BLOOD OWNS THIS CITY

The Iron Tower

The Iron Tower squatted in the heart of the Iron District like a scar on the skyline.

Marcus studied it from a rooftop across the street. The building was twelve stories of brutalist concrete, windows blacked out, entrances guarded by men in gray jackets. Viktor's secondary headquarters. Less glamorous than the Zenith Tower. More dangerous.

Darnell crouched beside him, binoculars pressed to his eyes. "I count twelve guards on the ground level. More inside."

Marcus nodded. "Patterns?"

"They change shifts every four hours. The night crew is lazier. More likely to take breaks."

Marcus absorbed the information. His mind was already building a mental map of the building's layout. He'd studied the blueprints for weeks. Knew every stairwell. Every exit. Every blind spot.

"Let's move," he said.

They descended the fire escape, moving like shadows. The alley behind the Iron Tower was dark and narrow. Marcus pressed himself against the wall and listened.

Footsteps. Two guards approaching.

He held up two fingers. Darnell nodded.

The guards rounded the corner. Marcus moved first. His hand clamped over the first man's mouth, twisting his head at an angle that sent him to the ground unconscious. Darnell followed, driving his fist into the second man's throat.

Two seconds. Two guards down.

Marcus dragged the bodies into the shadows. He stripped one of the guards of his jacket and put it on. The gray fabric was cheap, but it would pass inspection from a distance.

"Wait here," he whispered to Darnell. "If I'm not back in an hour, leave. Don't look back."

Darnell started to protest. Marcus silenced him with a look.

"I'll be fine."

He slipped through the service entrance. The interior of the Iron Tower was cold and industrial. Fluorescent lights hummed overhead. The air smelled like bleach and old cigarettes.

Marcus moved through the corridors, counting doors. He was looking for the conference room on the eighth floor—the one where Viktor and his men held their meetings.

The stairwell was unguarded. Marcus climbed. His leg screamed with every step. He bit down on the pain and kept moving.

Eighth floor. The conference room was at the end of the hall. Voices filtered through the door.

Marcus found a ventilation shaft and pried open the grate. He squeezed inside, ignoring the way his spine protested, and crawled toward the sound.

The conference room opened up below him. A long table. Five men seated around it. Viktor at the head. Leonid to his right. Three others Marcus recognized from the photograph.

But the sixth chair was empty.

Marcus's heart hammered. His father's chair. Empty.

"Where is Webb?" Viktor demanded.

Leonid shrugged. "He's been difficult to reach. You know how he is."

Viktor's face twisted with anger. "The Ghost is in this city. Our Ghost. The one we killed five years ago. And Webb is playing hide and seek?"

"He'll come when he's ready."

Viktor slammed his fist on the table. "I want Marcus Webb's head on a platter. I want his body burned. I want his name erased from history. Find. Him."

The men shifted uncomfortably. Marcus watched from the vent. His fingers curled into fists.

"Project Serpent," Viktor continued. "Everything we built. Everything we sacrificed. If the Ghost goes public with that information, we're all finished."

"We'll handle it," Leonid said. "The Ghost is a lone wolf. No resources. No allies. He's already wounded—we saw him limp. He's not the threat he was five years ago."

Viktor's eyes narrowed. "Don't underestimate him. He survived a bullet to the spine and a helicopter crash. He's not just dangerous—he's relentless."

Marcus smiled in the darkness. Viktor was scared. Good.

The meeting continued. Marcus recorded everything on his phone. Names. Dates. Locations. The evidence was piling up.

But then Viktor said something that made Marcus's blood freeze.

"We need to find his weak spot. Every man has one. For the Ghost, it's loyalty. He'd die for his men." Viktor paused. "Find his old unit's families. Their friends. Anyone he might still care about. And make him watch as they suffer."

Marcus's vision went red.

His men were dead. Their families were innocent. And Viktor wanted to use them as bait.

Not on Marcus's watch.

He crawled backward through the vent, his mind racing. He needed to protect them. He needed to warn them. But he didn't even know where they were.

He dropped from the shaft and landed silently on the eighth-floor corridor. His leg almost gave out. He caught himself on the wall and forced himself to walk.

Down the stairs. Through the corridors. Past the unconscious guards.

Darnell was waiting in the alley. "What happened?"

Marcus pulled him into the shadows. "They're going after the families. My unit's families. I need to find them before Viktor does."

Darnell's face went pale. "That's a lot of people. And we don't have a lot of time."

Marcus met his eyes. "Then we'd better start moving."

The sun was setting over Veridian Bay. And Marcus Webb had just learned his true enemy.

*Should Marcus focus on protecting the families first, or continue gathering evidence against Viktor?*