Marcus stood on the balcony of his apartment in Prague, watching the city lights flicker in the darkness below. The Vltava River wound through the old town like a black ribbon, reflecting the glow of streetlamps and neon signs.He'd been dead for two years.In that time, he'd made more money than he'd earned in twenty years with the Agency. He'd brokered arms deals in six countries. He'd sold intelligence to the highest bidder. He'd built a network of contacts that stretched from Moscow to Beirut.And he'd felt nothing.No guilt. No remorse. No second thoughts.The work was clean. Professional. He was good at it. Better than good. He was exceptional.His phone buzzed. A message from Jim.Network compromised. Morrison closing in. Prepare for shutdown.Marcus stared at the message. Kate Morrison. He'd heard the name before. CIA officer. Counterintelligence. Relentless.She'd been investigating Shadow Protocol for months. Getting close. Too close.He typed a response: How bad?Jim's reply came immediately: Bad. She has names. Accounts. Operations. It's over.Marcus felt something stir in his chest. Not fear. Not panic. Something colder.Anger.He'd spent two years building this. Two years of careful planning, of calculated risks, of perfect execution. And now some CIA officer was going to tear it all down.What about the assets? he typed.Burned. All of them. She's moving fast.Marcus gripped the phone tighter. The network was everything. It was power. It was freedom. It was the future.And Kate Morrison was destroying it.What do we do? he asked.Jim's response took longer this time. When it came, it was just two words: We disappear.Marcus looked out at the city. He thought about the money in his offshore accounts. The contacts he'd cultivated. The life he'd built.All of it was about to vanish.Because of Kate Morrison.He made a decision then. A cold, calculated decision that would define everything that came after.If the network fell, he would rebuild it. Stronger. Smarter. More careful.And when he did, Kate Morrison would pay for what she'd done.Not immediately. Not recklessly.But eventually.He would make her pay.
