The hum of the submarine faded, the pressure on the deep water outside equalizing as the hatch sealed. Rex, his face grim, turned from the control panel. He hadn't noticed her. He rarely did, until she wanted to be seen.
Kelso stood in the narrow corridor, a shadow among shadows. Her posture was weary, lines etched around eyes that had seen too much, searched too long. But in her gaze, a flicker of something new ignited—a dangerous spark that Rex knew all too well.
"He's alive," she stated, not a question, but a cold, hard declaration. Her voice, usually sharp and authoritative, was a raw whisper. "Jäger. You brought him here. You talked to him. You kept this from me, Rex."
Rex ran a hand over his face, a sigh escaping him. "Kelso, listen. It's complicated. He's deep in with a new outfit, not the Division. A shadow organization. We had to be careful. If The Watchers knew, if the Syndicate knew you knew—"
"I don't care about their games, Rex!" Her voice rose, echoing in the confined space. "My husband. He's alive. And you chose to keep it from me." She stepped closer, her eyes blazing, the pain of years of false grief boiling over into incandescent fury. "After everything. After all we lost. You had him right there."
"It wasn't that simple," Rex insisted, holding her gaze. "He's compromised, Kelso. He's marked. The Watchers are hunting him. If you had gone in there—"
"I would have gone in there," she finished for him, her jaw tight. "And I would have brought him out. Just like I always would."
A soft, almost imperceptible sound drifted from the adjacent room—a dry, hacking cough. The Viper. Her interrogation room, ironically, was right next to the small briefing area where Jäger had spoken to Keener. Kelso's outburst, her very presence, had been overheard.
Rex's head snapped towards the door. Too late.
The Viper's voice, raspy but triumphant, cut through the comms system, a frequency she'd somehow tapped into despite her restraints. "So, the legendary Faye Kelso lives! And she still hasn't learned to control her temper."
Kelso whirled, fury replacing sorrow. "You! What do you know about this, Viper?"
"Oh, everything," The Viper purred, a chilling amusement in her voice. "Your husband, Jäger, the one you thought dead? He's quite the catch. The Syndicate has him. And he's already been marked by The Watchers. Didn't Rex tell you? He's a very pretty little pawn in a very big game."
Rex slammed his fist against the wall, a low growl escaping him. He'd tried to protect her. Now, the Viper's manipulative words were pouring gasoline on an already volatile situation.
"Rex," Kelso said, her voice dangerously calm now, "open her cell."
"Kelso, no," Rex pleaded. "She's poisonous. She'll only twist this more. She's telling you just enough to get you to act recklessly."
"She already has," Kelso replied, her eyes fixed on the door. "And I need to know everything."
Resigned, knowing he couldn't stop her once her mind was set, Rex activated the door controls. The heavy door hissed open, revealing The Viper, still in her restraints, but a smirk playing on her lips.
"Welcome, Director Kelso," The Viper greeted, her eyes sweeping over Kelso with a predatory gleam. "We have so much to discuss about your dear Jäger. And perhaps… about how you can get him back. Because no one gives up a Division Agent once they have them. Not without a fight."
Kelso stepped into the cell, ignoring The Viper's taunts, her focus solely on the information she craved. Rex remained at the threshold, watching the exchange with a profound sense of dread. The immediate threat from The Watchers, the complex web of the Syndicate – it was all being overshadowed by Kelso's singular, desperate mission. He knew she would move mountains, risk everything, now that she had a glimmer of hope. And in this new shadow war, that kind of personal stake was the most dangerous vulnerability of all.
The ghost of the Division was indeed alive. But now, so was a love that could either shatter the world, or save it, in ways no one could foresee.