MasukMarcus’s body lay face-first on the concrete, blood spreading slow and dark beneath him. The gunshot had barely finished echoing when Gianni was already moving, long strides closing the gap between them. He snatched the gun from Cedric’s shaking fingers, tossed it aside, and pulled him against his chest so hard his ribs creaked.“It’s over,” Gianni said against Cedric’s hair, voice rough with relief. “It’s fucking over, babe.”Cedric couldn’t answer. He just stared at the blood pooling around Marcus’s outstretched hand, at the way Marcus’s eyes had looked right before the trigger was pulled, surprised, almost disappointed. Like he’d finally understood Cedric wasn’t the kid he remembered.Anna’s voice cut through the night from the far side of the courtyard. “Perimeter secure. Extraction inbound in two minutes.”Cedric nodded once, numb, and let Gianni pull him toward the extraction point. His legs felt like they belonged to someone else.They found the girls two levels down, locked in
Cedric's boots hit the gravel of the prison compound's outer wall with a crunch that sounded too loud in the dead of night. He moved like a shadow, heart hammering but steady, the suppressed Glock heavy in his waistband. Gianni was right behind him, silent as death, while Anna kept watch on the rear, her breaths measured and tight. They'd slipped through the old laundry entrance Marcus had left cracked open, the place nobody expected anyone to use."Clear on your side?" Anna whispered, her voice low."Still coming," Cedric murmured back, eyes scanning the first guard tower.Three guards patrolled the first corridor. Cedric didn't wait. He exploded forward, silenced shot dropping the first one before he could yell. The second spun, hand going for his radio, but Cedric was already on him, forearm crushing his throat. The third barely got his gun up before Cedric slammed the butt into his face, knocking him out cold.Gunfire erupted from the left. Gianni had taken out the two on the west
The hunt for Marcus stretched across New Zealand like a dark thread woven through the country’s rugged beauty. They moved from the misty fjords of the South Island to the rolling hills of the North, chasing shadows and half-truths, always one step behind but gaining ground with every clue. Cedric drove the battered truck they had stolen from a remote farm, his hands tight on the wheel, eyes scanning the road ahead. Gianni sat beside him, map spread across his lap, marking potential locations with a red pen. Anna rode in the back, her scarred face hidden under a hood, coordinating with her network of survivors through a burner phone. The dog, the one who had survived everything, lay curled at Lily’s empty seat, whining softly as if sensing her absence.Marcus was always one step ahead. He left clues like breadcrumbs, a burned-out safe house in Queenstown with a note pinned to the wall: “You’re too slow, brother.” A warehouse in Christchurch where they found a dozen trafficking victims
The mountain bunker was a fortress carved into the ridge like a scar on the earth’s face. Concrete walls reinforced with steel beams rose from the rock, blending seamlessly with the jagged terrain, hidden under layers of camouflage netting and natural overgrowth. Searchlights swept the perimeter in slow, methodical arcs, catching glints off razor wire and motion sensors buried in the dirt. Guards patrolled in pairs, their silhouettes sharp against the night sky, weapons slung low but ready. The air was thin and cold at this altitude, carrying the faint metallic tang of machinery and the sharp bite of pine from the surrounding forest. Cedric moved through the underbrush like a shadow, his breath fogging in the chill, heart pounding in time with the distant hum of generators deep inside the mountain.Gianni led the breach, silent and lethal, taking out the first patrol with two precise shots from a suppressed pistol. The bodies dropped without a sound, dragged into the bushes before the
The search for Tui took them through the back alleys of Te Anau, narrow lanes lined with old wooden fences and overgrown gardens where the shadows seemed to stretch longer than they should. The town was quiet at night, the streetlights casting pale pools on the pavement, but the silence felt heavy, loaded with the kind of dread Cedric had learned to recognize too well. Gianni moved beside him, his steps silent and purposeful, eyes scanning every corner, every darkened doorway. They had left Lily and Mia at the farmhouse with the dog, the doors locked and the lights on, but Cedric’s mind kept drifting back to them, a constant ache of worry that wouldn’t let go.Gianni used his old network, contacts from the days when favors were paid in blood and silence, to track Tui’s movements. A shopkeeper had seen her near the lakefront that afternoon, laughing with friends. A farmer reported a strange van parked on the edge of his property at dusk. They found her phone in a ditch along a dirt roa
Six months in New Zealand had brought a fragile kind of peace to the small village of Te Anau, nestled between the towering Southern Alps and the deep, mirror-like waters of Lake Te Anau. The air was crisp and clean, carrying the scent of pine, fresh rain, and the faint, earthy musk of the surrounding farmland. The village was small, friendly, and untouched by the violence that had defined Cedric’s life for so long. Locals waved when they passed on the street, children rode bikes down the quiet roads, and the only sounds at night were the distant call of kiwi birds and the gentle lapping of the lake against the shore. It felt like a dream, one Cedric was terrified of waking from.He worked at a local veterinary clinic on the edge of town, a modest building with whitewashed walls and a hand-painted sign that read “Te Anau Animal Care.” His days were filled with routine and purpose: treating sheep with foot rot, stitching up dogs after fights with wild pigs, and occasionally helping wit
The gun clicked.Empty.Marcus’s father stared at it, confused for a split second, his finger still squeezing the trigger uselessly. Lily didn’t flinch. She stood there with those calm, terrible eyes, small hands steady at her sides.“I took the bullets while you were monologuing,” she said quietly
The compound was in the Caribbean, a private island bought under a dozen shell companies and guarded like a fortress. Palm trees swayed in the breeze, but the beauty felt wrong, too perfect, too clean for the rot that lived at its center. Marcus led the way, his face a mask of cold fury, crutches s
The warehouse was neutral ground, Rachel had said. Cold concrete floors, dim overhead lights, the faint smell of oil and rust hanging in the air like a warning. Linda sat at a metal table in the center, flanked by two of Rachel’s guards. She looked older than Cedric remembered, lines etched deeper
The basement was cold, cramped, and lit by a single bare bulb swinging from a wire like a dying insect. The air smelled of damp concrete, rust, and fear. Delia was bound and gagged in the corner, her steel-gray hair matted with sweat, eyes burning with rage. Marcus was tied to a rusted pipe, his le







