Code of Shadows

Chapter 64 - Last Minute Save

The subway tunnels twisted and turned beneath the city like a dark labyrinth, the air thick with the scent of metal and grime. My legs ached from running, my chest tight with each breath, but I couldn't afford to slow down. Not when lives were on the line. Not when the clock was ticking down on a nuclear bomb. Every footstep echoed through the tunnel, making the silence feel even more oppressive. Ethan ran ahead, his gaze focused and determined, the small signal tracker in his hand beeping faster with every step.

"We're close," he said, his voice low but urgent.

I didn't respond. My throat was too dry, my mind too consumed with the task ahead. All I could think about was the bomb, and how little time we had left. My body was still aching from the last mission—the fall in the Himalayas had taken its toll, but I couldn't let that slow me down. Not now. Not when the entire city was depending on us.

As we rounded a corner, the beeping of the signal grew faster, louder. I followed Ethan's gaze as it landed on an access panel near the tracks. It was slightly ajar, and behind it, I could hear the faint hum of machinery. My stomach twisted as I realized we'd found it—the final bomb.

"There," Ethan said, pointing. "It's inside."

I dropped to my knees beside the panel, pulling it open to reveal a sleek, high-tech device nestled among the wires. The red numbers on the timer flashed back at me, ticking down with an unforgiving rhythm. Less than five minutes.

"Alex, you've got this," Ethan said, crouching beside me. His voice was calm, even though I knew he felt the same tension I did. There was no room for error here. One wrong move, and the bomb would detonate, taking out the entire subway system—and everything above it.

My hands shook as I reached for the bomb. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to focus. The wires were a tangle of colors, each one looking more important than the last. I had to isolate the right ones—disarm it without triggering the failsafe. Ethan's steady presence beside me was both a comfort and a reminder of what was at stake.

"Talk me through it," I said, my voice tight.

"You know the sequence," Ethan said softly, his eyes locked on the timer. "Blue, then yellow. Bypass the green circuit."

The timer clicked down to three minutes. My hands moved with precision, though my heart raced with the pressure of the moment. I could feel Ethan's eyes on me, his trust in me unwavering, and that helped keep my focus sharp. I clipped the blue wire, my breath catching in my throat as I held my breath, waiting to see if it worked.

Nothing happened. Good sign.

"One down," I muttered, my fingers moving to the yellow wire. Two minutes. I could feel the sweat trickling down my back, but I pushed it aside. There wasn't time to feel nervous.

I clipped the yellow wire, watching as the countdown continued. One minute.

Ethan shifted beside me, his body tense. "You've got this, Alex. Just one more wire."

My hand hovered over the green circuit. The failsafe. If I didn't bypass it properly, the bomb would explode, and there would be no stopping it. My mind raced, every training session, every mission flashing before my eyes. I knew what I was doing. I had to believe that.

Thirty seconds.

"Alex," Ethan said softly, his voice grounding me. "I trust you."

I didn't look at him. I couldn't. My hands moved automatically, clipping the green wire and bypassing the circuit. The timer blinked, and for a moment, I thought we were too late. My heart pounded so loudly in my ears I could hardly hear anything else.

Then, the timer stopped. The numbers froze at two seconds.

I let out a shaky breath, my entire body trembling with relief. I leaned back on my heels, staring at the bomb as if it might start ticking again. But it didn't. We had done it. The bomb was disarmed, and New York was safe—for now.

"Thank God," I whispered, running a hand through my hair. My pulse was still racing, but the weight of the mission slowly began to lift.

Ethan was beside me, his hand on my shoulder. "You did it," he said, his voice filled with pride.

I turned to face him, a smile tugging at my lips. But before I could respond, Ethan shifted. He reached into his jacket pocket, and what he pulled out next took my breath away. In his hand was a small, velvet box.

"Alex," he said, his voice suddenly quieter, more intimate. My heart, which had just started to calm down, now began racing for an entirely different reason. I couldn't believe what was happening.

"Ethan..." My voice caught in my throat as I realized what he was about to do.

Ethan's blue eyes locked onto mine, his expression soft but serious. He held the box between us, opening it to reveal a simple yet beautiful ring inside. "I've wanted to ask you this for a long time," he said, his voice barely more than a whisper. "Will you marry me?"

For a moment, I couldn't breathe. The weight of everything we'd been through—the missions, the danger, the trust issues that still lingered between us—flooded my mind. I wanted to say yes. I knew I loved him. But something inside me hesitated, a small voice whispering doubts, reminding me of the risks, the betrayals I had experienced before.

Ethan seemed to sense my hesitation, his gaze never wavering. "I know we live in a world where nothing is certain," he said softly. "But I'm certain about you, Alex. I want us to face whatever comes next together."

His words pierced through the doubts, silencing that inner voice of fear. This was Ethan. This was the man who had stood by me through every mission, every danger, who trusted me when I couldn't even trust myself. And as I looked into his eyes, I realized that I didn't want to run anymore. I wanted to take this leap with him.

"Yes," I whispered, tears welling up in my eyes. "Yes, I'll marry you."

Ethan's smile was like nothing I'd ever seen before—pure joy, unfiltered and real. He slipped the ring onto my finger, and for the first time in a long time, I felt truly at peace.

But even as I reveled in the moment, a part of me knew this wasn't the end. The bomb may have been disarmed, but this was only the beginning of something new—something more dangerous than the missions we had faced before. And now, we would face it together.