The tunnel spat them out half a mile deeper into the jungle.
They stumbled into the night air, smoke still drifting on the wind from burning trees. Reyes sagged against Cross, pale but clinging to consciousness.
Cross turned on Elena, slamming her against a tree. "Start talking. Why does Kane want me?"
Her jaw tightened, but she didn't fight him. "Because you have something no one else does. Intel. Coordinates. You led the mission that destroyed Kane's convoy years ago. You don't remember, but you saw something. Something Kane lost—and he'll tear the world apart to get it back."
Cross's grip loosened slightly. "You're saying this is about… a memory?"
"It's more than memory," Elena said. "It's leverage. You know where Kane's war chest is buried. Billions in weapons, tech, and data. And he'll bleed nations dry to drag it out of you."
Cross's mind reeled. Could it be true? The op had been chaos, fire and sand. He remembered explosions, screaming men—but not details. Still, the idea that Kane thought he held the key… it explained the hunt.
Reyes rasped, "So we're carrying a target bigger than the convoy itself."
Before Cross could answer, gunfire cracked in the distance. Dogs barked. The Legion was sweeping closer.
Elena loaded her pistol. "We keep moving. Toward the river station. It's our only shot."