All Chapters of Beneath The Steel And Silk: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

The bunker was dimly lit and smelled of damp earth. The walls were lined with metal shelves holding supplies: canned food, medical kits, and ammunition. A single table dominated the center of the room, maps and files spread haphazardly across its surface. The team sat in uneasy silence, their faces drawn and exhausted. The ambush had left its mark—not just on their bodies, but on their trust in one another.Damian broke the quiet, his voice low but commanding. “We have a mole. There’s no question about it now.”Sage shifted uncomfortably, her back against the cold concrete wall. She glanced at each team member in turn, searching their faces for guilt, fear, or any telltale sign of betrayal. Adrian, his arms crossed defensively. Elias, quiet and watchful. Maya and Alex, sitting close together, their expressions unreadable.“We need to address this head-on,” Damian continued. “But first, we regroup and figure out our next move against Bancroft. The ambush proves we’re getting close to s

The bunker was no longer a refuge. It was a powder keg waiting for a spark. Tensions ran high after Elias’s betrayal, and his cryptic revelation about Bancroft’s endgame had shaken everyone to the core. For Sage, the world had narrowed to two questions: how to stop Bancroft and whether she could still trust the team she was risking her life for.The morning after Elias’s interrogation, the group gathered around the war table. Maps, intercepted messages, and hastily scribbled notes cluttered the surface. Damian stood at the head, his presence commanding as ever, but there was an edge to his tone that betrayed his frustration.“We’ve located Bancroft’s potential network hub,” Damian said, pointing to a spot on the map. “It’s a fortified facility in the city’s industrial zone. If we take it out, we cripple his ability to launch the system.”“Fortified?” Adrian asked, arching a skeptical eyebrow. “How fortified are we talking?”“Private security, automated defenses, and a direct connectio

The Johannesburg operation had been a success, but the scars of the battle lingered. As the sun rose over the distant horizon, Sage leaned against the side of the armored truck, staring at the endless expanse of dry grass and distant city lights. Damian was inside, patching into the satellite feed to check on the others.The rhythmic hum of the truck’s idling engine didn’t do much to calm Sage’s nerves. She could still feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins, her muscles stiff from the firefight. They’d disabled one of Bancroft’s hubs, but there were still too many left.The door creaked open, and Damian stepped out, his expression neutral but tense. He had a satellite phone in his hand, its antenna extended skyward.“How bad is it?” Sage asked without looking at him.“Alex and Maya ran into trouble in London. They’re pinned down and haven’t made it to the server yet,” Damian said. “Adrian and Elias hit their hub in Singapore, but Bancroft’s people were waiting for them. They b

The boat sped away from the wreckage of Bancroft’s mobile hub, its engine humming steadily over the crashing waves. Sage sat at the stern, her hands gripping the cold metal edge of the boat, her heart still racing from the chaotic escape. The salty spray of the ocean stung her face, but she barely noticed. Her mind was consumed with the memory of the server room: the suffocating heat, the flashing red alarms, and the echo of gunfire that seemed to chase her through every corridor.Damian was at the helm, his focus locked on the distant coastline. The others sat in silence—Adrian and Maya nursing minor injuries while Alex worked furiously on her tablet, trying to assess the impact of the virus they had just unleashed.“Status?” Damian called over the roar of the engine.Alex didn’t look up. “The virus is spreading through Bancroft’s network, but it’s slower than expected. He must have redundancy protocols in place.”“Can it still take down his operation?” Sage asked, her voice sharp wi

The safe house was cloaked in silence, save for the faint hum of Alex’s laptop and the rhythmic crashing of waves outside. The tension that had followed them since the mission clung to the air like a storm cloud, heavy and oppressive.Sage leaned against the counter in the small kitchen, staring at the cup of coffee she’d made but hadn’t touched. Her thoughts raced with fragments of the night before: Damian’s kiss, his words, and the unspoken promises they carried. She’d replayed the moment a hundred times, but now that the heat of the moment had passed, doubt crept in.“What are you thinking about?” Maya’s voice broke through Sage’s thoughts, pulling her back to the present.Sage glanced up to see her teammate leaning against the doorway, arms crossed and a knowing smirk on her face.“Nothing,” Sage lied, quickly looking away.Maya chuckled. “Sure. That’s why you’ve been staring at that coffee like it holds the answers to the universe.”“It’s been a long night,” Sage said, avoiding M