Engines growled outside the warehouse, headlights slicing through the night. Devon’s voice was low, tight.“They’re circling us.”Richard stood in the center of the room, jacket buttoned, expression carved from stone. “Then let them in.”Lopez swallowed. “You serious?”Richard’s eyes never left the window. “They came to hunt. Tonight, they learn what it means to be hunted.”The first van smashed through the warehouse gates. Metal screamed, sparks lit the dark. Masked men spilled out, blades glinting, guns raised. “Gray!” one shouted. “The boss sends his regards.”Devon ducked behind a crate. “They’ve got shotguns!”The killers opened fire, pellets chewing through steel. Sparks rained. Malik screamed, clutching his arm as blood spurted.Richard moved like a shadow. He yanked Malik behind cover, tearing a rag to bind the wound. “Stay with me. You don’t die tonight.”Then he rose, eyes blazing. A killer rushed him with a machete. Richard sidestepped, seized the man’s wrist, and slammed h

The night cracked open with gunfire. Bullets chewed into the warehouse walls, sending sparks and dust raining down.Devon flipped the table, dragging Malik behind it as Lopez returned fire with a pistol barely big enough for the job. “Serpent’s men!” Devon shouted over the chaos. “They found us!”Richard ducked low, heart pounding, but his voice was steady. “They didn’t find us. They were sent. Daniella wants blood on the floor.”Outside, vans screeched across the gravel. Masked men spilled out, blades flashing, rifles raised. A war cry ripped through the night.Inside, Lopez gritted his teeth. “We’re pinned!”Richard’s eyes burned as he scanned the shadows. His allies, the senator, the tech magnate, even the gang boss, had promised loyalty.But none of them were here now. None except Crane, who stood in the corner, calm, watching the chaos unfold like a gambler waiting to see the dice land.Richard barked at him. “You wanted profit, Crane. Profit bleeds without protection. Pick a sid

The muzzle flash lit the courtyard like lightning.Richard twisted, shielding May with his entire body. The bullet clipped the stone pillar beside him, exploding dust across his back. The sound echoed through the compound as guards erupted into shouts. May screamed, hands fisted in his shirt. Richard didn’t let her go, not for a heartbeat.Serpent strode forward, calm as a surgeon approaching a patient. “You made it farther than I expected,” he called out, voice smooth. “But it ends now.”Richard didn’t answer. He shifted his weight, scanned the angles. Three guards behind Serpent. Two flanking the courtyard. More coming. He had seconds, seconds, before the ring closed around them. Another shot cracked through the air. Richard dropped to one knee, spinning behind a stone planter. He curled around May, feeling her tiny fingers trembling against his throat.“Daddy,” she sobbled, “please don’t let them take me.”“I won’t,” Richard whispered fiercely. “I won’t let anyone touch you, sweet

The Burrow hummed with low mechanical life, servers breathing, underground ventilation rattling, gun cabinets quietly locking and unlocking as Crane ran diagnostics.The bunker felt steady, safe. But Richard felt the opposite. He stood before the holographic table, arms folded, eyes burning as Daniella’s house, her political networks, and Serpent’s last known coordinates rotated in ghostly blue light.Devon approached. “Boss. You’re not gonna like this.”Richard didn’t look up. “Try me.”Devon held out a tablet. “A name popped up on dark-channel chatter. Something Serpent pulled. A contract level I’ve never seen.”Crane snatched the tablet from Devon, eyes scanning. His face drained of color. “No. No, no, no… he didn’t.”Richard finally looked up. “What name?”Crane hesitated. “The Wraith.”Silence dropped over the room like a burial cloth.Malik leaned back in his chair. “This some kind of myth?”Crane shook his head, voice shaky. “No myth. Ghost ops used to whisper about him. He’s n

Back in the war room, Crane slammed his laptop shut. “Boss! You need to see this.”Richard placed May in Devon’s arms. “Stay with her. Don’t move.”Then he strode to Crane. Crane opened the laptop again.A single video file blinked. No sender. No origin. No encryption trail.Just one title: “HELLO, MAY.”Richard’s pulse sharpened painfully. “Play it.”Crane hit the button. The video opened to a black screen. A hiss of static.Then, A whisper. But not spoken. Scraped. A metal sound dragging across a concrete wall. Slow. Deliberate. Tap. Tap-tap. Tap.Richard’s heart hammered. That was the sound May heard. The camera feed flickered, showing a blurry tunnel, the ventilation tunnel of the Burrow.Richard leaned in. “Crane. That’s inside our grid.”Crane’s voice shook. “He was here. He was in the vents.”Devon burst in, breathless. “Boss, no breaches. No footprints. No thermal signatures.” Richard’s voice was ice.“Of course not. Because he didn’t come in. He stayed at the edge, just clos