Chapter 4 The Truth Unravels

The hospital halls were humming with anxious murmurs and hurried steps as Sarah raced after Alex. Her thoughts spun, caught between her love for the man she supposed she knew and her duty as a criminal investigator. They ran into James's room and encirccled the bed with nurses and doctors. Alex continued and held his father's hand through it.

"Dad?"

Could you please let me know? James's eyes flickered open and pointed clearly at his son. He started mumbling, "Alex, I remember... everything." The room went still, the serious nature of those words hanging in the air. Alex's face lost color, and Sarah felt a cold slink down her spine. James's gaze went back and the displays started to weep before anyone could respond.

"His coding!"

A doctor yelled and Alex was pushed to the side. As the medical crew battled to stabilize Alex, Sarah grabbed his arm and dragged him down the hallway. We have to have a talk. Just now. Alex nodded blankly as Sarah led him to a plain consulting room. Sarah spun around him with brilliant eyes as the door closed behind them. "Alex, cut off your game playing. No more false comments. I need answers right away.

Alex fell into a chair and seemed to weigh as much as three times his triple life. "Where do you want me to start?" Sarah pulled out her phone and raised a series of pictures. "Let's start with these," she whispered, and her voice was icy. She set them on the table between them: surveillance pictures of Alex mingling with known criminals, passing parcels, and looking like the drug boss she had been hunting for. "How long have you known me?"

Alex asked, hardly lifting his voice beyond a whisper. "I worked on it following the attack," Sarah said. "But I think a piece of me has always felt something was off. It upset me to see it just... Alex nodded, a sour smile playing over his lips. "I realized you were too clever to fool for eternity." "Why, Alex?" How then is this possible? From what I know, to your dad, to this city?" Alex leant forward with great force. "Sarah, it is not that simple. Not one thing about this is simple."

Alex opened the many-sided trap of his life for the next hour. He discussed a young man making choices to protect his family, being thrown into a world of power and corruption, and a deep-cover operation gone out of hand. "I never implied for it to go this far," Alex said, his voice laden with feeling. "But every action I took to try to right things seemed to pull me more into the darkness," I added. Sarah tuned in, her miserable with every word. She loved the man under layers of lies and misdeeds, but could she ever trust him once more? As Alex's story came to an end, Sarah stood and walked about the little room.

"Now what?"

Do you think I should simply vow to uphold and forget all I know?" Alex shined his head. "I, no. do not But I require your understanding. To help me to fix this." Before Sarah could answer, her phone buzzed with a message from her boss. Her eyes widened as she turned pages. "Good graces." "what is that?" Alex asked, wary slipping into his voice.

"Your father's killing was not haphazard. We have proof of a plan spanning City Hall all through. Half the cops are participating, Alex says. The consequences like a tsunami really impacted both of them hard. Everything they thought they understood was failing all around them. Sarah rolled over instantly, unable to breathe. Sarah? In a minute Alex was right next to her. "What's the matter?" asked "The children," she mourned. "I guess I could be pregnant. Alarm stroking Alex's face quickly. "But it's too early!"

The hospital was rocked, as if on cue, by an explosion that sent floor tremors. Around swirled screams and the sound of smashing glass. Alex helped Sarah to rise to her feet while his mind was running. You have to leave this place. They happened onto the hallway among turmoil. One end erupted in smoke, and people were running in that direction and another. "What's going on?" asked Sarah staggered between compressions. Alex turned grimace-faced. "My enemies. They are getting ready to move. Alex's phone rang as they negotiated the scared throng. Elena was the thing. "Chief, we're under attack. They are always hitting every one of our tasks.

Alex's mind spun around. His kingdom was crumbling, his dad was fighting for his life, and right now Sarah and their unborn children were in danger. He had to decide upon something. "Elena, begin Convention Omega. burn everything down. But principal-" 'Do it!' Alex ended the call and focused fully on Sarah. "We are approaching closely. Holding on tightly is important. They broke through the panic escape into the cold evening breeze. Their brief relief, though, was limited Guns pointed at the pair; armed guys stood waiting. Yes, indeed, a realistic voice droned. Unless it is the Ghost itself. Martinez moved forward, his arm in a sling but his eyes gleamed with victory.

"Harding, did you really believe you could play both sides constantly?" Alex positioned himself before Sarah, his head whirling with an exit plan. Martinez, politeness My fiancée is pregnant. Let her leave; I will follow quietly. Martinez laughed, a frigid, cruel sound. "Oh, I do not think so. Our plans call for both of you. Sarah's hold on Alex's arm grew more strong as yet another contraction arrived. Speaking with dread, she whispered, "Alex." Time seemed to fly by at that point.

Alex could clearly see the weapons pointed at them, Sarah's agonized face, and the city he had been manipulating for so long ragingly visible. He had just one split second to decide on something that would change everything. As Martinez grinned and raised his firearm, Alex made his decision. Moving quickly, he reached for the hidden weapon at his lower leg. Still, a gun went off before he could gain control of it.

Alex stumbled as his chest started to hurt sharply. He looked down and watched red cover his shirt. Alex!" Sarah's scream sounded to be far off. Alex's last clear thought was of the kids he might never see again falling. The world changed as the edges darkened. Sarah's face was the last thing Martinez's men saw as she was being hauled away- twisted in a mix of pain and fear. At then, haziness assured him. Sirens far away wailed out as the city burned.

In one evening Alex's years-long carefully crafted web of lies and power was collapsing. One idea kept returning to him as he passed out: Might he at any time truly save the ones he loved, or had his trap of misdirection at last, irreversibly, caught them all? The worst was still to come; the evening was not yet finished.