The ARGUS facility was never quiet, but today the air felt charged. People whispered when you walked by. Doors shut faster. Conversations stopped mid-sentence.
You pushed into the command room, expecting a mission briefing.
Instead, you walked into a firing squad of stares.
Murn stood at the center. Economos hovered nervously behind him. Peacemaker was uncharacteristically silent.
And Harcourt—
Harcourt looked ready to tear you apart.
“What’s going on?” you asked.
Murn’s expression didn’t change. “We intercepted data from an outside source. Someone fed intel on our operations to an enemy contact.”
Your stomach dropped. “Who?”
Murn stepped aside, revealing a tablet displaying a blurry but recognizable silhouette.
Yours.
Or… someone wearing your gear.
Harcourt crossed her arms, her glare sharp enough to slice concrete. “You want to explain why you were at a dead drop last night?”
“I wasn’t,” you said immediately. “I was in the barracks. I didn’t leave.”
Peacemaker muttered, “Well somebody did,” then flinched under Harcourt’s death glare.
You took a breath. “That’s not me on the footage.”
Murn nodded slowly. “Possibly. But until we confirm—”
Harcourt cut him off. “We’re treating you as a security threat.”
The words hit harder than any bullet.
You looked at her. “You think I’d betray the team?”
Her jaw tightened. “I think someone did. And the evidence points at you.”
You stepped forward instinctively, but Harcourt immediately pulled her pistol—not aimed at you, but ready.
“Don’t,” she warned, voice flat. “Just don’t.”
You froze.
She continued, steady and cold: “I don’t care about your feelings. I care about keeping people alive. And if you’re compromised, I’m not letting you walk out of this room.”
For a moment, the tension was suffocating.
Then Murn broke it. “Harcourt, stand down.”
She didn’t lower her weapon. “We can’t just trust them.”
“We can verify,” Murn said. “And we will. For now, they’re coming with us. No weapons. No free movement.”
You exhaled shakily. “I didn’t betray anyone.”
Harcourt finally lowered the gun—barely. “You’d better be right. Because if you’re lying—”
Her eyes met yours, cold and fierce.
“I will find out.”
Later…
You were escorted to a secure room, doors locking behind you.
Minutes later, Harcourt entered. She didn’t sit. She just stared.
“You look confused,” you said quietly.
She huffed. “I’m trying to figure out if you’re stupid or unlucky.”
“Or innocent,” you offered.
Her eyes flicked toward you, unreadable. “Don’t push it.”
Silence stretched between you—tense, heavy, waiting to break.
Finally, she said, “For what it’s worth… if you were really a traitor?”