KARINA
Rain hit the reinforced glass of the briefing room in steady, hard drops. The air inside the stone walls smelled like old coffee and damp clothes. Sitting beside Kole at the head of the long steel conference table, my eyes scanned the tired faces of the syndicate council. Last night's fight left a grim mood on everyone present.
"Chase's men died on our land," Noah stated, rubbing his temple with a scarred hand. "When the High Council finds twenty Silverfang corpses stacked at our border, they will brand us as the aggressors. They will authorize a purge to wipe this syndicate off the map."
"Silverfang sent an armed strike team through our perimeter wire," I countered, leaning forward to rest my forearms on the cold metal. "They bypassed diplomatic channels and started a fight in t
