The safe house was quiet, save for the low hum of the overhead lights and the faint tapping of Rebecca’s fingers against her tablet. Theo sat at the metal table in the center of the room, a grim look on his face as he stared at the message displayed on Rebecca’s screen:

“Run all you want. We’ll always find you.”

Across the room, Marcus Cain leaned against the wall, his arms crossed as he watched Theo carefully. His calm demeanor masked the tension simmering beneath the surface. He had seen threats like this before, but this one was different. Whoever was targeting Theo wasn’t just skilled—they were relentless.

Theo broke the silence, his voice low. “You said we’d fight back. What does that look like, exactly?”

Marcus pushed off the wall, stepping toward the table. “We go on the offensive. Find out who’s behind this and take the fight to them.”

Theo raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair. “Oh, sure. Let’s just knock on their door and ask politely for them to stop trying to kill me. Great plan.”

Marcus ignored the sarcasm. “We have leverage. Every move they’ve made leaves a trail. We just need to follow it.”

Rebecca spoke up, her tone cautious. “The problem is, the trail they’ve left so far has been... complicated. Every IP address, every signal, every clue we’ve found has been rerouted through so many proxies it’s almost impossible to trace back to the source.”

“Almost,” Marcus said, his voice sharp.

Rebecca hesitated, then nodded. “Almost. But it’s going to take time. And resources.”

“We don’t have time,” Marcus said. He looked at Theo. “What about your tech team? Can you trust anyone there?”

Theo exhaled slowly. “My lead engineer, maybe. Patrick. He’s smart, discreet, and not an idiot, which is a rare combination.”

“Get him involved,” Marcus said. “We’ll need his expertise.”

Rebecca glanced at Marcus. “And if we do find something? What’s the next step?”

Marcus’s expression hardened. “We hit them before they hit us again. Hard.”

An hour later, Theo was pacing the safe house as Rebecca worked on her tablet, her fingers flying across the screen. Marcus stood nearby, monitoring the security feeds from a small array of monitors mounted on the wall.

“Alright,” Rebecca said finally, her voice cutting through the tension. “I’ve sent the request to Patrick. If he agrees, he’ll route everything through a secure server so we can work without exposing the connection.”

“Good,” Marcus said. “What’s the ETA?”

Rebecca frowned. “A few hours. He’ll need time to set up the encryption layers.”

Theo stopped pacing, running a hand through his hair. “A few hours? That’s a lifetime in this situation.”

“It’s what we’ve got,” Marcus said flatly.

Theo let out a frustrated sigh, turning to Marcus. “And in the meantime? What do we do? Sit here twiddling our thumbs while these people plan their next move?”

“No,” Marcus replied, his voice steady. “We prepare.”

Marcus led Theo into a small back room of the safe house, where a punching bag hung from the ceiling and a set of weights rested against the wall.

Theo raised an eyebrow. “What is this? Amateur hour at the gym?”

Marcus ignored him, grabbing a pair of boxing gloves and tossing them at Theo. “Put those on.”

Theo caught the gloves but didn’t move to put them on. “I don’t think this is the best use of our time.”

Marcus stepped closer, his expression firm. “You want to survive this? Then you need to know how to defend yourself.”

Theo hesitated, then reluctantly slid the gloves on. “Fine. But if you’re expecting me to break boards with my bare hands, you’re going to be disappointed.”

Marcus smirked faintly, the closest thing to humor Theo had seen from him. “We’ll start with something simpler. Hit the bag.”

Theo sighed, stepping up to the punching bag. He threw a half-hearted punch, barely moving the bag.

“That’s it?” Marcus said. “Come on, Montgomery. Pretend it’s someone who’s trying to kill you.”

Theo rolled his eyes but hit the bag again, harder this time. “I’m a CEO, Cain. Not Rocky Balboa.”

“Then stop acting like a CEO,” Marcus snapped. “You think those men last night cared about your title? If I wasn’t there, you’d be dead. So stop thinking about boardrooms and think about survival.”

The words hit Theo harder than he expected. His jaw tightened, and he threw another punch, then another, the sound of leather hitting the bag echoing through the room.

Marcus nodded. “Better. Again.”

Theo kept punching, his frustration and fear channeling into each hit. Sweat began to bead on his forehead, and his arms ached, but he didn’t stop.

When Marcus finally called for him to stop, Theo was breathing hard, his knuckles sore despite the gloves.

“Not bad,” Marcus said. “But you’ve got a long way to go.”

Theo pulled off the gloves, glaring at Marcus. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m starting to hate you.”

Marcus smirked. “Good. That means I’m doing my job.”

Rebecca’s voice called from the main room. “Marcus! Theo! You need to see this!”

They rushed back to the monitors, where Rebecca had pulled up a live feed. It was the same group of masked intruders, this time captured on the security cameras of Montgomery Innovations.

“What the hell are they doing?” Theo asked, his voice sharp.

Rebecca zoomed in on the feed, showing one of the men planting what looked like a device near the server room.

Marcus’s expression darkened. “They’re not after you this time. They’re after Orion.”

Theo stared at the screen, his pulse quickening. “If they get into those servers—”

“They won’t,” Marcus interrupted. He grabbed his gun and holstered it, his movements quick and precise. “We’re going back.”

Theo blinked. “Back? Are you insane?”

Marcus turned to him, his gaze steady and unyielding. “This isn’t just about you anymore, Montgomery. If they get their hands on Orion, it won’t just be your life at risk—it’ll be everyone’s.”

Theo hesitated, then nodded, his jaw tightening. “Alright. Let’s go.”

Marcus glanced at Rebecca. “Stay here. Lock the doors and monitor the feeds. Let us know if anything changes.”

Rebecca nodded, her face pale but determined.

As Marcus and Theo headed for the car, the weight of the situation settled over them like a heavy shadow.

This time, it wasn’t just a matter of survival. It was a war.