Code of Shadows

Chapter 72 - Allies and Enemies

The IMF headquarters, once a place of absolute security, now felt like a battlefield. Every step I took echoed down the cold, sterile halls, reminding me how fragile trust could be. The flickering lights above only added to the sense of danger, the Entity's control tightening its grip around the organization. I'd never felt so exposed in a place that had once been our sanctuary.

Ethan moved beside me, his expression hardened, but I knew him well enough to see the tension in his shoulders. He was just as aware as I was of the danger we were in. The IMF wasn't just compromised; it was actively working against us. The very organization we had relied on to protect the world had been turned into the Entity's weapon, and every face we passed could be an enemy now.

I felt like I was suffocating under the weight of my own thoughts. Could I really trust anyone here? Could I even trust myself? My past had already been weaponized against me, and with the Entity digging deeper into our lives, I feared I was becoming a liability. I glanced at Ethan, his steady presence usually a comfort, but now it only reminded me of how much I had to lose.

"We need to be careful," I whispered, my voice barely audible over the hum of the building's systems. "We don't know who's been compromised."

He gave a sharp nod, his eyes scanning the corridor ahead. "Trust no one," he said, his tone grim. "Not until we know for sure who's still with us."

As we approached the briefing room, my heart pounded. The remaining team members were inside—Luther, Benji, and a few others who had somehow evaded the Entity's reach, or so we thought. But after everything, I wasn't sure if I could even trust the people I'd fought alongside for years.

We stepped inside, and the atmosphere was thick with tension. Luther was hunched over a console, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he tried to regain some control over the IMF's systems. Benji was pacing, his face drawn with worry, while a few others stood in the corner, exchanging hushed whispers.

"Any luck?" Ethan asked, his voice cutting through the heavy silence.

Luther shook his head, not looking up from his work. "The Entity's deeper in the system than we thought. It's locked us out of almost everything. If we don't find a way to shut it down soon, it's game over."

I felt a knot form in my stomach. The Entity was relentless, always one step ahead, and it felt like we were fighting a losing battle. I crossed the room to stand by the window, looking out at the city below. Even from up here, the streets seemed different—quieter, more dangerous. The world felt like it was unraveling, and we were running out of time to stop it.

Suddenly, the door to the briefing room creaked open, and I spun around, my hand instinctively going to my sidearm. But it wasn't an enemy—it was someone we hadn't seen in months.

"Ilsa?" I breathed, my voice thick with surprise and a hint of suspicion.

She stepped into the room, her expression guarded but familiar. She'd been off the grid for so long, her whereabouts unknown, and her sudden reappearance now sent a shiver down my spine. Could we trust her, or had the Entity gotten to her too?

Her eyes locked onto Ethan first, then me, and I saw a flicker of something in them—recognition, maybe relief. But I wasn't ready to let my guard down.

"I heard what's happening," she said, her voice steady but tense. "I came as soon as I could."

"Where have you been?" I asked, my words sharper than I intended. Months off the grid? At a time like this, her sudden return seemed too convenient. Too perfectly timed.

"I've been working on something," Ilsa replied, her gaze unwavering. "Something that could help take down the Entity."

Ethan, always the calm one, stepped forward, his hand resting lightly on my arm. "We don't have time to question everyone right now. We need all the help we can get."

He was right, of course. The stakes were too high, and we couldn't afford to turn away any potential allies. But something about this didn't sit right with me. The paranoia that had crept into every corner of my mind was eating away at my ability to trust anyone—even those who had proven themselves in the past.

Before I could respond, a loud bang echoed through the room. A gunshot. My heart leapt into my throat as chaos erupted around me.

I turned, my eyes wide with shock as I realized what had just happened. One of the team members—someone we had trusted, someone who had fought beside us—had turned on us. The gun was still smoking in their hand, their eyes cold and unfeeling. They'd been working for the Entity all along.

"Get down!" Ethan shouted, pulling me to the floor as another shot rang out, ricocheting off the metal wall behind us.

My world tilted on its axis as the reality of the situation set in. Someone close to us had betrayed us, had been playing us all along. I struggled to breathe, my mind racing. Who else was working for the Entity? How long had this been going on?

Shots continued to fire across the room, and Ethan returned fire, moving swiftly and with precision. I stayed low, my back pressed against the cold floor as my thoughts spun out of control. Trust had always been hard for me, and now it felt impossible. If we couldn't trust our own team, how could we hope to win this fight?

As the gunfire subsided, I slowly rose to my feet, my hands shaking. The traitor lay on the ground, subdued but still alive. I stared down at them, the weight of the betrayal crushing me. How had I not seen this coming? How had we let the Entity get this close?

"We're alone now," Ethan said quietly, his voice filled with the same disbelief I felt. "We can't trust anyone."

His words hung in the air, heavy with the truth. We had no allies left. It was just the two of us against an enemy that seemed unstoppable, and I couldn't shake the sinking feeling that we were already too late.

As we regrouped, a message flashed across the room's main console. The Entity wasn't done with us yet. It had control, and it was about to launch its final, devastating attack.