. “Take over? From the inside?”

  Marcus nodded. “Exactly. I’ve been gathering intel, learning their weaknesses. I’m not their pawn. I’m biding my time. When the moment’s right, I’ll take them down and control the entire operation.”

  Ben stepped forward. “And we’re supposed to believe you’re on our side now?”

  Marcus smirked. “I’m on my side, Ben. But our interests align. You want to bring them down? So do I. The difference is, I know how.”

  Reese looked skeptical. “And what’s stopping us from taking you down right now?”

  Marcus shrugged. “You could. But you won’t get far without me. I know their plans, their operations. I can help you get to them. And I can help you do it tonight. And when they’re out of the picture, we’ll see who’s left standing.”

  Jack’s eyes narrowed. “And if we refuse your help?”

  Marcus’s smile faded. “Then you’ll be walking blind into a trap. I’m offering you a chance to take them down from the inside. You don’t have to trust me, but you need me.”

  “And what if we decide to take you out right after?”

  “You won’t.”

  “Why’s that?”

  A grin widened. His teeth glowed red. “Because if I don’t call a certain number by six am tomorrow, your little girl will be whisked away from her dead uncle.”

  Jack lunged forward, drove a right hook into Marcus’s face. The man toppled over, but Jack didn’t stop. He slammed his foot into the guy’s back and ribs.

  “Jack!” Reese wrapped her arms around him and pulled back. “We can’t do this. Even if he’s bluffing, we can’t do this.”

  Marcus’s groans turned into laughter. He rolled over, still smiling. His teeth really were red now, covered in his blood. “That’s the Jack I need tonight. Glad to see he still exists.”

  “If you hurt one hair on my girl’s head⁠—”

  “Don’t worry, old friend. Help me achieve what I’m here to do, and everything will be just fine.”

  34

  Jack pulled the Jeep to a stop a safe distance from Lacy’s bar. The neon sign cast a faint glow on the pavement and a haze in the night sky, flickering as the last stragglers exited the bar, laughing and stumbling into the night. Were they aware of the deception within?

  Jack cut the engine and turned to Reese, Marcus, and Ben. “We’ll wait until it’s completely empty. We go in quietly.”

  Reese checked her weapon. “Got it.”

  Marcus leaned back in his seat, staring out at the bar. He seemed tense. Jack couldn’t get a read on the man. How much of what he had said was true? At the end of the day, if Jack had to put a bullet in the man’s head, he had no qualms about it. If he intended to hurt Mia, he deserved to die. If he bluffed Jack about Mia in order to buy himself some time, he deserved to die.

  Marcus looked up from the bar. “You know, I never thought it would come to this. Being here, working with you again.”

  Jack kept his eyes on the bar. “Why the hatred? What did I do that was so unforgivable?”

  Marcus clenched his fists. “It wasn’t just you, Jack. It was everything you represented. You came into the SIS like you owned the place. Frank Skinner’s new golden boy. I’d been there for years, working my ass off, and suddenly you show up and take my spot.”

  Jack turned to face him. “You were a prisoner in Afghanistan, Marcus. We rescued you. That should have been enough to solidify my presence in the agency.”

  Marcus’s eyes flashed with anger. “Enough? You think that was enough? You have no idea what it was like being in there, what I went through. And then to come back and see you in my place, succeeding where I had failed. It was like a slap in the face.”

  Jack’s jaw tightened. “So, this is all because of your ego?”

  Marcus looked away. “Maybe. Partly. But it’s more than that. Every mission you completed, every accolade you received—it was because I had failed.”

  “That was years ago.”

  “Funny. Still feels like yesterday to me.”

  Jack shook his head. “And now? What do you hope to achieve with all this?”

  Marcus met his gaze. “Control. Power. I want to take over. I’ve been positioning myself to take down Hennessey and his operation from the inside. When this is over, I’ll be the one in charge. No more government officials controlling me. I’ll have them in my pockets.”

  “And you think we’re just gonna let that happen?”

  Marcus smirked. “You need me, Jack.” The smile from his face dropped. “And as much as I hate to admit it, we need each other right now.”

  “We don’t need you at all.”

  Marcus jutted his chin to the left. “See that car there?”

  Jack turned to look. Through the tinted windows he could make out two heads.

  “Those are my guys,” Marcus said. “They’re insurance if this whole thing goes awry.”

  “The car I heard,” Reese said.

  Marcus nodded.

  Jack turned back to the bar, the last patrons stumbling away. The neon sign flickered one last time before shutting off. The area fell into a darkness as the sign faded.

  “Let’s get this done.” Jack opened his door and stepped out into the cool night air. The others followed suit.

  They moved quickly and quietly, taking up their positions around the bar. Jack, Reese, and Marcus would enter together, while Ben kept watch outside, ready to provide backup if needed. Marcus’s men remained in their vehicle. Jack wondered what their true purpose was, but shoved the question down. He couldn’t worry about that now. The time would come, and he’d deal with it then.

  Jack glanced at Marcus before they entered. “Stay close and follow my lead. No mistakes.” He reached for the door, stopped, looked back again. “Don’t fuck me over.”

  Marcus nodded. “Let’s do this.”

  With that, they slipped inside, the door closing softly behind them. The bar was dark and silent, the only sound the faint hum of the refrigerator in the back. The smell of beer and bison burgers lingered. The floor felt sticky in spots.

  They moved through the space, their footsteps muffled on the worn wooden floor.

  In the back, they could hear voices, low and urgent. Jack signaled for them to stop. He listened, trying to make out what was being said. From what they could hear, it was clear that a big deal was going down.

  Jack took a deep breath and nodded to Reese and Marcus. It was time to move.

  He led the way. Reese was to his right. Marcus to his left. Every cell in his body was on high alert as they approached the back room. The voices grew louder and more distinct. There were multiple people behind the closed door. He held up his hand, signaling for Reese and Marcus to stop.

  “…make sure the shipment is ready by morning. No mistakes this time,” a gruff voice said.

  Jack glanced at Reese and Marcus. “Ready?”

  They both nodded. Jack took a deep breath, then kicked the door open. The room erupted into chaos. Several men turned. Danny and Ron were at the center, surrounded by four other men. Lacy stood near the back. It only took a second for the look on her face to change from confusion to anger.

  “Freeze!” Jack shouted, his gun trained on a man with his pistol already at his side.

  For a moment, time seemed to stand still. Then, all hell broke loose. One of the other men reached for his weapon, and Jack fired, hitting him in the chest. The guy dropped, but before Jack could pick another target, the room exploded into a frenzy of gunfire.

  Jack and Reese moved in tandem. Neither had to direct the other. Their movements were synchronized as they overturned a table and took cover. Bullets whizzed past, shattering bottles and sending splinters of wood flying.

  Marcus ducked behind a pillar. He returned fire. He grunted in pain as he took a bullet to his arm. It didn’t stop him. He took out the second guy.

  Jack hit another. The guy dropped to a knee. Reese finished him off.

  Jack glanced over at Marcus. “You okay?” Not that he really cared.

  Marcus nodded, wincing. “Just a scratch. Don’t worry about me.”

  The gunfire continued, more sporadic than at first. The noise was deafening in the confined space. Jack spotted Danny trying to make a run for it and aimed his gun. “Stop, Danny!”

  Danny ignored him and sprinted towards the exit. Jack fired, hitting him in the leg. Danny stumbled and fell, crying out in pain.

  Ron roared in anger, firing wildly at Jack and Reese. “You’ll pay for that!”

  Jack ducked as bullets thudded into the wall behind him. Ron shot with a three-shot pattern. After the sixth round, Jack rose from his cover, fired two quick shots, and ducked again. There was no return fire. Just the sound of Ron crashing back into a pile of boxes. Jack peered over the table and saw Ron clutching his chest, blood spreading across his shirt.

  “Enough!” Lacy shouted. “Enough.”

  Jack rose, saw the last remaining man standing in front of Lacy. He had his hands up, pistol aimed at the ceiling. Jack kept is aim trained on him.

  “Reese,” Jack said.

  “Yeah?”

  “Check on Danny.”

  Reese stepped out from cover and went to Danny. She kicked his 9mm away and began checking his wounds.

  Just then, Ben burst into the room. Everyone flinched at the sight of him. And the man in front of Lacy, perhaps on instinct, fired a shot that hit Ben in the side. He staggered and fell to the ground.

  “Ben!” Jack shouted. He fired at the last remaining guard. The guy fell, and the room fell into a tense silence, the only sound Ben and Danny’s labored breathing.

  Jack rushed to Ben’s side. “Hang in there.”

  Ben nodded weakly. “I’ll be fine. Just finish this.”

  With the immediate threat neutralized, Jack and Reese turned their attention to Lacy. She was trying to slip out the back door. Marcus was already across the room, pistol drawn and aimed at her.

  “Stop, Lacy,” Marcus said.

  The door slipped off her fingertips and fell shut. For a moment, she stood with her back to them, shoulders slumped. Her exhale was forced and audible even amid Ben and Danny’s ragged breaths. Lacy turned, slowly, drawing her shoulders back. A pistol hung from her right hand. By the time she faced them, she looked defiant. Her gaze swept the room, falling on Ron for a moment too long. A moment that said he was more than just her ex-husband who she ragged on incessantly any time he was around her. It was all a ruse, Jack figured, the way he treated her.

  Marcus gestured for Lacy to come to him. She didn’t move.

  “It’s over, Lacy,” Marcus said.

  “You don’t understand.” Lacy said. “It’s not what it looks like.”

  “Save it,” Jack said. “We know everything.”

  She stared at him for a moment and shook her head. “You have no idea what you’re getting into.”

  Jack moved closer. “Then enlighten us. Who else is involved? And where’s the evidence that proves it? ‘Cause we already have everything we need on you.”

  Lacy smirked as her gaze darted toward Marcus. “You’ll never take us all down. There’s more at play here than you realize.”

  And that’s when Jack heard it. One syllable. Spoken by the man who had wanted him dead for the better part of two decades.

  “Now.”

  35

  “What have you done?” Jack’s thoughts raced to Mia and Sean, the danger they were in, miles away in Costa Rica. Marcus had threatened their lives if Jack didn’t comply, didn’t help him achieve his goal.

  Marcus’s face twisted into a cold smile. “Just ensuring I have leverage.” He raised his pistol and without hesitation shot Lacy in the shoulder. The gunshot echoed through the bar, and Lacy cried out, falling to the ground, clutching her wound.

  “No!” Jack started to move but Marcus aimed his pistol at him, a smug grin on his face.

  With his other hand, Marcus pressed send on his phone. “Now my men in Costa Rica are getting their orders. One wrong move from you, and your brother and daughter are dead.”

  Jack froze, his mind racing. He couldn’t afford to call Marcus’s bluff. “You don’t have to do this, Marcus. Call them off.”

  Marcus shook his head. “You never understood, Jack. This is about control. And now, I have all the control. You’re going to do whatever I want you to do.”

  Jack’s desperation grew. He had to find a way to turn the situation around, to save Mia and Sean. He knew he had to take Marcus out now. He waited for an opening. But before it could happen, the back door swung forward and a man entered. And two more men entered from the other end of the room. Marcus’s men from outside.

  Marcus relaxed his grip on his pistol and his phone, and the phone’s screen was now in Jack’s view. He saw what Marcus hadn’t. The call had failed.

  “Drop your weapons,” one of the men shouted.

  Jack glanced at Reese, who stood frozen, her gaze darting between Jack and Marcus. Jack nodded at her, and she slowly lowered her weapon.

  Marcus’s smirk widened as he watched Jack’s reaction. “That’s better. Now, we’re going to have a little chat about how things are going to play out from here.”

  Jack gritted his teeth. “What do you want? I helped you with this. We’re over.”

  “No, we’re not,” Marcus said. “You’re going to help me consolidate power. With Hennessey’s network under my control, we’ll have a monopoly on every operation from here to the border. And you, Jack, you’re going to ensure it happens smoothly. Otherwise, your family pays the price.”

  Jack’s heart pounded in his chest. He couldn’t let Marcus win, but he couldn’t risk Mia and Sean’s lives either. He needed to buy time, to find a way to turn the tables.

  “All right.” Jack tried to sound compliant. “I’ll do what you want. Just call off your men in Costa Rica.”

  Marcus raised an eyebrow. “Do you think I’m stupid, Jack? You’ll comply first, then I’ll consider it.”

  Jack glanced around the room at the fallen bodies. Some dead. Other’s hanging onto life. He settled on Reese, wishing he could communicate with her silently and coordinate a final attack. Her eyes shifted to the open door, then back to him. She repeated the gesture, then started lowering herself to the floor.

  Jack turned his head toward Marcus again when he saw a flash from outside. A glint of light off something metallic. And then Tilley came into view, flanked by two other officers in riot gear.

  As a man with a riot shield burst through the doorway, Jack dropped to the ground. Amid a round of gunfire, he crawled toward Reese, who was moving to the overturned table. With a burst, he reached her location and peered around the table to see what was happening.

  He caught sight of Ben, on his knees, squeezing off a round and taking one in return. A fatal hit. Jack winced as the man fell forward, eyes open, staring in his direction.

  One of the cops took a round and dropped. So did one of Marcus’s men. Marcus had managed to retreat to a favorable position. The man aimed at Jack and fired, but he managed to duck his head in time.

  Another of Marcus’s men dropped, but before he did, he took out a second cop, leaving only Tilley. Marcus stepped out from his position and had the officer dead to rights. Jack had a bead on Marcus and squeezed the trigger, but it was too late. The man had fired and hit his target. Tilley was dead before he hit the ground.

  Marcus wasn’t so lucky. The bullet had entered his chest on the left. Enough damage to end his life.

  After the exchange, Jack failed to notice Marcus’s last remaining man had Jack in his sights. Reese called out and fired. Another round ripped through the air. Jack dove at the sound of Reese’s voice, narrowly missed being hit. The other man wasn’t so lucky as Reese’s round took him out.

  They surveyed the carnage. Reese went to Tilley and confirmed he was gone. Jack took his time approaching Marcus, aware that the man could have one last play.

  “Jack,” Reese said.

  “What?” he said.

  “Lacy escaped.”

  “She won’t get far. She’s too injured.”

  The backdoor hung slightly ajar. Reese kicked it open. Just beyond the opening, Lacy lay on the ground, struggling to breathe.

  “Looks like she took another round,” Reese said.

  “See what you can do for her.”

  Jack approached Marcus, his eyes never leaving the man’s face. Marcus lay on the ground, blood pooling around him, but his eyes were still sharp, full of defiance.

  “You think this ends with me?” Marcus spat, coughing up blood. “There are others. You can’t stop it.”

  Jack knelt beside him, his expression hard. “Who else, Marcus? Who’s pulling the strings?”

  Marcus chuckled weakly, his strength fading. “You’ll never find out. You’re just one man, Jack. One man against a machine.”

  Reese joined Jack, her eyes flicking to Marcus, then to the fallen bodies around them. “We need to end this.”

  Jack nodded, his jaw clenched. “You’re right.” He leaned closer to Marcus, his voice cold. “Where’s the evidence, Marcus? Where’s the proof that ties everything together?”

  Marcus’s eyes fluttered, the light in them dimming. “The bar… behind the bar… safe… code is… 1952.” His voice trailed off, and with one last shuddering breath, he was gone.

  Jack stood. “Reese, check the safe. We need that evidence.”

  Reese nodded and moved quickly behind the bar, finding the hidden safe. She returned moments later holding folders and a flash drive. “This is it. This is what we need.”

  “Take pictures of everything.”

  While she did, Jack pulled out his phone and placed a call.

 

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