Novels by Z.A.Y.N.

District 9 was a graveyard of industry. The Foundry was its tombstone, a massive, sprawling complex of blackened smokestacks and corrugated iron.Drax stopped the van a mile out. "We go on foot from here. Sensors will pick up the engine."John checked his gear. He was low on ammo. His body ached. His soul felt heavy."Drax," John said. "Take Arthur’s body back to Elena. She deserves to bury him.""And leave you alone?" Drax shook his head. "No. I swore an oath.""This is a family matter," John said sternly. "I can't fight my sister if I'm worried about watching your back. Go. Protect Elena. That's an order."Drax hesitated, then snapped a salute. "Give them hell, Commander."John moved into the shadows alone.He infiltrated the Foundry through an old drainage pipe. The air inside tasted of sulfur and ozone.He moved silently through the lower levels, bypassing patrols. He saw Syndicate soldiers everywhere, heavily armed, disciplined. This wasn't a gang hideout; it was a military base.

The revelation hit John harder than any punch he had ever taken.Ivy. His sweet, innocent sister who used to cry when she scraped her knee. An assassin? A killer?"You're lying," John said, his voice low and dangerous."Check the files!" Arthur frantically pointed at the computer. "It's all there! The payments! The hit list! Chimera has killed twelve people in the last year. Politicians. Judges. She's Viper's masterpiece."John looked at the screen. He shoved Arthur aside and rebooted the terminal using a decryption drive Drax had given him.Files scrolled past. Photos.There she was. Older now. Twenty years old. Cold eyes. Holding a sniper rifle. Standing over a dead body in a hotel room in Paris.It was the same face from the photo in his pocket, but without the ropes."No..." John whispered.Victor Sterling, nursing his hand in the corner, started laughing. It was a wet, gurgling sound."Irony is a bitch, isn't it?" Victor sneered. "You came to save her, but she's the one who's goi

Ten.John dropped the tablet. He didn't think. Instinct took the wheel.Nine.He sprinted toward the bay doors. His ribs, bruised from the fight with The Golem, screamed in protest.Eight.He saw the red blinking lights on the support beams. Charges. Everywhere.Seven.He reached the heavy metal doors. Locked. Welded shut from the outside. A trap within a trap.Six."Drax!" John roared into his earpiece. "Extract! Now!"Five."Wall! Three o'clock!" Drax’s voice barked back.John turned. The east wall of the warehouse was thin corrugated metal. Beyond it lay the harbor water.Four.He ran. He didn't have enough speed to break it.Three.A massive roar filled the air outside. The sound of a heavy engine.Two.The corrugated wall suddenly exploded inward. The nose of the armored SUV smashed through the metal, debris flying everywhere. The vehicle drifted sideways, the passenger door flinging open.One.John dove.He launched himself through the air, landing in the backseat of the SUV jus

The armory inside the penthouse wasn’t just a gun rack; it was a cathedral of violence.A hidden wall in the master bedroom slid open silently, revealing racks of matte-black assault rifles, serrated combat knives, and tactical body armor. The blue LED lighting cast long, sharp shadows across John’s face as he stripped off his ruined suit jacket.Elena stood in the doorway, hugging herself. Her silver dress was stained with dust from the sniper attack, and her face was pale. She looked like a ghost haunting a war room.“You have a military arsenal in your apartment,” she said. It wasn’t a question. It was an accusation.John didn’t turn. He pulled a Kevlar vest over his dress shirt, the velcro straps tearing through the silence.“I have enemies, Elena. Powerful ones.”“Is this who you are now?” Her voice trembled. “The boy who used to read poetry with me… is he gone?”John paused. He picked up a pair of tactical gloves, his thumbs running over the reinforced knuckles. He looked at his

John moved faster than thought.He closed the distance in a heartbeat. His hand clamped around Julian’s throat, lifting the heir of the Sterling empire off his feet."Ghhhk!" Julian gagged, his legs kicking uselessly in the air."You like to hurt women?" John asked softly. "You like to break things?"John squeezed. Julian’s face turned purple."Stop!" Victor Sterling shouted from the floor below. "Release him! I will give you anything! Money! Power! Just let him go!"John ignored the old man. He looked into Julian’s bulging eyes."Fifteen Years ago, you broke three of my ribs," John said. "Today, I’m calling in the debt with interest."He threw Julian onto the stage floor. Before Julian could scramble away, John stomped on his right hand, the hand that had grabbed Elena.CRUNCH.Julian’s scream was inhuman. Every finger was shattered. "That’s for Elena," John said.He kicked Julian in the ribs. Crack. "That’s for Martha."He kicked him again. "That’s for the house."Julian was curled

Julian Sterling gripped the podium so hard the wood creaked. Fear, cold and foreign, trickled down his spine. Master Hao was invincible. He had seen Hao kill men in underground rings. And this stranger had just swatted him like a fly."Who are you?" Julian demanded, his voice cracking slightly.Beside him, Elena gasped. Her hands flew to her mouth. She was staring at John’s face, specifically, at the scar through his eyebrow."John?" she whispered.The microphone picked it up.Julian whipped his head around to look at her. "You know this trash?"Elena was trembling. Tears welled in her eyes. "It’s... it’s John Vance. The boy from the orphanage. Everyone said he died.""Vance?" Julian’s eyes widened. He looked back at the man in the black suit. The memory clicked. The scrawny kid who tried to bite him fifteen years ago. The one he ordered his men to beat half to death."You," Julian laughed. It was a nervous, manic laugh. " The gutter rat! You survived? What, did you come back to beg