Chapter 12 – The Puppeteers

 

Chapter 12 – The Puppeteers

Karen sat in a silent storage room, lit only by the glow of her encrypted tablet. Her fingers flew over the touchscreen, decrypting file after file she had ripped from Horizon Network’s secure server. Her heart pounded as each folder revealed darker truths.

She read aloud quietly, recording for Salty:

“Operational funds from Brussels… Horizon Network officially registered as an EU border management contractor… mass migrant transfers under ‘integration labour programmes’… backdoor payments to Irish government departments for silent authorisations…”

Her stomach twisted with disgust. The documents showed it all – Dublin’s top officials, ministers, Garda commissioners, and city planners accepting monthly payments routed through Horizon’s “urban resilience” budget. In return, they allowed The Snake’s trafficking empire to operate unchallenged, under the illusion of humanitarian aid and migrant integration quotas mandated by Brussels.

She swiped further:

• 2028 Directive 19.4B: Increase of migrant quotas under climate displacement emergency protocols.

• 2029-2034 Horizon Operations: “Relocation of non-compliant migrants to controlled integration compounds with limited external monitoring.”

• 2035 Budget Line: €4.6 billion in transferred EU credits for Horizon-run “smart cities” in Ireland – dock redevelopments and micro-apartments for mass settlement.

Karen’s vision blurred with rage. She saw notes from Brussels bureaucrats:

“Ireland remains compliant. Devane manages integration pipeline efficiently. Recommend Horizon expansion into Belfast and Cork for further quotas.”

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🐍 Suddenly

The storage room door creaked. Karen snapped her tablet closed and stuffed it into her tactical vest. Cormac’s thick silhouette blocked the doorway.

“What’re you doing in here?” he growled.

She forced a sweet smile. “Just sending tomorrow’s roster to my Belfast handler.”

He stepped forward, eyes narrowed. “Snake wants you back in the command office. Now.”

Karen stood calmly, brushing her braid back over her shoulder. Inside, adrenaline burned through her veins like fire.

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🔥 Meanwhile – Salty’s Warehouse HQ

Sarah finished listening to Karen’s encrypted recording. Her hands shook with fury as she closed the file.

“Salty,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “It’s Brussels. They’re funding Horizon as an official EU contractor. Everything Devane does – it’s sanctioned. It’s not just him. The entire system is built on this corruption.”

Salty stood silently, staring at the steel beams overhead. For a long moment, he said nothing. Finally, his voice rumbled like distant thunder.

“Then it’s not just Devane we bring down. It’s everyone. Every minister, every Horizon executive, every EU bureaucrat signing these death warrants.”

He turned to Sarah, his eyes burning with unbreakable resolve.

“Get the footage ready. The people of Ireland need to see the truth. Tonight, we expose them all.”

Sarah nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks. “And then what, Salty?”

He placed a heavy, calloused hand on her shoulder.

“Then… we march again. But this time, we don’t stop.”