Marsh cursed under his breath.“Makes sense.Container traffic there’s impossible to track.”
Surge’s expression hardened.“Distribution is the artery.Cut that, the rest of the body suffers.”
Oren crossed his arms.“And the guy that gave you all this?”
Tane smirked.“Like I said.He lost interest.Think of it as a ...natural consequence of bad manners.”
The group digested that in silence, each of them knowing it wasn’t the end—it was just the next lead.
Bateman was leaning over the table, maps spread, fingers drumming like he could force answers out of paper.“Thank you for handling that, Tane.We need a way to flush this dirty DEA bastard out.I’m sick of waiting for him to fuck up.Let’s hit him head-on and take the fight straight to the bastard.”
Surge crossed his arms, expression carved from stone.“Although I am all on board with that, this guy’s slippery.Always two steps ahead, always slipping the net.Kai spent the last two years buried inside the DEA curtain, hunting, digging, bleeding for it—and never caught so much as a shadow to chase.”
Bateman exhaled, slow and deliberate.“I know someone in the DEA.An old client.He is someone that I have worked with and for before.If anyone can lure our mole into the open, it’s him.”
Dev arched a brow, suspicion lacing his tone.“You sure we can trust this contact?”
“About as much as we trust anyone in this business,” Bateman said dryly.“He’s ambitious, which works in our favor, and always looking for the next rung up the ladder.We dangle the right carrot, he’ll bite.”
Kai leaned forward, skeptical.“What kind of carrot?”
Bateman’s mouth twisted into a half-smile.“The usual.Power.Influence.A chance to pull one over on someone bigger than him.There’s a Hawaiian official, Daniel Kaimi—Secretary of Defense Procurement for the Pacific region.He sits on a board that hands out lucrative military contracts.The kind of contracts that build empires.Word is he’s been selling influence under the table—contracts whispered to go to the highest bidder.We dangle proof of a shady deal, make it look like Kaimi’s about to hand out a billion-dollar contract to a rival group, and our guy won’t be able to resist the chance to burn him.Especially tonight, with Kaimi scheduled to be at that beachfront fundraiser.The timing makes it irresistible bait, even if it’s a lie.”
Hogan frowned, jaw tight.“And when he shows?”
“Then we sting him,” Surge said, voice hard.“Fast.Clean.End it.For him and any other unfortunate asshole who comes with him”
Kai’s gut twisted.It sounded easy, but he knew, hell, they all knew, life never was.
They prepped—loading weapons, packing armor, double-checking magazines.The cars parked outside were ordinary enough to pass for locals, but under the paint they were steel-plated, engines tuned for speed and survival.It was like walking into a casino, pockets full of chips you knew you might not walk out with.
By the time they rolled toward the part of town where affluence met poverty, the sun was bleeding into the horizon, smearing the sky red.The streets narrowed, filled with shuttered shops and rusting fences.Kai’s pulse ticked higher the deeper they went.
He sat beside Hogan, hands restless against his thighs.He knew this neighborhood.The same stretch of cracked asphalt where Hogan had dragged him out of hell months ago.Fate’s idea of a joke.The plan was simple.Get into position before 9:00.Wait.Watch.Strike.
Marsh’s voice crackled in his ear, steady despite the tension.“All units, check in.”
“East flank, good,” Dev reported.Ty’s voice echoed over the line, Oren muttering something about keeping Ty’s ass from bleeding out again.
“South side,” Surge added.His team was already moving, shadows on the breeze.
“Recon van online,” Luca said, smug.“Best seat in the house.AC’s cranking.”
“Easy to talk big from the air-conditioned van, Luca.Out here we’re sweating bullets and there might be a little jealousy involved,” Marsh cut in, dry as ever.
“And because I brought snacks,” Luca added, crunching loudly into the comms.“Jealousy’s a sin, brother.”
Hogan rolled his eyes, fingers flexing against his rifle, but Kai caught the tug of a smile.That was Hogan all over—made of iron, but with cracks he let Kai see.
The clock struck 9:00.Headlights cut across the lot.An SUV rolled in, black windows gleaming under the floodlamps.Kai’s muscles tensed, every instinct screaming.
“Target acquired,” Luka confirmed.“All teams, move.”
They moved, ghosts from shadow, rifles raised, precision honed by years of war.Kai’s boots hit gravel, heart pounding.He tracked the SUV’s doors, waiting for the moment.Then—
Floodlights blazed to life, searingly bright.The area of the parking lot they stood in turned into a stage, every shadow stripped away.What sounded like dozens of men shouted at them to drop their weapons and from all directions.
“Well, shit,” Dev muttered.“This is awkward.”
