The cargo ship rocked gently beneath them as dawn broke over international waters. The sky was the color of bruised lavender, a shade that matched the ache in Nora's chest. She hadn't slept. Neither had Adrian.
He stood at the railing, hands clenched, jaw tight. Ever since they'd escaped the ambush, his mind had been running five moves ahead.
Nora stepped beside him, arms folded. "You look like you're planning to murder someone."
"I am."
"Make a list. We'll compare notes."
Adrian cracked a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes.
He turned to her. "I've been thinking."
"Dangerous."
"I know. But if Kaito thinks we're dead, we have a window. We use it."
"Agreed," she said. "But we can't just barge in guns blazing. We need leverage."
"I'm listening."
Nora inhaled.
"There's someone we need to find. Someone who can expose the Blacklist's new infrastructure. Before Kaito erased me, I was running surveillance on a ghost: Cipher. He's off-grid, but I planted a tracker in his last hardware drop. If it pinged…"
Adrian raised an eyebrow. "You didn't tell me this earlier?"
"Because I didn't trust you."
She said it without apology.
Adrian nodded. "Fair."
"But I do now. So let's go find him."
---
Twelve Hours Later — A Derelict Safehouse in Prague
The safehouse smelled like dust, machine oil, and old secrets. Somewhere, a fan clicked lazily. Nora typed into the terminal, fingers moving with purpose. Lines of code danced across the screen. Adrian watched from a corner, loading weapons onto a table.
"So who is Cipher?" he asked.
Nora didn't answer at first.
Then: "His real name is Dev Malik. We trained together in a program called TESSERA. Meant to mold intelligence prodigies. We called it the 'baby Blacklist.' He was… brilliant. Paranoid. And completely ungovernable."
"Ex-lover?"
She gave him a look. "No. But he tried. And he never got over the rejection."
Adrian smirked. "Sounds stable."
"Oh, he's not. But he's the only one who can crack Kaito's firewall."
The terminal dinged. Nora's expression darkened.
"He's in Vienna."
Adrian grabbed a coat. "Then so are we."
---
Vienna — An Abandoned Metro Station
The coordinates led them underground. A forgotten train platform. The walls were covered in graffiti—layers of political warnings, art, and despair.
They stepped quietly, scanning every shadow.
"I hate this," Adrian muttered.
"Paranoia is a compliment to Cipher," Nora replied. "He built traps into his bathroom."
A flickering screen activated on the wall. A digital face appeared—pixelated, shifting. It spoke with a synthesized voice.
"Nora Vex. And Adrian Kael. The dead walk again."
"Cut the theatrics, Dev," Nora snapped. "I know it's you."
A door slid open beside them.
"I was hoping you'd come alone," Cipher's voice replied.
They entered a rusted control room. And there he was.
Dev "Cipher" Malik.
Scruffy, rail-thin, with a half-burnt jacket and mismatched shoes. A portable server hung from his neck like a talisman. He looked like a man who hadn't slept in a decade.
"Nice place," Adrian said dryly.
"Thanks. It's wired with sixteen trip mines, so do mind the coffee table."
Cipher studied Adrian, then looked at Nora. "You brought him. I assume that means you either trust him or need a hostage."
"Both," Nora replied.
Adrian smiled faintly. "I like her honesty."
Cipher didn't.
"I saw what Kaito did," he said, voice dropping. "Broadcast your kill orders like a fireworks show. Turned you into villains in your own legend. I could help."
"But?" Nora asked.
Cipher shrugged. "I'm not suicidal."
"You always were, Dev. You just preferred slow methods—like pissing off trained assassins."
Adrian interjected, "Can you crack Kaito's firewall or not?"
Cipher looked at him.
"You mean The Wraith Protocol? His new AI-protected neural core that's running all Blacklist data hubs?"
"That's the one."
Cipher grinned. "Already did."
Nora's eyes widened.
"You did?"
Cipher gestured toward his server. "I've been waiting for a reason. And revenge? That's a pretty compelling reason."
---
For hours, they planned. Cipher revealed the location of a Blacklist node server in Zurich. Taking it out would cripple Kaito's data streams for 72 hours—a window big enough for a real strike.
But just as they started prepping the plan, Cipher froze.
He stared at a screen. Then swore violently.
"What?" Adrian barked.
"There's a tracer in your feed. A piggyback signal. You led them here."
"No," Nora said, stepping forward. "That's impossible. I swept the whole—"
"Too late," Cipher said.
Explosions rocked the underground chamber.
The power went out.
Screams echoed down the corridor.
Then—footsteps.
Adrian raised his gun.
Nora's voice was low, cold. "We're compromised."
Cipher yanked a cord from his server and tossed them a drive.
"All data's on this. Go. I'll hold them off."
"You'll die," Nora said.
"I was already dead."
The lights flickered back just long enough to show the sadness in his eyes.
"You always deserved better than Blacklist, Vex. Get out. Burn it all."
---
They ran through back tunnels as Cipher's last stand unfolded behind them.
Adrian glanced back only once.
When they emerged into the night, sirens wailed in the distance.
They didn't stop running until they reached the van they'd hidden in an alley. Once inside, Nora slumped into the seat, shaking.
Adrian handed her water.
"He gave his life to buy us 72 hours."
She nodded, throat tight.
"I hated him," she whispered.
"But he was family."
Adrian didn't speak. He just started the engine.
They drove toward the border in silence.
---
Back at a Mountain Bunker – 24 Hours Later
They regrouped in one of Adrian's oldest safe bunkers—buried beneath a Swiss alp and wrapped in analog silence. No satellites. No cell towers. Just rock, snow, and ancient steel.
Nora sat with the drive, eyes scanning the decrypted files Cipher had left them.
It was a treasure trove.
Not just data hubs. But names.
Blacklisted operatives. Undercover assets. Moles.
And one name stood out.
"Adrian," she said softly.
He turned from where he was cleaning a rifle.
She held up the screen.
There, in bold red text, was:
Agent Simon Veylan – Codename: Rook
Current Status: Embedded inside Adrian Kael's inner circle.
Adrian stared.
"Simon's… the mole?"
His hand clenched.
"I raised him. He was my best tracker. I trusted him with my life."
"Which is exactly why Kaito chose him."
Adrian sat down heavily.
Nora hesitated, then reached into her bag.
"There's more," she said.
She pulled out a second flash drive.
Adrian blinked. "What's that?"
"Plan B."
He narrowed his eyes. "You kept something from me?"
"I knew this would happen," she said. "I knew someone would betray you. I couldn't afford to bet everything on one hand. So I created a separate access key—something even Cipher didn't know about. Something that gives us control of Kaito's offshore accounts."
She tossed it onto the table.
Adrian stared at her.
"You had this the whole time?"
"I needed to be sure you weren't playing me."
He leaned forward, hands on the table. "And now?"
"Now I know you're not the villain."
He exhaled slowly.
"And what does this do?"
"It lets us bankrupt the Blacklist. Every major shell company. Every front operation. Gone. One keystroke."
Adrian smiled for the first time in hours.
"That's a hell of a stroke."
Nora stepped close, her voice soft. "But we can't do it yet. Not until we draw them all out. One final bait."
He met her gaze. "Me."
She nodded. "You're still the most wanted man in the world. Let's use that."
He chuckled darkly.
"You're dangerous."
She kissed him then—sudden, fierce, unfiltered.
When they broke apart, she whispered:
"So are you."
---
Meanwhile — A Hidden Room in Zurich
Simon Veylan watched the security feed.
He sipped a glass of brandy as Nora and Adrian embraced on a grainy black-and-white screen.
His comm buzzed.
"Phase Two is ready," said a voice.
Simon smiled coldly.
"Let them think they're winning."
He leaned back.
"We'll burn them at the finish line."