The night was hot and heavy with gunpowder, the air of Rio buzzing with the chaos of another firefight barely avoided. The C.A.T. Squad had done what they always did best: slip in, slip out, and leave a trail of broken men who never even saw them coming.
Sarah moved quickly through the safehouse, clearing corners while Zondra and Carina secured their exit. Amy brought up the rear, as calm as ever. The op had gone smoothly. Almost too smoothly.
As Sarah turned to grab her gear, her eyes caught something—just a glint—inside Zondra's boot when she bent to tighten her laces. A wire.
Frowning, Sarah crouched down before Zondra could react. With one sharp tug, she pulled free a tiny transmitter, no bigger than a coin, its LED pulsing faintly in the dark.
The room froze.
"What the hell is this?" Sarah demanded, holding it up between two fingers.
Zondra's eyes widened. "I don't know—"
"Don't give me that." Sarah's voice was sharp, colder than Carina had ever heard it. "You planted a tracker. You've been feeding intel. To who? To Gaez?"
Carina stepped closer, tension crackling in the air. "Wait, are you serious? Zondra, tell me she's wrong."
"I don't know how it got there!" Zondra snapped back, anger rising in her throat. "You think I'd betray you? Betray this team? After everything?"
Amy hovered by the door, silent, eyes flicking between them.
Sarah's grip tightened on the transmitter. "This explains how Gaez has been one step ahead of us on every mission. He's not guessing—he's getting fed. From you."
Zondra stepped forward, fury etched in her face. "You think I'd risk my life out here, fight alongside you, only to sell us out? You don't know me at all."
"That's the problem," Sarah shot back. "I thought I did."
Carina tried to laugh it off, though her voice shook. "Girls, come on. Maybe it's a plant. Maybe somebody slipped it in. We don't know—"
"Don't defend her," Sarah cut in.
The squad splintered in that instant. Zondra stormed out, muttering under her breath. Carina stared at Sarah like she wasn't sure whether to side with her or with Zondra. Amy said nothing at all.
And for the first time, Sarah realized: they weren't a squad anymore. They were just four women with guns, suspicion carving lines between them deeper than any enemy ever had.
That night, the C.A.T. Squad disbanded.