Warbound: Rise of the Street General

Chapter 1: The Ghost Doesn’t Rise

Enzo "Ghost" Dalca stood over the body of Damon Rourke, his mentor and the man who had taught him how to survive and gain power. Blood pooled around them, soaking the cold concrete floor of the dark warehouse. His heart raced and his breath was shallow as he realised that this wasn't just a death. This was a betrayal.

"Shit," Enzo said in a voice that was barely above a whisper as he crouched next to the body. Damon's face, which had once been proud, now looked broken, and his eyes were blankly staring up at the cracked ceiling. The city and all of his loyalties weighed heavily on Enzo's chest. He wasn't meant to be here. He wasn't supposed to be the one with the knife. But somehow, they had planned it all out.

Enzo's heart raced faster when he heard distant sirens break the silence. He tightened his grip on the cold metal of his gun, but it didn't last long. A bullet hit the wall next to him and knocked him back with the force of the impact.

"Move!" a voice yelled from the dark.

Enzo didn't have to think. He was already running, ducking between crates and old furniture. The sound of gunfire behind him was like a predator closing in. He ran through the back door of the warehouse and into the dark alley behind it, his feet pounding the ground. As he ran through the maze of backstreets, the world around him spun, and he could taste the bitter metal of fear on his tongue.

Havencroft was a city that made you feel like you were going to die. He was too.

Enzo's heart raced and adrenaline coursed through his veins as he ducked into a narrow hallway, just missing another round of gunfire. He didn't stop. He wasn't able to. His heart raced in time with the sound of his footsteps against the walls of the alley. Damon was no longer alive. That was a loss for him, but it was also a loss for the whole city. Without Damon, the power vacuum would throw everything into chaos. Enzo would be right in the middle of it.

But that wasn't the end of it. Someone wanted him to take the blame for it.

Enzo had always been a ghost in the criminal world, a quiet enforcer who did his job and then vanished like a shadow in the night. But this? This was a trap. They wanted to get rid of him, destroy everything Damon had built, and make him the fall guy. He could feel the weight of betrayal creeping up his back and tightening around his throat.

The only thing that kept him from going crazy was his loyalty to Damon. Damon had been the one to get him off the streets and give him everything he needed. And now he was dead, killed by someone with an even darker plan.

Enzo's thoughts raced through the options. Matteo Rossini. The name made him shiver. Rossini had always wanted power, and now that Damon was out of the way, he would do anything to take over the city's criminal empire. But why put him in a frame?

He swore under his breath as he stepped out of the alley and into the street. He moved with the kind of purpose that only someone on the run could have.

He needed to know. He needed to find out who wanted him dead in order to get them.

Enzo's phone buzzed in his pocket, bringing him back to reality. He took it out with shaky hands and looked around the screen. Not a known number.

He answered with a cold, sharp voice. "Dalca."

A voice I knew chuckled darkly on the other end. "You really think you can get away from this, Ghost?"

Enzo's heart skipped a beat. Luca Moretti was the last person he wanted to hear from. Enzo took a deep breath and clenched his jaw. "What do you want, Moretti?"

Luca's voice was smooth but full of venom as he said, "I think you know exactly what's going on, Dalca." "You are already dead, Ghost." Everyone will know what really happened soon enough.

Enzo's mind was racing. Luca Moretti. He wasn't surprised by the name, but he was surprised by the timing. Moretti had always been a schemer, waiting for times like this to come and take what was left. But what part did he play? Was he planning this all along?

"What's your game, Luca?" Enzo asked.

"You are smart. You will figure it out. The queue went silent.

Enzo's hands were clenched. He couldn't put his faith in anyone. Matteo Rossini, Luca Moretti, and who knows who else had their hands on the city. Everyone was involved in Damon's death. And now they were coming for him.

But Enzo wasn't going to give up. He wasn't going to die in the gutter like all the other ghosts in Havencroft.

He would find out who set him up and make them pay.

Enzo's eyes quickly moved to the street ahead, and he was very alert. His body stopped moving. He saw a shadow through the fog that hung in the air in the early morning. Serena Voss was a hacker known for being both dangerous and hard to find. He didn't think he would see her here.

She came out of the shadows, and her face was unreadable.

"I didn't think I'd find you alive," she said softly, her voice showing no emotion. "I believe we need to talk."

Enzo squinted and tightened his grip on the gun in his pocket. "What do you want, Serena?"

She didn't move. She moved forward instead. "Enzo, you've been set up. And I can help you get your name cleared. But we have to act fast.

Before he could answer, he heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps coming down the street. Enzo's instincts told him to run, but Serena was already pulling him into a nearby alley. "Believe me, Enzo." Time is running out.

Enzo hesitated because his gut told him not to trust her. But with enemies closing in on all sides, he didn't have any other choice.

He went after her into the dark.