Salt Kiss – Episode 45
The voice repeated the command while smoke thickened around them. Mark looked from Tristan to Isolde, confronted with the choice his enemy believed would destroy all three.
“No one chooses,” Tristan said. “We move together.”
He wrapped cloth over Isolde’s mouth and directed Mark to support the dying witness. The burden slowed them, but abandoning him would surrender their only lead.
The main corridor was blocked by fire. Tristan used the building plan posted near the stairwell to locate a maintenance shaft.
Isolde crawled first, carrying the attacker’s recorded statement. Mark followed with the man, leaving Tristan to guard the rear.
Footsteps approached through the smoke. Tristan fired at a shadow and heard a weapon strike the floor.
“Move!” he shouted.
A bullet grazed his side before he entered the shaft. Pain burned beneath his ribs, but he sealed the access panel and kept crawling.
They emerged above a service garage where emergency crews were gathering. Mark saw the blood on Tristan’s shirt and abandoned the witness to the medics.
“You’re hit.”
“Grazed.” Tristan remained standing until Isolde reached him. The fear on both their faces made the wound feel more serious.
Mark pressed a hand against it while Isolde called for help. Their movements overlapped without conflict, united by the need to keep him conscious.
“The recording,” Tristan reminded her.
“Safe,” Isolde said. “So are we.”
The attacker survived long enough to name the broker. Federal agents began a search, but the mastermind remained hidden.
At the hospital, Tristan woke with Mark on one side of the bed and Isolde on the other.
“The voice wanted you to choose,” Tristan said to Mark.
Mark looked at both of them. “I would rather die than sacrifice either of you.” The admission ended the enemy’s game, but it opened a truth none of them was prepared to name.