The Enemy Within
1341 Words
The explosion came without warning.
Vance was in the command center when the blast hit. The walls shook. Monitors crashed to the floor. Dust rained from the ceiling.
"Everyone down!" he shouted.
He grabbed his mother, pulled her behind the console. His father was already on the floor, his hands over his head.
The second blast was closer. The ceiling cracked.
"We need to get out!" Echo shouted.
They ran. The hallway was filled with smoke, debris. Vance pushed through, his family behind him.
The safe house was burning. The Collective had found them again.
"How did they find us?" Hawk shouted.
"I don't know. But we need to move."
They burst through the back door, into the forest. The cold air hit them like a slap.
"Keep moving!" Vance shouted.
They ran through the trees, the fire lighting the sky behind them. Vance's lungs burned. His leg ached.
They reached a clearing. A helicopter was waiting.
"Get in!" Echo shouted.
They piled in. The helicopter lifted off.
Below them, the safe house collapsed into rubble.
---
The helicopter flew through the night.
Vance sat in the back, his family beside him. His mother was crying. His father was silent.
"Echo, how did they find us?"
"I don't know. I checked all the communications. There were no leaks."
"Then someone is still out there. Someone who knows where we are."
Echo was silent. Then she spoke.
"I found something. A signal. It was coming from the safe house."
"Who was transmitting?"
"I don't know. The signal was encrypted. But it was coming from inside the building."
Vance's blood went cold. "Someone in the safe house was transmitting to the Collective."
"It looks that way."
Vance looked at his team. Hawk, Flint, Echo, Kai. His parents.
"Who was it?" he asked.
"I don't know. But I'm going to find out."
---
They landed at a new safe house. A cabin in the Canadian wilderness.
Vance set up a command center in the main room. Echo connected her laptop to the cabin's systems.
"I'm running a trace on the signal," she said. "It's coming from a device in the safe house. A phone."
"Whose phone?"
"I'm tracing it now."
The screen flickered. A name appeared.
*Echo.*
Vance's heart stopped. "What?"
"The signal was coming from your phone."
"That's impossible. I didn't transmit anything."
"I know. Which means someone cloned your phone."
Vance stared at the screen. Someone had cloned his phone. Someone had been tracking them.
"Who could have done that?"
"There's only one person with access to your phone."
Vance's blood went cold. His father.
"Dad, did you clone my phone?"
Elias looked up, his face pale. "No. I would never do that."
"Then who did?"
"I don't know."
Vance studied his father's face. He was telling the truth.
"Echo, can you find out who cloned my phone?"
"I can try. But it'll take time."
"We don't have time. The Collective is still out there. And they know where we are."
---
The days passed slowly.
Vance worked with Echo, tracing the cloned phone. They found fragments, pieces of a larger puzzle.
"I found something," Echo said. "The clone was created by someone with access to your phone's serial number. Someone who handled your phone."
"The only people who handled my phone are my parents and my team."
"Then one of them is the mole."
Vance looked at his team. Hawk, Flint, Echo, Kai. His parents.
"Who?" he asked.
"I don't know. But I'm going to find out."
---
The interrogation was brutal.
Vance sat in a small room, his team across from him. His parents were in the corner.
"Someone in this room is a mole," he said. "Someone has been feeding information to the Collective."
Hawk shook his head. "It's not me."
"Then who is it?"
"I don't know."
Flint was silent. Echo was pale.
Kai spoke up. "I can run a trace. I can find out who's been transmitting."
"Do it."
Kai connected his laptop to the cabin's systems. His fingers flew across the keyboard.
"I found something," he said. "A signal. It's coming from a device in the cabin."
"Whose device?"
Kai hesitated. "It's coming from your father's phone."
Vance's heart stopped. "Dad?"
Elias looked up, his face pale. "No. I didn't transmit anything."
"The signal is coming from your phone," Kai said. "There's no mistake."
Elias stood up. "I didn't do it. I swear."
"Then who did?"
"I don't know."
Vance studied his father's face. He was telling the truth. But the evidence was clear.
"Dad, I need you to give me your phone."
Elias handed it over.
Vance gave it to Echo. "Check it."
Echo connected the phone to her laptop. Her fingers flew across the keyboard.
"I found something," she said. "There's a program on this phone. A transmitter. It's been sending signals to the Collective for weeks."
"How did it get there?"
"Someone installed it."
"Who?"
"I don't know. But it was installed remotely. Someone with access to your father's phone."
Vance's blood went cold. His father's phone. Remotely accessed.
"Who had access to your phone, Dad?"
"Only my family. And the team."
Vance looked at his team. Hawk, Flint, Echo, Kai.
"Which one of you installed the program?" he asked.
No one answered.
"I'm going to find out," Vance said. "And when I do, I'm going to kill them."
---
The investigation continued.
Vance worked with Echo, tracing the program. They found fragments, pieces of a larger puzzle.
"I found something," Echo said. "The program was installed by someone with access to the cabin's network. Someone who was in the cabin when the program was installed."
"When was it installed?"
"Three weeks ago. Before we arrived."
Vance's blood went cold. Someone had been in the cabin before them. Someone had planted the program.
"Who knew about this cabin?"
"Only the team. And your parents."
Vance looked at his team. Hawk, Flint, Echo, Kai.
"Which one of you was in the cabin before we arrived?" he asked.
Flint spoke up. "I was. I scouted the location before we moved in."
"Did you install the program?"
"No. I would never do that."
Vance studied his face. Flint was a mercenary, but he was loyal.
"Then who did?"
"I don't know."
---
The days passed slowly.
Vance worked with Echo, tracing the program. They found a breakthrough.
"I found the source of the program," Echo said. "It was installed by someone using a device that was in the cabin at the time."
"Whose device?"
Echo hesitated. "It was your device, Vance."
Vance's blood went cold. "What?"
"The program was installed using your phone. You were the one who planted it."
"That's impossible. I didn't install anything."
"Then someone used your phone."
Vance stared at the screen. His phone. His device.
"Who had access to my phone?"
"Your mother. Your father. And the team."
Vance looked at his team. His parents.
"Which one of you used my phone?" he asked.
No one answered.
"I'm going to find out," Vance said. "And when I do, I'm going to end this."
---
The investigation continued.
Vance worked with Echo, tracing the program. They found the truth.
"It was your mother," Echo said. "She used your phone when you were asleep. She installed the program."
Vance's heart stopped. "My mother?"
"She's been working with the Collective. She's the mole."
Vance walked to his mother. She was sitting in the corner, her face pale.
"Mom, is it true?"
His mother looked at him. Her eyes were filled with tears.
"Yes. It's true."
"Why? Why would you do this?"
"Because they have leverage. They have something I can't lose."
"What?"
"You. Your father. They said they'd kill you both if I didn't cooperate."
Vance stared at her. His mother. His betrayer.
"Mom, I don't know what to say."
"Say you forgive me."
"I can't. Not yet."
His mother nodded slowly. "I understand."
Vance walked to the window. The forest was dark, silent.
His mother. The mole.
He didn't know what to do.
- Writer
