Chapter 10: Overwatch
1153 Words
Chapter 10: Overwatch
The docks smelled like salt, rust, and diesel at two in the morning.
No moon.
No stars.
Just the harsh glare of loading cranes and the endless slap of black water against concrete.
Kade killed the engine two blocks out.
"We walk."
I checked my pistol.
Checked the blade at my thigh.
Checked the bond.
Lucien was silent.
Too silent.
You sure about this? I sent.
His answer came immediately.
Not even slightly.
I smiled despite myself.
Helpful.
I'm watching. Don't die before I get a chance to kill you myself.
There he is.
The bond warmed briefly.
Then went quiet again.
Kade started moving.
I followed.
The map from Cell One's prisoner was burned into my memory.
Warehouse 14B.
Shipment at 02:30.
Contact: Rook.
Eight minutes later we reached the perimeter.
Two guards stood near the side gate.
Both armed.
Both bored.
Neither saw us coming.
Kade appeared behind the first man like a ghost.
A sharp movement.
A muffled gasp.
The guard collapsed.
The second turned.
Confused.
I fired once.
He dropped before the sound could leave his throat.
"Clean," Kade said.
We moved.
Warehouse 14B sat at the edge of the dockyard.
The loading door hung partially open.
Light spilled through the c***k.
Voices drifted into the night.
Three.
No.
Four heartbeats.
One elevated.
Nervous.
I looked at Kade.
He nodded.
We went in.
The door slammed against the wall.
"Hands up!" I shouted.
"Council Enforcement!"
A lie.
A useful one.
The room exploded into motion.
Four men scrambled for weapons.
One stood apart from the others.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
Shaved head.
Serpent tattoo curling around his neck.
Rook.
He grinned when he saw me.
"Took you long enough, ledger girl."
Gunfire erupted.
I dove sideways.
Wood splintered beside my head.
Kade vanished into the chaos.
A scream followed.
Then another.
I fired twice.
One man dropped.
A second spun and fell against a crate.
Movement flashed above.
Catwalk.
My stomach tightened.
Sniper.
The rifle was already tracking toward me.
Lucien.
A shot cracked through the night.
The sniper's head snapped back.
His body crashed through the railing and hit the warehouse floor.
Silence.
Then—
Another shot.
This one aimed at me.
I barely got behind cover in time.
"What the—"
A second sniper.
Hidden.
Clever.
The bullet punched through a crate where my head had been seconds earlier.
Then another distant c***k echoed.
The second sniper collapsed.
You're welcome, Lucien sent through the bond.
I grinned.
Show-off.
You're buying dinner.
Before I could answer, Rook bolted.
"He's running!"
I took off after him.
The back exit burst open.
Cold air hit my face.
Rook spun the second I cleared the doorway.
His fist connected with my jaw.
Pain exploded through my skull.
I hit the ground hard.
Blood filled my mouth.
Rook lunged.
I blocked the first strike.
Missed the second.
The knife sliced across my ribs.
The wolf surged instantly.
Pain.
Blood.
Prey.
For one terrifying second, gold flooded my vision.
The world sharpened.
Heartbeats.
Breathing.
Fear.
Everything became louder.
Closer.
The wolf wanted out.
Not now.
I forced it back.
Barely.
Rook smiled when he saw my eyes.
"That's it," he said.
"Let's see the monster."
I slammed my forehead into his nose.
Bone cracked.
He staggered.
Kade arrived a heartbeat later and drove him face-first into the pavement.
The fight ended quickly after that.
Rook knelt on the concrete.
Blood pouring from his nose.
A knife pressed against his throat.
Still smiling.
That worried me.
People usually stopped smiling when Kade held a blade to their neck.
"Talk," Kade said.
Rook spat blood.
"You're too late."
I crouched in front of him.
"What moved?"
His smile widened.
"Everything."
A cold feeling settled in my stomach.
"Cell Two was never important."
"What is?"
"The ship."
"What ship?"
His eyes gleamed.
"The one leaving tonight."
My pulse quickened.
"Name."
He laughed.
"You think stopping me matters?"
Kade pressed the blade deeper.
Rook didn't react.
"Name."
"The Black Serpent."
The words landed like a punch.
"The real operation is already moving."
"How many people?" I asked.
His grin faded slightly.
"Enough."
"Enough for what?"
"Enough to burn your council to the ground."
Silence.
Wind.
Water.
Then Rook looked past me.
For the first time all night—
He looked afraid.
My instincts screamed.
Move.
Now.
I turned.
A blinking red light sat beneath a nearby shipping container.
My blood froze.
Explosives.
"AVA!"
Lucien's voice ripped through the bond.
The world detonated.
Heat.
Pressure.
Fire.
The blast threw me through the air.
Concrete slammed into my back.
For a second, there was nothing.
No sound.
No breath.
No thoughts.
Just white.
Then pain arrived.
Everywhere.
My ears rang.
My lungs refused to work.
Dust filled the air.
The warehouse groaned behind me.
Collapsing.
Somewhere nearby, someone was shouting.
Kade.
I thought.
Maybe.
Strong hands grabbed my jacket.
Dragged me backward.
The world blurred.
Another explosion rocked the dockyard.
The roof folded inward.
Steel screamed.
Then darkness swallowed the warehouse.
We cleared the blast zone seconds before the building collapsed completely.
I hit the ground hard.
Coughing.
Gasping.
Alive.
Barely.
Kade looked down at me.
Blood ran from a cut above his eye.
His coat was smoking.
"You alive?"
"Define alive."
He considered that.
"Complaining means yes."
I laughed.
Immediately regretted it.
The bond exploded with panic.
Lucien.
A second later he was there.
Dropping to one knee beside me.
His hands moved over my shoulders.
My ribs.
My face.
Checking.
Searching.
Making sure I was still in one piece.
His hands were shaking.
That scared me more than the explosion.
"Lucien—"
"You're bleeding."
"So are you."
Only then did I notice the blood running down the side of his neck.
He ignored it.
Completely.
His eyes burned gold.
Wolf close.
Dangerously close.
"Never do that again."
I blinked.
"Get blown up?"
"Scare me like that."
The words hit harder than they should have.
For a moment nobody spoke.
Then Kade cleared his throat.
"We have a problem."
We looked at him.
He held up Rook's phone.
"The ship's moving."
My stomach sank.
"The Black Serpent?"
Kade nodded.
"Leaves in ninety minutes."
Lucien swore.
A rare thing.
Which meant the situation was worse than I thought.
"You need medical attention," he said.
"No."
"Ava—"
"No."
I forced myself to my feet.
Pain shot through my ribs.
I ignored it.
"Cell Two is gone."
Nobody argued.
"The ship isn't."
The wind off the water cut through the smoke.
Cold.
Sharp.
Real.
Kade stared at me.
Lucien stared at me.
Both waiting.
I met their eyes.
"We don't have ninety minutes for a plan."
Lucien's jaw tightened.
Then he stood.
"Then we make one on the way."
Somewhere beyond the harbor, a freighter was already moving.
Cell Two had been a trap.
Cell Three was on the water.
And time was running out.
- Writer
