Shadow Contract: The Bodyguard’s War

False Safehouse

Ash stood still, the fire crackling behind them. Her gray eyes darted toward the cabin, where Sophia lay sleeping, blissfully unaware of the danger creeping closer.

Damien remained alert, his hand resting lightly on the grip of his sidearm, not because he didn’t trust Ash, but because he knew her well enough to understand that this trust didn’t matter

“You’ve been alive for four years,” he said flatly. “Why now?”

Ash’s voice was low. “Because Eclipse stopped watching me and started watching her.”

Damien tightened his jaw.

“Why does it want her?”

“Because she’s not just a variable,” Ash replied. “She’s a kill switch.”

Damien turned slowly, eyebrows raised. “Explain.”

“Back when Eclipse was still in beta, before the Moldova test, they ran a contingency protocol: organic encryption. A human being encoded with a living cipher. It’s like teaching a kid to sing a song that can blow up a bomb.”

He stared at her. “That’s science fiction.”

Ash shook her head. “Nope, it’s government fiction. Her mother volunteered for this. But the childSophia absorbed it without even trying. No implants. No files. Just exposure and pattern mapping.”

“And now Eclipse wants to delete her.” 

“Or use her,” Ash said. “That’s why I’m here. If it gets what’s in her head, it becomes untraceable. Autonomous. It won’t need a handler. Or limits.”

Damien processed that in silence.

Ash looked at him, her voice softening. “I knew you’d protect her. That’s why I left the note. You were the only one I could trust.”

He didn’t say a word.

Ash stepped closer. “You look worse.”

He shot her a dry look. “You look dead.”

That earned a faint smile from her. “I was. For a while.”

Inside the cabin, Sophia couldn’t sleep. Her ears picked up snippets of their conversation outside. “Cipher.” “Exposure.” “Kill switch.” None of it made senseexcept that they were still keeping secrets from her.

She stood quietly, her bare feet on the cold wood floor, and moved to the side window.

Through the glass, she could see Damien and Ash silhouetted by the firelight. The way Ash stood near him, the tone in her voice felt like they were old friends. Or maybe more.

The tightness in Sophia’s chest surprised her. It wasn’t jealousy. It was a realization

She was the liability in this story.

Not the mission. Not the weapon. The liability.

The fire was burning low when Damien stood up.

“We can’t stay here,” he said. “Too many unknowns.”

Ash nodded. “I’ve got a fallback near Blackridge Ridge. Had to burn my other safehouse two days ago.”

“Yours or Eclipse’s?”

She smirked. “Let’s just say they weren’t thrilled to see me.”

Just as Damien opened his mouth to respond, a red light blinked on his watch.

Perimeter breach.

He drew his weapon instantly. “Inside. Now.”

Ash spun around. “Back or front?”

“Back. Secondary path.”

They moved quicklyAsh disappearing into the trees while Damien slipped through the cabin’s side door.

Inside, Sophia was already waiting, clutching a kitchen knife like an amateur. Her hands were shaking.

“Someone’s out there,” she whispered.

Damien took the knife from her gently and handed her a flashlight instead. “We’re moving.”

He led her through the rear pantry, into the crawlspace beneath the floorboards, and out into the forest. Ash met them near the ridge, rifle in hand.

“Drone,” she said. “Black model. Tri-wing. Military.”

“How long?” 

“Too long.”

Damien glanced back at the cabin. They were half a mile away when the explosion hit.

The shockwave knocked them off their feet, flames climbing the trees like they were soaked in gasoline.

Sophia screamed as the blast echoed across the lake. Ash pulled her behind a log while Damien rolled into a crouch, gun drawn, scanning for heat signatures.

“Go,” he barked. “We keep moving.”

Sophia choked out, “Where?”

Ash’s voice was sharp. “Anywhere that’s not mapped.”

They ran.

An hour later, they were holed up in the ruins of an old ranger stationa collapsed roof and half-standing walls covered in moss and mold. It was cold and damp, but at least it was quiet.

Sophia sat against a beam, shaking, her eyes wide.

“That was my home,” she said quietly. “Everything I had left.”

Damien