Code Name: Untraceable

Chapter Thirty-Four: Soft, So I Struck

Frankie pushed the door open without hesitation.

The Thunderbolts followed, weapons drawn but silent. No one dared speak first.

The room was colder than the rest of the building-like even the air didn't want to be there.

And in the center of it all stood a man in a pressed coat, hands clasped calmly behind his back. Beside him, a reinforced cage-more like a cell-wired, locked, bolted down. Inside sat Bob, bruised but upright, eyes wide the moment he saw her.

On the walls-

Photos.

Dozens.

Of her.

Frankie in alleys. Frankie exiting safe houses. Frankie in reflections. Surveillance from years she didn't even remember anymore.

Her whole life.

On display.

The man turned, smiling like an old friend.

"Ah, I finally get your attention, Francesca. Glad to have you here. Please, come in. Sit down."

She didn't move toward the chair.

Didn't even blink.

"Bob," she said instead, eyes never leaving the man. "You okay?"

Bob nodded quickly, swallowing. "Y-Yeah. I'm okay."

The man clapped once. "Yes, yes, he's fine. I thought it might be difficult, you know, after he stayed behind. But then... your expression changed. You took him under your wing. Slowly. Subtly. Not even he could tell."

He chuckled.

"You became soft."

Frankie's jaw twitched.

The man took a step closer to the monitors lining the back wall-each one displaying footage of her. On rooftops. In markets. One from inside her bunker.

"And so, I knew what I had to do. You let your guard down-just for a second. And so I struck."

She raised her pistols slowly, hands steady.

"You let him go."

The smile never left his face. "I'm not sure you understand what this is yet."

"Oh, I do," Frankie said darkly. "You're a creep with a god complex who's been taking pictures of me my entire life."

She took a step forward.

"What I don't understand... is why."

And this time, her voice shook-not with fear, but fury barely contained.

Behind her, the Thunderbolts tensed.

The fuse was lit.

Now it was only a matter of time before Frankie burned everything down.