Chapter 101
**Hadassah POV**
I slam the door behind us and Acheson finally lets out a cry, more out of frustration than pain. Her back drops against the wall and Calum pockets the phone he took from the family of four before he goes over to coddle her. He takes her arm and inspects her tricep where the bullet grazed her, and she breaks his hold with a dismissive shrug.
“I’m fine, just a flesh wound.”
“She’s fine,” I repeat flatly, moving deeper into the unaccompanied room.
The closest entrance to the tunnel system is concealed behind a panel in the wall, cleverly disguised as part of the room's opulent décor. At first glance, it appears to be an ordinary section of the wood-paneled wall, but with the right touch—pressing a discreetly marked emblem—the panel slides open with a soft, mechanical hiss. Beyond, a narrow, dimly lit passage beckons.
I send an inquiring glance over my shoulder.
Acheson walks forward, and Calum follows, throwing furtive glances at the door behind us.
The initial descent is steep, with stone steps worn smooth by time, leading down into the bowels of the hotel. The air is cool, carrying a faint scent of earth and age. The walls are lined with old brick, some sections reinforced with steel beams, a reminder of the tunnel’s resilience through the centuries.
The shroud of darkness only deepens, so Calum sidles my flank. He takes out the phone to use the torchlight to guide the way that I navigate. As we continue deeper, the tunnel stretches out, long and winding, beneath the bustling life amidst the hotel. The sounds of the world fade, replaced by the quiet echo of our unsynced footsteps against the stone floor. The tunnel’s width varies, sometimes opening into wider chambers, other times narrowing to a tight corridor, where the ceiling seems to press down, with a palpable weight that burdens the senses.
“What is the probability that we run into Torin and those guarding him down here?” Acheson questions from behind us.
“The tunnel system has exits that lead out to multiple different locations. And Torin was on the other side of the hotel. The chances of our paths converging are slim, but not improbable.”
“And what happens if we do?” she says with unrestrained contempt.
“Commander,” I say with depthless disdain. “Say what you want to say or don’t say anything at all.”
“Hadassah,” Calum chides.
“I just need to know I won’t get hailed by bullets by Torin’s men, since you seem intent on protecting them.”
She grabs me to a stop that causes anger to implode within, and I wrench myself away. Calum puts a warning hand on my stomach to keep me back. Even though it was her that went rushing at me. The torchlight is angled towards the unseen ceiling, sieves of white-tinged light catching her steeled features.
“Torin, I can understand. Protecting one of his men, I don’t,” she adds.
I glance at Calum, and his silence implores an answer.
A moment later, he says, “Truthfully, I don’t get either.”
“We still need Torin in play,” I advocate impartially. “It may have been your decryption that pointed us to the second book, Calum. But it was Torin’s resources that got us the book—before Santos swiped it from him.”
“That still doesn’t explain why you protected that man,” she points out.
“*I don’t know*!” I shout back in her face. I’m usually a lot more level-headed and quick-witted when it comes to articulating my interests or disguising my intentions. But I have been ensnared by a tangle of lies for so long that even the truth itself seems warped. “That’s just what it is. You, I can’t figure out. Are you helping us to get away so you can serve us to your superiors?”
“It’s not like that,” she says with matched malice.
“You know my record. So you know I’ve worked with liaisons and other federal assets and operatives. And you all work the same. The manipulation, infiltration and deception and sweetheart. I have a PHD in all three and you reek of vice.”
“Hadassah—”
“Here, to take her side again?”
“I’m on the side of what’s right—something you knew,” he says with a speed too fast to recant. “Hadie, she risked her career and freedom for you. She didn’t know either of us—didn’t owe us anything and yet she put it all on the line for you. If you won’t give her your respect, she deserves your gratitude, at the very least.”
“Calum, we’ve worked alongside many undercover operatives, doing exactly what I did by winning the trust of my targets, only to betray them. It’s the trade of the game.”
“She’s not a player,” he says with untold conviction. “Do you know we got caught by the CIA?”
“Calum,” Acheson cautions.
“No, she needs to hear this,” he says, uncharacteristically serious. “We were taken to some underground blacksite where we spent weeks in captivity. I didn’t give you up, obviously. And neither did Emilia. I even met the Deputy Director of the CIA and he promised me a litany. Protection. Immunity deals. Our lives back. *All lies*. Emilia knew once I helped them find you, they would take us both out. We’re a threat to them as much as whatever is in those books.”
Guilt pierces my chest, and my eyes flicker over to Acheson. “I had no idea.”
“How would you? You’re too busy hating on the one that saved us both and is still trying to help us.”
My grief comes from the thought that Calum suffered on my account. Again. I never knew he was detained and if it wasn’t for Emilia, it’s true. We would’ve likely never had the chance to see each other in the land of the living. And yet I remain cynical. She did all of that… all of this. For strangers?
Obstinate, I say, “Am I to believe she did this out of the goodness of her heart? Commander, you hold a high rank and that might give you authoritative discretion. But if what you say is true, your actions are considered treasonous to the bureau. Why go that far for people you don’t know?”
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