“How are you feeling, Specter?” he asks, but his voice is tight, restrained.
“Better than expected.”
He nods, his jaw twitching. Ghost slides a mug of hot coffee in front of him and he responds with a nod.
“I made some calls,” he says. “Our client is currently in his bunker after his car was targeted in a hit last night. He’s a little banged up but alive thanks to his driver’s quick thinking.”
“Fuck,” Carnage whispers. “It was a hit.”
“Yeah. He thinks it’s an inside job. He’s got a mole in his ranks.”
“But they took out their own crew?” Wraith says. “Makes no sense.”
“No, they didn’t. Those guys at the house last night weren’t with my client or the existing drug ring. Best they can tell, this thing is much bigger than they knew.”
“Where does that leave us?” Phantom asks. “Are we in this thing?”
Shadow shakes his head. “Not beyond the goal of finding the fuckers who shot Specter. I told the client we don’t get involved in turf wars like this. We’re a one and done organization.” He taps his fingers on the table. “But I made it clear we would be avenging this hit.”
“Fuck yeah,” Carnage says, thumping his fist into his palm. “I’m gonna fuck ’em up.”
“If we can find them,” Shadow says. “No one’s sure who they are.”
“I think they were Russian,” Carnage adds. “Ukrainian maybe.”
“I told the client that.” He leans forward. “So we’re off the job officially.”
“And unofficially?” I ask.
“We’re going rogue.”
I nod, glancing at Colson.
“Not you, Specter,” Shadow says. “You’re off duty.”
I jerk my head back. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“Do I look like I’m fucking kidding?”
“Come on, boss. It’s a flesh wound.”
Colson scoffs but remains quiet otherwise.
“It’s not up for discussion. Besides, I already gave you time off to deal with—” His eyes land briefly on Colson. “—the other problem.”
“I can do both. They fucking shot me.”
Shadow slams his hand on the table, startling all of us. “Dammit, Specter, stop fighting me. This is hard enough, okay? We could’ve lost you last night. You think I want to watch you get fucking sepsis because you wouldn’t take time to recover after all that?”
I’m sufficiently chastised, so I nod, even as my jaw clenches. Colson rubs my thigh under the table.
“Wraith is with you for backup,” Shadow says.
“On it,” Wraith says, nodding at me.
“Everyone else, wait for more information. If you see anything around town, report in. You have my permission to do whatever you gotta do if you find whoever’s behind this before I do.”
Carnage claps his hands together. “I’m gonna rip those fuckers apart and enjoy their fucking screams.”
