The Old Iron Train Yard was a graveyard for broken machines. Giant, rusted train cars sat on dead tracks. The city of Oakhaven had forgotten this place a long time ago. Tall weeds grew through the cracked concrete. The midnight fog was thick, cold, and gray.Ron Donaldo stood in the middle of the yard. His clothes were still wet from the harbor. He did not shiver. He stood perfectly still, like a statue carved from ice. He held the silver hard drive in his left hand.Isabella wrapped her arms around herself. She was freezing. Her teeth clicked together. She looked at Ron with a mix of awe and deep fear."Ron," she whispered. The wind carried her voice away. "Who did you call? We should go to my safe house. We need to hide.""We are done hiding, Isabella," Ron said softly. He did not look at her. He looked straight into the thick fog.Ron fought a war inside his own mind. His core struggle burned hot in his chest. Five years ago, he was a good man. He was a builder. He believed in the l

The red laser dots burned brightly on Ron’s chest. The night was totally silent for one second. Death was watching them from the top of the rusted train cars.But Ron Donaldo never walked into a trap without a way out. He picked the Old Iron Train Yard for a reason."Vance! Blind them!" Ron roared.General Silas Vance did not hesitate. He pulled two small metal canisters from his heavy green coat and threw them hard at the ground.BANG! BANG!Huge clouds of thick, white smoke exploded into the air. The smoke was blinding. The red laser dots disappeared in the thick cloud."Fire!" the mercenary leader shouted from the train cars.Hundreds of bullets rained down. They hit the wet concrete and the sides of the trucks like loud, angry metal bees."Cover the King!" General Vance yelled.The forty ex-convicts did not run away. They raised their heavy guns and fired back into the dark. The noise was deafening. Bright yellow fire flashed from the barrels of their weapons. They shot at the to

Highway 9 was a long, black snake cutting through the deep Blackwood Forest. It was 2:30 AM. The rain was falling very hard. The heavy drops of water hit the black asphalt road with a loud, hissing sound. The tall pine trees on both sides of the road looked like giant, dark ghosts. There were no other cars. The road was totally empty. In the middle of the dark highway, a man stood completely still. It was Ron Donaldo. He wore a long, black winter coat. The rain poured down on his head, making his dark hair stick to his face. He did not shiver. He did not move. He stood directly on the yellow line in the middle of the road. His hands were resting calmly in his coat pockets. He looked like a king waiting for his subjects. In the dark trees on the left side of the road, General Vance waited. He was lying flat on his stomach in the wet mud. He held a heavy sniper rifle. He looked through the glass scope. In the trees on the right side of the road, the Iron Legion waited. Forty elite

BEEP.Ron dropped the phone. He looked at the red numbers. Four minutes to save his life. Four minutes to save his name. Four minutes to save the city. General Vance climbed into the truck. "My King, please. We must leave. You cannot fix this."Ron looked at the massive metal box. He looked at the complicated wires. The Director was right. He could not defuse it. It was too complex. It was a perfect trap. But Ron Donaldo did not play by the rules of the trap. If you cannot stop the bomb from exploding, you must change where it explodes. Ron’s blue eyes locked onto General Vance. "General," Ron said loudly. His voice commanded total obedience. "Get your men to unload the lithium from the first two trucks. Put it in your black trucks and drive away.""What about you, Sir?" General Vance asked, his good eye wide with fear. Ron jumped into the driver's seat of the third armored truck. He grabbed the heavy steering wheel. He turned the key. The massive diesel engine roared to life. "

Marcus dropped the pictures. He fell backward into his large leather chair. His brain felt like it was spinning. The bomb. Ron found the bomb. Ron did not run away. He did not die. He took the bomb, threw it into a deep hole, and then stole the lithium. It was a total disaster. Ron Donaldo had survived the ultimate trap. And now, he had stolen the lifeblood of Sterling Tech. "Marcus," Theresa said loudly. She stood up. Her voice was shrill and angry. "What is going on? Who is the man with one eye? Where is our lithium?""Be quiet, Theresa!" Marcus snapped. He rubbed his face with both hands. He had to think. He had to fix this. If the factory did not run, the company would die today. The stock would crash. The investors would sue him. He would lose his cars, his house, his money. He would go to prison. His core struggle was always greed. He believed money could solve any problem. He believed he could buy his way out of any trap. "Okay. Okay, listen to me," Marcus said loudly. He