The passage eventually led to the loading bay. As we approached the final door, we instinctively spread out along the walls, our eyes trained on Thal for direction. Somehow, he had become our natural leader, moving with calm confidence.
I was surprised to see Aidon and Zeno following suit so easily, but Thal’s relaxed assurance seemed to leave no space for disagreement. Maybe they hadn’t even realized it themselves.
Thal pressed his ear against the door, listening intently for any signs of human activity.
He nodded once, decisively. Aidon stepped forward and kicked the door open in a quick, practiced motion. We all rushed from around the corner, weapons raised, ready to fire.
But the room felt eerily empty.
Inside, desks and flickering computer monitors were lit by the harsh glare of the stark space.
Aidon shook his head in confusion, his brow furrowing.
“This isn’t right,” he muttered.
I suggested, “Maybe we’ve got the wrong room.”
Aidon glanced across the far wall, examining the faint smudge of fingerprints along the molding. After a moment’s hesitation, he pushed on the wall. It swung open, revealing a hidden passage behind an illusion of a wall that concealed another room.
This hidden chamber was filled with crates just like the ones we’d seen earlier, stacked neatly and waiting in the shadows.
It was dim and hard to see, but guns and ammunition lined the walls, almost filling the space entirely. Aidon walked over and opened a large wooden box, his eyes going wide when he saw it was full of stacks of cash.
“Must be a million, at least,” he muttered, glancing at us. His eyes widened at the sound of approaching footsteps, and he shouted to us just as he ducked behind one of the boxes.
“Hide!”
We all hit the ground, scrambling for cover before even knowing what the threat was. The look on Aidon’s face was enough to push us into action.
Thal and I hid behind a cluster of boxes with Zeno by our side. Aidon took cover behind the money box, and we all held our breath as two people appeared at the door’s threshold.
My eyes widened as I saw Rhea and her main bodyguard, each armed with a weapon.
“We need to get the money and get the hell out of here right now,” she demanded, walking into the room and turning the light on. “They must be close.”
“We’ll have to take it out ourselves. The rest of our men are outside fighting,” he replied.
“You fucking idiot!” Rhea snapped. “How could you let this happen?”
“Someone must have infiltrated us, ma’am. I don’t understand it myself.”
“You’d better fucking find out who it was, or I’ll kill you myself!”
“Yes, ma’am. Sorry, ma’am,” he muttered, as he lifted the lid of the box of money that Aidon was hiding behind.
Beside me, Thal seethed. He gestured to Aidon, who nodded. I held my breath, a wave of fear creeping down my spine.
Aidon stood and pointed his gun straight at the guard, killing him instantly.
Rhea pointed her gun at Aidon, her finger on the trigger. From the shadows, Thal, Zeno, and I emerged in unison, our weapons aimed at her.
“Don’t fucking move, bitch!” Thal barked.
Rhea’s eyes widened in panic, swirling with desperation as she assessed her outnumbered position. Her trembling hand already clutched a grenade she had pulled from her coat, the pin a lethal secret hidden in her palm, while she kept her gun aimed at Aidon.
Her body stiffened, but she held her ground. We all paused, instinctively assessing the tense standoff, each of us deciding how to move forward. The air was heavy with tension, and every second felt stretched out.
“You don’t want to do that,” Zeno warned, muscles tense.
