Marco steps inside.
Alone.
Armed.
And looking at me the way strangers look at monsters.
“You always did underestimate how much I learned from you,” he says.
I study him.
Really study him.
The way he stands.
The way he watches the room.
Yes.
I did teach him well.
Then I smile.
“They won’t get far.”
He returns the smile.
Cold.
Certain.
“They already did.”
An explosion shakes the far side of the facility.
Dust drifts from the ceiling.
Then another blast echoes through the structure.
Marco steps closer to the console.
“You taught me to build cages,” he says quietly.
His eyes lock onto mine.
“But you forgot to teach me how to stay in them.”
My phone vibrates.
A message from one of my remaining men.
Target lost. Team eliminated.
For the first time in a very long time…
I feel something like anger.
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