CHAPTER 74

The air in the club felt heavier now, thick with the weight of Liana’s words.

You don’t kill it. You replace it.

Fiona exhaled slowly, letting the words settle. The idea was dangerous, almost unthinkable. And yet, it made perfect sense. The Echelon was too deeply entrenched, its influence too vast. Cutting off one head wouldn’t stop the beast—it would just grow another.

Darwin crossed his arms, his expression unreadable. "And what? You think we just walk in and take over?"

Liana smirked. "Not walk in. Fight for it. The Echelon’s collapsing under its own weight. The real players are circling, waiting to carve up the remains. If you want to survive, you don’t run—you take the throne before someone else does."

Bella’s voice crackled in through the earpiece. "This sounds like a suicide mission."

Fiona glanced at Darwin. "Maybe. Or maybe it’s the only way we win."

Liana finished her drink, standing gracefully. "You’ve got a small window before the real sharks move in. If you're serious about this, you’ll need more than guts. You’ll need leverage. And I might know where you can find it."

Fiona met her gaze. "Tell us."

Liana's lips curled into a knowing smile. "Not here. Not for free. But I’ll make you a deal—I give you a name, and in return, when the dust settles, you don’t forget who helped you."

Fiona didn’t hesitate. "Deal."

Liana leaned in, her voice barely above a whisper. "Silas Grayson."

Darwin’s jaw tensed. Bella muttered a curse in Fiona’s earpiece.

Silas Grayson.

The man behind the curtain.

A former intelligence officer turned corporate kingmaker, Grayson had spent decades pulling strings in the background. Unlike Cain and William, he wasn’t just a piece of the Echelon—he was the architect of its modern power structure.

Liana straightened. "Grayson is the one who decides who rises and who falls. If you want to replace the Echelon, you have to go through him first."

Fiona’s mind raced. "Where is he?"

Liana smiled. "That part? You’ll have to figure out on your own."

And with that, she slipped into the crowd, vanishing like a shadow.

Fiona exhaled, her pulse pounding. "Marcus, get me everything you can on Silas Grayson."

Marcus’s voice was grim. "That’s going to be a problem. Grayson isn’t just off the grid—he built the grid. If he doesn’t want to be found, you won’t find him."

Darwin ran a hand down his face. "We don’t have time for games. If Grayson’s still in play, then he’s already making moves."

Bella cut in. "Then we force him out."

Fiona’s mind sharpened. "Exactly. We don’t find Grayson—we make him come to us."

Darwin frowned. "And how do you propose we do that?"

A slow, dangerous smile spread across Fiona’s face.

"We take his power away."

---

The Opening Move

Back at the bunker, Marcus laid out everything they had on Grayson.

"His influence is global—government contracts, intelligence black markets, corporate mergers. He doesn’t just control the Echelon, he controls the infrastructure that keeps it running."

Bella frowned. "So we cut off his money?"

Marcus shook his head. "It’s not that simple. His wealth is decentralized, buried in shell corporations and proxies."

Fiona leaned forward. "Then we go after something more valuable."

Darwin arched a brow. "Like what?"

Fiona tapped the screen. "His secrets."

Marcus nodded slowly. "Grayson’s power isn’t just in his money—it’s in what he knows. Blackmail, leverage, classified intel. If we hit his data caches, we rip his control out from under him."

Darwin exhaled. "That’s a hell of a target."

Bella cracked her knuckles. "So where do we start?"

Marcus pulled up another file. "There’s a facility in Zurich. Officially, it’s a private banking firm. Unofficially? It’s where Grayson keeps his most valuable intelligence assets—encrypted servers, hard copies, dead drops."

Fiona nodded. "That’s our play. We hit Zurich, steal everything he has, and force him out into the open."

Darwin smirked. "You make it sound easy."

Bella grinned. "No, just fun."

Fiona stood, determination burning in her chest. "Then let’s move. We end this on our terms."

---

Breaking the Vault

The Zurich facility was buried beneath layers of security—biometric scans, thermal sensors, rotating access codes. Breaking in wasn’t just difficult. It was impossible.

Unless you had someone on the inside.

Enter Jonas Keller.

A former Echelon cyber-operative, Keller had been cut loose years ago when Grayson deemed him expendable. He’d spent the years since drinking away his anger—until Marcus found him.

Now, he had a chance for payback.

The plan was simple:

1. Keller would infiltrate the system, creating a small but crucial security blind spot.

2. Bella and Darwin would breach the vault, bypassing the physical defenses.

3. Fiona would extract the intel, copying everything Grayson had hidden.

It should have worked.

It almost did.

Until the alarms went off.

"Marcus!" Fiona hissed over the comms. "What the hell happened?"

"Someone tripped an internal failsafe. You’ve got incoming—elite security team, three minutes out!"

Bella swore. "We don’t have time to finish the d******d!"

Fiona’s jaw clenched. "Take what we have. Move!"

They raced through the corridors, data drive in hand, but the moment they hit the exit, gunfire erupted.

Darwin pulled Fiona behind cover. "We’re cut off!"

Bella fired back. "We need an exit, now!"

Marcus’s voice was tense. "There’s an emergency hatch on the north side—leads to the underground transit system. But you’ve got to move!"

Fiona glanced at Darwin. "Go. I’ll cover you."

Darwin shook his head. "Not happening."

Fiona’s eyes flashed. "We don’t have time to argue."

Bella growled. "She’s right! Move your ass, Darwin!"

Reluctantly, he followed, covering their retreat as Fiona laid down suppressing fire. They slipped through the hatch just as reinforcements swarmed the vault.

They barely made it out.

But they had what they came for.

---

The Final Play

Back in the bunker, Marcus decrypted the files.

His face went pale. "Oh, hell."

Fiona leaned over his shoulder. "What is it?"

Marcus swallowed hard. "Grayson wasn’t just controlling the Echelon. He was using it as a test run."

Darwin frowned. "For what?"

Marcus looked up, his expression grim.

"A global system of control. Politics, finance, technology—he’s been embedding his people everywhere. The Echelon was just the prototype. He’s already building something bigger."

Silence filled the room.

Bella exhaled. "So what do we do?"

Fiona stared at the screen, then at Darwin.

"We do what Liana said."

Darwin’s eyes darkened. "We replace it."

Marcus exhaled. "Then we’d better move fast. Because I guarantee you—Grayson already knows we’re coming."

Fiona tightened her grip on the drive.

They weren’t just fighting the Echelon anymore.

They were about to take on the future itself.

And they had one chance to win.