And now—
We know where to start.
38
Ronan
Location: Eastern Europe — Industrial Supply Depot
Time: 0219 Hours
The depot looks abandoned.
That’s the first lie.
The second is the silence.
I crouch behind a stack of rusted containers, night-vision washing the world in green. The air smells like oil and cold metal. No patrols. No cameras in obvious places.
Too clean.
Malenkov wants me to think this is bait.
Which means it’s a doorway.
“Positions,” I murmur.
Delta Five fans out without a word—Aaron high left, Miles on overwatch, Jase ghosting the perimeter. I move last, counting steps, feeling the ground beneath my boots.
There.
A vibration underfoot. Subtle. Mechanical.
Underground access.
I tap twice on my wrist.
Confirmed.
Jase’s voice ghosts through comms. “Hidden lift. Disguised as a drainage shaft.”
“Of course it is,” Aaron mutters.
I kneel, brushing aside debris, fingers finding the seam. The panel opens with a soft hiss, revealing a narrow metal platform descending into darkness.
This isn’t a holding site.
It’s atransfer node.
Malenkov moves his prisoners like inventory.
“Down,” I say.
The lift lowers us fast—too fast. Cold air rushes upward, carrying a scent I recognize instantly.
Blood.
Fear.
