BLOOD CROWN

Chapter Four: Fire at the Docks

First to strike was the Syndicate. Millions of lost products were trapped beneath crumbling steel beams when Warehouse Twelve burst into flames just before sunrise. Kade and Juno showed up shortly after the firefighters. Kade examined the twisted metal and saw that military-grade explosives were expertly placed, leaving no trace. A clear message had been sent by the Chairman. Kade froze as a surviving employee approached them and revealed a terrifying detail: "They knew exactly where everything was." Once more, it was insider information.

The senior members assembled in tense quiet that evening. Knowing that someone had leaked the information, Kade paced the room slowly. "I'll ask once," he declared. "If you've betrayed us... leave now."

No one moved. Juno observed the dread, bewilderment, and loyalty on every face in the room. One reaction, though, grabbed out: Drex appeared momentarily relieved. Juno caught Kade outside in the rain after the meeting and expressed her suspicions. When Drex's relief was mentioned, Kade scowled, as though the man had recently survived something. Kade finally spoke to her, "Keep watching him," as he watched the rain wash blood from the scorched concrete.

The Chairman calmly answered a ringing phone in his private office across the city. "Report," he commanded.

In response, a masked voice said, "The warehouse is gone."

The Chairman said, "And Marian?" "We still don't know who he is."

The Chairman gave a little smile. "But now... he knows someone stands beside me." He hung up and turned to face the lights of the city. Someone had genuinely piqued his interest for the first time in decades.

Kade, meantime, stood on a rooftop with a view of District Nine's luminous skyline, which included the highways, warehouses, and ports that symbolized an unfinished kingdom. Silently joining him, Amara mentioned that he had lost millions of dollars today.

Kade only gave a nod. "Money returns."

She gave him a sharp glance. "And trust?"

Kade said nothing. As routes changed, relationships evolved, and rumors circulated, trucks traveled across the sleeping metropolis far below. In dark back alleys, taverns, and docks, one particular name spread from person to person. It wasn't the Ghost, the Runner, or Kade. Marian was the only name left.

The city had started to believe in his tale, but it still didn't recognize his face. Legends were also much more difficult to kill than humans.