The cartels retaliated.
Not against Damien.
Against Christabel.
They sent her a letter.
Not a threat.
A photograph.
Of Lena.
At school.
And everything changed.
---
The photograph arrived in a plain envelope.
No return address. No note. Just the image.
Lena. Playing on the playground. Laughing. Unaware.
Christabel stared at it.
Her hands were shaking.
Her heart was pounding.
She didn't scream.
She didn't cry.
She called Cole.
"Someone took a picture of my daughter at school."
"I know."
"You know?"
"We just found it. On the security cameras. A woman. Mid-thirties. Dark hair. She was there for three minutes."
"Did you catch her?"
"No."
"Then find her."
---
Damien was in the command center.
She walked in.
Held up the photograph.
"Look at this."
He looked.
His face didn't change.
But his hands clenched into fists.
"When?"
"Today. At school. While we were here. While you were fighting your war."
"Christabel-"
"Don't." Her voice was cold. "Don't tell me you're doing this for us. Don't tell me you're protecting our family. Our daughter was photographed by a cartel. At her school. While you were here."
He stood.
Walked to her.
"I didn't know."
"You should have known."
"I can't control everything."
"Then stop trying."
---
The room was silent.
Cole looked away.
The task force members stared at their screens.
Damien took her hand.
"What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to come home."
"I am home."
"No." She pulled her hand away. "You're in a building. With screens. And maps. And reports. That's not home. That's a command center."
"The command center is where I protect you."
"You're not protecting us. You're hiding."
---
She walked to the door.
Stopped.
Turned.
"I'm taking Lena out of school. I'm moving her to the building. She's not leaving until the cartels are gone."
"Christabel-"
"Don't argue with me."
"I'm not arguing."
"Then agree."
He was quiet for a moment.
"I agree."
---
That night, Christabel put Lena to bed.
Not in the penthouse.
In the building. In the apartment next to theirs.
Lena was confused.
"Mama, why are we sleeping here?"
"Because it's safer."
"Is Papa coming?"
"Soon."
"Where is he?"
Christabel was quiet for a moment.
"He's fighting bad people."
"Like a superhero?"
She smiled.
"Like a superhero."
---
Damien came home late.
The apartment was dark.
Christabel was sitting on the couch.
Waiting.
"She's asleep."
"I know."
"The school called. They're increasing security."
"I know."
"The cartels are going to pay for this."
She looked at him.
"How?"
He knelt in front of her.
Took her hands.
"I don't know yet. But they will."
---
She touched his face.
"I'm scared."
"I know."
"I'm scared for her."
"I know."
"I'm scared for you."
He pulled her into his arms.
"I'm not going anywhere."
"You don't know that."
"I know that I love you. I know that I love her. I know that I will die before I let anyone hurt either of you."
"That's not comforting."
"It's the truth."
---
They sat in silence.
The city was dark.
The building was quiet.
"I want to help," Christabel said.
"You already help."
"I want to do more."
"You're already doing more."
"No." She pulled back. Looked at him. "I want to lead."
He was quiet for a moment.
"Lead what?"
"The fight. The war. The cartels."
"You're not a soldier."
"I'm a mother."
"Same thing."
"Different intention."
---
He was quiet for a long time.
The city hummed below them.
Lena slept in the next room.
"Okay," he said.
"Okay?"
"Okay. You lead. I'll follow."
She stared at him.
"Just like that?"
"Just like that."
"You're not going to argue?"
"I'm not going to argue."
"Why not?"
He touched her face.
"Because you're right."
---
The next morning, Christabel walked into the command center.
Not as Damien's wife.
As the leader.
Cole looked at her.
"Mrs. Moreau."
"Christabel."
"Where's Damien?"
"Taking Lena to school."
"He's taking her to school?"
"The building has a school. He's taking her there. From now on, she doesn't leave."
Cole nodded.
"What's the plan?"
She walked to the screens.
Looked at the maps.
"The cartels want to scare us. They want us to hide. They want us to stop."
She turned to face the room.
"We're not going to stop. We're going to fight harder. Smarter. Stronger."
---
She pointed to a location on the map.
"This is their main compound. This is where they plan their operations. This is where they hide."
Cole leaned forward.
"How do you know?"
"Because I found it."
"How?"
She looked at him.
"I asked questions. I followed the money. I did my job."
---
The room was silent.
Then someone clapped.
Then someone else.
Then everyone.
Christabel raised her hand.
"We have work to do."
---
That night, Damien came home early.
Lena was in the living room.
Drawing.
"Mama is a hero," Lena said.
Damien knelt beside her.
"Mama is a hero."
"She's going to catch the bad people."
"She is."
"Like a superhero."
He smiled.
"Like a superhero."
---
Christabel walked into the room.
"You're home early."
"The command center is boring without you."
She laughed.
"You're ridiculous."
"I'm in love."
"Same thing."
"Different intention."
---
That night, they made love.
Not the desperate kind.
Not the hungry kind.
The kind that came from partnership.
From equality.
From knowing that they were fighting the same war, side by side.
Afterward, they lay tangled together.
The city was dark.
The room was quiet.
"I love you," she said.
"I know."
"I love you in ways I didn't know I was capable of."
He kissed her forehead.
"I know. Because I love you the same