CHAPTER -2 ~`THE WHISPER OF A DEAL`~

I recieved a news through text late one night. It was coded, the kind of message that only someone in the know could understand. TARAN MAGNUS. His name sent chills through me. He was the linch pin of international trafficking ring and if anyone had the power to send innocent lives into the darkest corners of the world, it was him. His influence stretched from New York to the Mexican borders where the nightmare he orchestrated unfolded. The girls would cross into Mexico with no chance of escape, destined to become commodities for the highest bidder, gambled on, violated and ultimately forgotten. But there was something about the timing of this message that sent nerves on edge. ASPER BROWN, one of my most trusted comrades, a former insider with connections to law enforcement and human trafficking intelligence, had just intercepted information that painted a clearer picture of TARAN'S next move. The shipment, if we could call it that, was sent to cross the borders within 48 hours.

The operation would be swift, the girls would be transported in the dead of night, smuggled by covert routes through tunnels and back alley drop points, all while MAGNUS pulled the strings from behind the scenes.

The plan was devious, made to be nearly impossible to unravel. They would use fake documentations, bribe officials and encrypted communication channels that few could crack.

KEETHAN, another workmate who had used is connections with a group of hackers, had pieced together enough of the puzzle to give a fighting chance. His knowledge of underworld was vast, and he understood the language of traffickers better than anyone.

But then there was one factor which threatened to shatter TARAN'S plan. X. No one new who X was, but his name struck fear into hearts of even the most ruthless criminals. X was also shadow group of mercenaries like us, the LILITHS. X had a network even more impenetrable than MAGNUS. The entire mission would fail even without the knowledge of MAGNUS before we even made our move.

This was the first time we LILITHS decepted to do something as dangerous as confronting MAGNUS. I knew that this would put our lives in jeopardy, but I couldn't back down. The stakes were too high and too many innocent lives hung in the balance.

We had 48 hours to act. The clock was tickling and every moment that passed felt like a heartbeat closer to the inevitable nightmare that would unfolded the second those girls enter Mexico.

I knew I had the strength to fight and survive, but my thoughts were consumed with the safety of my comrades. My own life, the threats closing in, none of them mattered to me. The ones I fought beside, the ones who shared the same risks as mine. The chaos around me and the threats of death seemed distant, almost irrelevant. My own life felt insignificant. All I could think about was making sure they mad it through, that they weren't left behind. I didn't even consider the risks of the looming dangers.

All that mattered was them.

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