Code Breakers: Beta Read Free Page A

slid it across the table to him.
    Gabe picked it up, watched the video playing, and noticed the timestamp.
    “Okay,” Gabe said, breathing in slowly, trying to remain calm about what he saw. “I believe you. What exactly is it you want me to do?”
    Natalya smiled the smile of a victor, full of self-satisfaction.
    He hated her for the manipulation, hated her for the confirmation that his suspicions were true. Back when he was working at the Red Widows’ home in Russia, he had glimpsed mentions of the ‘nomads’ and guessed from the terrible banter what had befallen them. To see the evidence on the slate only proved both what he had hoped for and what he had hoped against: that his family were alive, and that many of the group were slaughtered by the callous Red Widows.
    “You will get me out of here, travel with me back to Russia. If I get back alive, you get access to everything you want to know. You might even get access to your family—what’s left of them.”
    Despite the rage that built within him, he kept himself calm and tried to assess the situation.
    He turned away from her, unable to see her smug face without wanting to punch a great hole in it. The fact she was offering this bargain meant she had insurance in regards to his family. Somehow the Red Widows in Russia would know of her death and enact her revenge. Which also meant that beyond the Meshwork, now offline for good after they had disabled Alpha & Omega because of the Elliot Robertson incident, she had some means of communication.
    Additionally, it meant that because of the Red Widows’ terrible loss in the battle for the Dome and their subsequent defeat in Darkhan, their numbers only now existed beyond the mountains, and she had no one to help her in the vicinity.
    He considered that this all might be a bluff and that the situation with the nomads and his family was fabricated in order to secure her freedom, but what he saw on the video could not possibly be faked.
    And so, here he was again, like he was back in the Quarter: tied between doing the right thing for his family and doing the right thing for himself. Only this time, it wasn’t just himself; it was his friends, his new family, the ones he had grown to love in the absence of his own people.
    If he did as Natalya demanded, went with her to Russia, he’d likely be killed, along with his family if the video was accurate, and he wouldn’t be able to help Enna and Petal successfully deal with the Gerry situation.
    There were no guarantees that Petal could hold Gerry indefinitely.
    And with James and Sasha working with the interim government in Libertas, they needed all the programming and hacking help they could get, given the threat of Elliot Robertson and the spread of the hot-chips through the city.
    If he refused to go and took Natalya out right now, he risked the bitch blowing up the building and killing the kids.
    “Why can’t ya sisters come and get ya? Bring my family here in exchange for ya freedom?” Gabe asked, trying to buy some time to think. While he continued the negotiations, he sent a message across his VPN to Petal, explaining the situation.
    Within a few seconds, her cognition now obviously enhanced because of Gerry’s presence, she sent back a reply.
    – Don’t worry about us. We’ll find a way. You’ve got to do what you need to find your family. Just like you gave me the opportunity to find mine. Just like you sacrificed your safety in order to give me the opportunity, you now have to take this one. I’m okay. I can hold Gerry for a while longer, at least for now. If you find your family, perhaps you can return in time to help. If not... it’s not your responsibility. You have to go, Gabe. And we’ll find a way to help.
    Damn her, he thought. Her message threatened to bring tears to his eyes. It made it even harder to make the decision. For five long years since he found her in the desert he’d looked out for her, and she him. Together, they had survived