“And we’re handling it,” Stone said, stepping closer. “But we need intel, not corpses.”
Rook’s jaw flexed. He shoved the man back, letting him hit the concrete. The Reaper groaned, rolling onto his side.
Ledger’s voice crackled through the comm. “I’m getting partial visuals from a webcam in the back office. Something’s off…you need to see it.”
Stone nodded toward the far hallway. “Move.”
Rook followed, chest tight, adrenaline still burning under his skin.
The office was cramped, lit by a single buzzing fluorescent. Papers, maps, and a laptop were spread across the desk like a battlefield waiting to be read.
Boots pounded on concrete behind them… Ledger catching up from the van, tablet tucked under his arm. “Camera feed kept glitching,” he muttered, slipping into the office ahead of them. “Couldn’t make out the details. Had to see it in person.”
He stepped to the desk, fingers flying across the keyboard. “This,” he said, pointing to the map, “is their expansion plan.”
Red arrows cut into Saints territory, bypassing the bakery entirely. The break-in hadn’t been the goal. It had been the distraction.
Rook’s stomach twisted.
“They’ve been shifting pieces for months,” Ledger continued, scrolling through timestamps. “But the timing? The break-in? The message? That wasn’t about territory.”
Stone nodded slowly. “They wanted our attention.”
Havoc snorted. “Well, they got it.”
Ledger tapped the laptop. “And this is where it gets interesting.”
A video file opened.
Spider — Viper’s Road Captain — lounged in a dim, grimy room, talking to someone off screen like he had all the time in the world.
“…doesn’t matter what they think,” Spider said. “We poke the VP where it hurts, they’ll come running. Saints are predictable like that.”
Rook’s jaw locked.
Spider chuckled. “He’s got a soft spot. Everyone knows it. Hit the girl, hit the bakery, whatever. They’ll lose focus.”
He waved a dismissive hand. “Keep the pressure on. Make noise. Make them look the wrong way.”
The video cut out.
Silence settled over the room like dust.
Fish shifted, barely, but enough that everyone noticed. His eyes stayed on the frozen frame of Spider, unblinking.
Stone caught the movement. “What is it?”
Fish didn’t answer immediately. He leaned closer to the screen, studying the shadows behind Spider, the faint reflection in the grimy window, the way Spider’s gaze kept flicking off-screen like he was waiting for permission.
Finally, he rasped, “He’s not talking to Viper.”
Ledger blinked. “What?”
Fish nodded once. “Whoever’s off-camera? Spider’s scared of him. That’s not Viper.”
A cold ripple went through the room.
Stone’s jaw tightened. “So there’s someone above Viper.”
