A few miles away, inside the safehouse, Zarek stood by the window watching the heavy rain pour down. He tapped his fingers on his arm, looking down at his watch.Ten minutes had passed since Shaw’s last signal.Elara stepped up beside him, holding two warm mugs, but her eyes were just as focused on the silent comms device sitting on the wooden table behind them.Troll leaned against the doorframe, chewing on an unlit cigar as he watched Zarek. Unlike the rest of the crew, Troll was still new to how Shaw worked. He looked over at the quiet radio, then back at Zarek's tense shoulders."Is ten minutes really that big of a deal?" Troll asked, his rough voice breaking the silence. "Maybe the kid is taking his time or hiding out until the rain slows down. How fast does he usually move?""Shaw is fast," Zarek said, his dark eyes narrowing as he stared out into the night. "Even on a bad day, he doesn't stay in one place for this long. He gets in, grabs the data, and gets out before anyone

"He's not in here!" the guard yelled, spinning around in confusion.The guard leader backed out into the corridor, his flashlight sweeping across the slick concrete floor. Just a few feet away, the two men assigned to lock Shaw up were lying flat on their backs. One had a broken nose and blood all over his vest. The other was curled in a tight ball, groaning as he clutched his broken wrist."What the hell happened here?" the lead guard roared, stepping over the groaning man and grabbing him by the collar. "Where is the rat?""He... he cut the ties," the guard wheezed, gasping from the pain in his arm. "He took my gun... he went toward the rear fire exit."The guard leader swore and dropped the man back onto the floor. He lifted his radio to his mouth, slamming his free fist against the concrete wall."All units, listen up!" he barked into the radio, his voice echoing through the building. "The prisoner broke out! He's armed, injured, and moving through the lower compound toward th

Inside the dark maintenance shaft above the holding room, Zarek moved quietly for a man of his size. The narrow space was freezing, filled with the hum of heavy machinery and the faint smell of wet dust. He stayed on his knees, guiding himself through the metal frame as he calculated the layout of the facility in his head.‘The guards took Shaw’s gear to the secondary command post,’ Zarek thought. ‘Two floors up, right past the main security hub. That’s where the lead mercenary set up.’He paused, listening to the vibrations running through the metal floor. Down in the courtyard, the sharp pops of Troll’s handguns echoed through the framing. Troll was keeping their attention drawn to the front gate, but he wouldn't be able to hold off the mercenaries forever. Time was running out.‘Ten minutes,’ Zarek estimated, moving forward again at a steady speed. ‘Ten minutes before they realize I’m not in that cell, or before Troll gets surrounded.’He reached a junction where three ducts me

High above them, Shaw pulled his legs into the shadows. He rested across two support beams near the ceiling duct. Pressing his back against the cold concrete roof, he held his breath. His ribs hurt with a dull, burning pain.'Idiots never look up,' Shaw thought to himself. He smiled a little, wiped blood from his mouth, and held tightly onto a heavy metal bracket he had pulled loose.Before the mercenaries knew where he was, the heavy door behind them slammed shut."What was that?!" the main mercenary shouted, turning his flashlight toward the dark doorway.A calm, deep voice spoke from the shadows."You're in the wrong room."Shaw let out a quiet sigh of relief as Zarek stepped into the doorway. Muzzle flashes lit up the small space, but Zarek moved fast. He grabbed the front man's rifle, pulled him forward, and slammed him into the second guard. He hit the third man with a hard left punch, sending him into the wall. Then he swept the fourth guard off his feet before the man c

“What do you mean you let them go?!” the F3 assistant yelled, her eyes dark with anger as she glared at the security personnel in front of her.She was furious.The three men had been right in front of them, and they had let them walk away for no reason. Not only had they failed to secure the prisoners, but they had let them escape completely.“We didn’t mean to, Ms. Mathilda.” The security leader swallowed hard, keeping his head low under her glare. "We had no idea Troll betrayed Vance," he stammered, his voice trembling. "We only stepped back because we respected Vance's territory. Nobody told us Vance was taken!""Silence!" Ms. Mathilda slammed her fist onto the desk. "You complete fools! You let a prisoner and two men walk out because you were scared of a name?!""We apologize, Ms. Mathilda," the officer said quickly, bowing his head as his men stiffened behind him. "If we knew Vance was compromised, we would have opened fire immediately. We thought we were avoiding a war.""Yo