"You brought the silver serpent straight into the heart of our sanctuary."Captain Elias leveled the dark barrel of his carbine at the chest of the disembarking officer. The veteran loyalist stood on the wet pavement of the Lin estate courtyard while the pale light of dawn broke across the coastal horizon. The stealth transport hissed as the vertical thrusters cooled and the heavy landing gear settled onto the driveway.Zora stepped off the metal cargo ramp and faced a dozen raised rifle muzzles. The freezing coastal wind whipped her dark hair across her face but the chill felt trivial compared to the intense phantom pains radiating through her healing fingers. Her stomach churned with a vicious wave of nausea as she looked into the hardened eyes of the veteran shadow captains.They know what I did in the mountain, Zora processed the suffocating guilt anchoring her boots to the asphalt. I approved the logistical manifests that sent their brothers into a mechanical meat grinder. My unif

"The cartel breached the secondary barricade but we brought the final piece of the puzzle home."Beefy Bob tossed the brass cipher onto the glass tactical table inside the subterranean archives. He leaned against the damp stone wall and clutched his bandaged ribs. The distant thud of incendiary mortar fire vibrated through the ceiling as Victor Chen threw his augmented mercenaries against the exterior defenses of the Lin estate.Chloe Lin picked up the heavy metal artifact. She placed it next to the other two identical keys resting on the illuminated digital map."You bled for this metal," Chloe told her security chief. She noted the fresh crimson stains seeping through his white bandages. "Take a medical kit and hold the staircase. Nobody comes down here until I call for you.""We will hold the stairs Madam CEO," Bob promised. He racked the bolt of his combat shotgun and limped back toward the foyer.Chloe gathered the three brass keys. She felt a phantom chill creep up her spine as