Again.
And this time, they didn’t come to warn us.
They came to finish what they started.
Nineteen
Ledger
If it’s war they want, I’ll give them annihilation.
The lights die.
Completely.Instantly.No flicker.No warning.
Just a harsh snap into black.
Kelly’s breath stutters behind the reinforced door panel where I positioned her.My own pulse roars in my ears as the darkness folds around us.I shift my stance, feet planted shoulder-width, gun raised and angled to the sound of footsteps scraping overhead.
They're deliberate.Too slow for panic.Too steady for amateurs.
Trained.
And close.
“Riot,” Kelly whispers, voice trembling.
“I hear them,” I murmur back.“Stay down.Don’t move until I say.”
The storm rages above, thunder pounding the earth like it’s echoing the same fury exploding inside my chest.I slip into that part of myself I don’t use often, the part that doesn’t feel fear or pain or hesitation.Compartmentalize.
The part of me that kills.
A groan of metal comes from somewhere in the ventilation tunnels above.
Then a thud.Another.Closer.
Whoever it is, they’re dropping into the underground ventilation path—trying to bypass the reinforced entry and come through the back.
Not stupid.
Not random.
But not as smart as they think.
Because I'm here.
I step silently across the concrete floor, slick boots making no sound as I crouch near the utility panel.Kelly stays exactly where I told her, pressed behind the secondary blast door partition, gun in hand, breaths uneven but controlled.This place is like Batman’s lair on steroids.Every chapter of the Kings came together to design this with all prior military bunker knowledge used.
Kelly, though, she’s my focus.I’m proud of her.And terrified for her.
A scraping noise drags across the upper vent.
I angle my gun up.
Finger tight to the trigger.
Focus narrowing to a razor point.
