Contents
Chapter 26
Overview
After a charged sexual encounter, Ace’s tender call with pregnant Mia highlights the stakes and his guilt. A tactical discussion devolves into a fierce clash over interrogation methods and responsibility for past mistakes. Ace storms out, vowing to recover Mia and cut Keres off, deepening fractures within the uneasy alliance.
Summary
Keres reels after rough, public sex with Ace and Romeo, feeling used even as she admits she used them. Inside the motel, Ace makes a video call to captive Mia, speaking with tenderness and lying that her family is fine. Mia reports pregnancy nausea and reassures Ace, and Keres reflects on her own past lifeline and doubt about abducting Mia.
Keres ends the call, briefly checks in with Phoenix guarding Mia, and tries to refocus on the mission to find their next target. When Keres asks about the plan, Romeo says they will locate and interrogate the man, while Ace insists he will handle the interrogation.
The conversation detonates into a fight over Boone’s death and Keres’s brutal methods. Ace argues that Keres’s violence cost them information; Keres counters that Boone knew nothing. Personal grievances surface as Keres accuses Ace of hating himself after enjoying sex with her.
Ace explodes, blaming himself for letting Keres in, condemning the kidnapping of Mia and the risk to her baby, and declaring he only wants to find the target, recover Mia, and never see Keres again. He storms out. Romeo needles Keres, who shuts him down and retreats to the bedroom, rededicating herself to finishing the plan.
Who Appears
- KeresProtagonist; conflicted after public sex, controls Mia’s calls, doubts the abduction but commits to the mission; clashes with Ace.
- Ace (Romeo)Shows tenderness to Mia on video, condemns Keres’s violent methods, blames himself, and storms out vowing to retrieve Mia.
- RomeoCleans his gun, backs the plan to interrogate their lead, needles Keres after Ace leaves.
- MiaPregnant captive on video call; reassures Ace, mentions ongoing nausea as a good sign for the baby.
- PhoenixOff-page ally guarding Mia; impatient during Keres’s check-in call.