The Association's central offices in Buenos Aires rose like an art deco cathedral above the Avenida Corrientes, its Tesla-powered spires crackling with electrical energy in the morning mist. Aurelio stood before the brass elevator gates, cold sweat beading on his forehead despite the air conditioning. Twenty-four hours ago, he'd been planting evidence on corpses. Now he had to look his team in the eyes and lie about everything that mattered.
His hands trembled as he pressed the elevator button. What if Sean saw through it all? What if Douglas noticed inconsistencies? What if...
The elevator chimed as it reached the fifteenth floor. Through the frosted glass doors of Conference Room Alpha, he could see his team assembled around the polished table. Sean slouched in his chair like a caged animal, blue eyes sharp and dangerous. Douglas sat with military precision, though his jaw worked like he was chewing glass. Estela clutched a tissue, mascara streaked down her cheeks. Captain García sat with her reading glasses perched on her nose, reviewing files with the mechanical focus of someone avoiding difficult conversations.
They looked like survivors of a car wreck. Which, Aurelio supposed, they were.
He pushed open the door, wiping sweaty palms on his jacket. Four pairs of eyes turned toward him, carrying everything he'd expected. Pain. Confusion. The desperate hunger for answers that might explain why their world had gone to hell.
"Team." His voice cracked like a teenager asking for a date. He cleared his throat, tried again. "Before we discuss anything else, I need to tell you the hardest truth first."
The room went silent except for the distant hum of Tesla coils and the soft tick of García's pocket watch. She had a habit of checking it when she was nervous, a tell from thirty years of federal service.
"I was manipulated. Hayes convinced me that Kasper's family was in danger. Made me believe bringing him in was the only way to protect Maria and the children." Aurelio's hands trembled as he gripped the chair back, knuckles white. "I led him into a trap. I'm the reason he's gone."
Sean shot to his feet so fast his chair skidded backward. "What the fuck are you talking about?"
"She had photos. Video footage of men watching Kasper's house." Aurelio forced himself to meet those furious blue eyes, even as his stomach churned. "Convinced me that ATA operatives were planning to take his family hostage."
Estela's tissue disintegrated in her fist. "You mean... all this time, while we've been worried sick..."
"I betrayed the best man I know because I was scared and stupid." Aurelio's voice broke completely. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple. "Kasper trusted me, and I sold him out."
Douglas leaned forward, his analytical mind grinding through the emotional bombshell. The ex-detective always touched his wedding ring when processing bad news. "Where is he now?"
"Federal detention. Black site protocols." The words tasted like ashes. "Hayes had authorization for enhanced interrogation."
Sean's fists clenched, his whole body coiling like a spring loaded with violence. "And where exactly is this cunt Hayes right now?"
This was it. The moment where everything either held together or exploded in his face. Aurelio's shirt stuck to his back with nervous sweat.
"Dead. Along with her whole team. ATA terrorists hit them yesterday." He moved to the presentation stand, where evidence from the warehouse waited under black cloth. "I got there as backup, but I was too fucking late."
He yanked away the cloth, revealing the ATA transmitter with its dark vacuum tubes. Propaganda leaflets. The tactical manual with margin notes about federal infiltration.
"Hayes was investigating ATA infiltration of our system. She died trying to complete a transmission about chaos cells inside federal oversight." Aurelio picked up the transmitter, hoping no one noticed his hands shaking. "This was in her hand when I found her."
Sean stared at the evidence, his suspicious mind working overtime. "Real fucking convenient timing. Hayes screws over Kasper, then gets herself killed by the same cocksuckers she was supposedly hunting?"
"That's exactly what I thought." Aurelio met Sean's challenge, fighting down nausea. "Until I saw this." He clipped photographs to the tactical board, praying his voice stayed steady. "Hayes was following money trails. Shell companies funneling cash from ATA cells straight into cyberllich operations."
But one photo was missing. The financial transfer Hayes had supposedly tracked from the Constitución district. Aurelio's mind raced. Had he forgotten it? Lost it? Sean was studying the board like a hawk.
"Interesting," Sean said slowly. "Where's the documentation for this Constitución connection you mentioned? The one that supposedly led Hayes to suspect Kasper?"
Cold panic shot through Aurelio's chest. "I... the federal response team confiscated some materials. Chain of evidence protocols."
Douglas stood and examined what remained. "These documents appear authentic. ATA operational protocols..." He looked up. "You think Hayes genuinely believed Kasper posed a threat?"
"I think Hayes got fed bad intelligence." Bile burned Aurelio's throat. Every word felt like walking through a minefield. "And I was desperate enough to believe her."
García adjusted her reading glasses. "The intelligence apparatus has been compromised before. Standard operating procedure for these bastards."
Sean wasn't satisfied. He stepped closer, using his size like a weapon. "Something still smells like week-old fish, boss. Hayes manipulates you, then conveniently dies? Sounds like the kind of setup they teach you in fight camps when you want to take someone out clean."
"Mr. Covington," García said with the authority of someone who'd survived three decades of federal politics. "Are you suggesting Manager Torrealba is lying about Agent Hayes's death?"
Sean's stare never wavered from Aurelio's face. Aurelio could feel sweat pooling at the base of his neck. "I'm saying when I smell bullshit, I usually find bullshit. And I'm going to dig until I hit bedrock on this one."
The threat hung in the air like gun smoke. Douglas moved between them. "Sean, we're all upset about Kasper..."
"Upset?" Sean's voice carried genuine pain beneath the aggression. "Kasper's sitting in some federal shithole because people keep making the wrong calls. And now I'm supposed to just trust the same decision-making that put him there?"
"Stop it!" Estela surged to her feet, all five feet nothing of her vibrating with fury. "All of you! Just stop it right now!"
The room went dead silent. Estela rarely raised her voice above library levels, and when she did, it carried the weight of absolute moral authority.
"Kasper is gone and Hayes is dead and we're sitting here fighting like children!" Tears streamed down her face, but her voice stayed steady. "Don't you understand? They're counting on us to fall apart. That's exactly how they win."
She turned to face each of them in turn. "Hayes exploited Aurelio's feelings. Used his care for Kasper's family like a weapon. And now Kasper is paying the price."
Her voice softened but didn't lose its steel. "We can't change what happened. We can only decide what we do next. And if we waste time pointing fingers instead of helping our friend, then we're just as bad as the people who put him there."
García nodded slowly. "Ms. Montenegro speaks the truth. Our priority must be securing Mr. de la Fuente's release."
Sean finally sat back down, but his jaw stayed tight. "Fine. But I want every piece of intelligence Hayes provided reviewed. Every document, every photo, every goddamn coffee order. And if I find out someone's been playing games..." He let the threat hang.
"Agreed," Aurelio said quickly, fighting to keep his voice steady. "Complete transparency."
Douglas pulled out his notebook. "What about federal cooperation? Hayes's contacts might help us understand her real objectives."
García's expression hardened. "I'll handle federal coordination. My security clearance should provide access to Hayes's operational files."
Estela was already reaching for her analysis equipment. "I can cross-reference Hayes's financial intelligence with our current data streams."
Sean leaned back in his chair, still watching Aurelio like a predator studying prey. "And what about you, boss? What's your play in this whole shitshow?"
Aurelio felt the weight of every lie he'd told pressing down like a collapsed building. "I'm going to get Kasper back. Whatever it takes."
Sean's expression shifted slightly. "Now that sounds like something worth getting my hands dirty for. But boss?" His voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. "If I find out you're not telling us everything, we're going to have problems. The kind that end with someone not walking away."
García pulled out a brass message tube from the pneumatic system. "I've received authorization from Morrison for continued investigation. We have full institutional support."
As the team began dividing assignments, Aurelio allowed himself a moment of shaky relief. The lie was holding, barely. But Sean's suspicious questions echoed like warning bells. The aggressive young fighter had good instincts, and those instincts were screaming that something wasn't right.
Aurelio would have to stay several moves ahead of Sean's investigation. One slip, one missing document, and the whole house of cards would collapse.
The hunt for the cyberllich would continue. Hayes's memory would be honored. His team would pursue justice with renewed determination.
But as Aurelio watched Sean's calculating eyes, one chilling thought cut through his relief: if Sean ever discovered the truth about Hayes, Aurelio suspected he wouldn't live long enough to explain himself.
Because men like Sean Covington didn't just expose liars.
They eliminated them.