The rain had stopped nearly an hour ago, but the streets of New York were still wet, inside a luxurious apartment overlooking Manhattan, Luke Callas stood before a large glass window—holding a cup of coffee in his left hand.Thirty-five years old, tall, broad-shouldered, he carried himself with a quiet confidence of a man who have spent years I'm dangerous places, his dark hair was nearly trimmed and a faint scar ran across his left eyebrow.He wore a simple black shirt, and grey trouser. Nothing in his appearance suggested that he had once been one of the most decorated combat officers in the military—but that life was far behind him now, at least that is what he always wanted to believe.His phone vibrated on the kitchen counter, Luke glanced at it, a message from his operation's manager.Daniel: Good morning, Sir. The meeting with the European partners has been moved to 11:am. I've sent the updated documents to your email.Luke picked up his phone.Luke: I'll review them before the

Her hand paused briefly over her glass, Luke observed."Northbridge?""Yes.""No. Why do you ask?""Because someone has been transferring money from my company's reserve account to them."Victoria took a sip of wine."Maybe it's one of your business partners."Luke scoffed. "I've never heard of them.""Then investigate it.""I'm already doing that."Luke studied her face."Again, have you ever come across the name, maybe from somewhere, friends or—""No."Her answer came quickly, too quickly, almost like she was annoyed, but Luke didn't think much of it,he nodded and returned to his meal.Victoria watched him for a moment before forcing a smile."Luke?""Yes?""Have you ever regretted leaving the military?"He looked at her."Why would you ask me that?""I was just wondering, shouldn't I be allowed to?"Luke leaned back, his eyes seemed to be seeing something else."Sometimes... I do.""Really?""Yeah, but not because I miss the battlefield, I don't."He paused."But there are things

Luke slowly turned."Dead?""Yes, sir. He was found in his residence this morning."For a moment, everything around Luke seemed to become distant, first his father, and now General Hayes. Two people he knew personally, both dead within hours."Daniel, what's happening?" Tears welled up in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall, by his side his knuckle was already turning white."I don't know, sir. But there's something else."Luke closed his eyes briefly, wishing all these was nothing but a nightmare, unfortunately it wasn't."Go ahead.""The police have issued an internal notice connecting you to the general's murder."Luke's mouth fell, the shock in his eyes could not be hidden."What?""They're looking for you, Sir."Luke looked towards the police officers standing outside his father's residence, suddenly, several of them began moving in his direction."Daniel, listen carefully, all these is the handwork of someone. Someone is setting me up.""Sir—""I don't know who it is yet,

‎The transport vehicle came to a stop, ‎Luke raised his head.‎‎For the past four hours, he has been sitting inside a cramped compartment with six other prisoners. His hands were cuffed, his ankles chained, and a thick metal barrier separated them from the armed guards.‎‎Nobody had the strength to speak much during the journey, as each carried his own burden with him.‎‎But now, something had changed, he could hear the heavy rumbling of machinery outside, a moment later, the rear doors opened.‎‎"Everybody out!"‎‎A guard stepped inside, holding a rifle.‎‎Luke stood with the others and stepped down, the first thing he noticed was the wall, ‎It was enormous.‎‎Thick concrete stretched across the landscape, rising so high that he had to tilt his head to see the watchtowers above it. Electric fences ran along the upper sections, while armed guards watched from behind reinforced windows.‎‎There were no ordinary prison buildings in sight, ‎only concrete, steel, surveillance equi

‎The screaming continued for several minutes.‎‎Luke sat upright on his bed, listening, ‎It wasn't the first time he's heard someone scream in pain. During his military service, he had witnessed men suffer injuries that would haunt them for the rest of their lives.‎‎But this was different.‎‎There was something unsettling about hearing it inside a prison where nobody seemed willing to intervene.‎‎"Go back to sleep, young lad."‎‎Ezekiel's voice came from the lower bed.‎‎Luke looked down.‎‎"Do you know what's happening, old man?"‎‎"Probably."‎‎"Probably?"‎‎The old man turned over.‎‎"People get hurt here every night. You'll get used to it."‎‎Luke remained seated.‎‎"Shouldn't someone call the guards?"‎‎Ezekiel laughed quietly.‎‎"Call them for what? These is Blackgate, lad."‎‎"But someone is being attacked."‎‎"And?"‎‎Luke stared at him.‎‎Ezekiel opened one eye.‎‎"Listen carefully. There are three kinds of people in Blackgate. Those who hurt others, tho