Page 27 of Cold Ignition

The hunt had begun in earnest.

Alexios pulled back, checking his weapon with efficient precision, movements economical and practiced despite the injury pulling at his shoulder.

Rangi did the same, running a quick mental map of the building—angles, choke points, lines of sight.

Alexios glanced at him one last time, something fierce and certain in his gaze. “If Ahi doesn’t show,” he said quietly.

Rangi met his eyes. “He will.”

A beat.

Alexios nodded. “Then let’s make sure we’re still breathing when he gets here.”

Rangi’s expression hardened, resolve settling into place like armor.

“Yeah,” he said.

Below them, a door slammed open.

Boots thundered into the building, echoing up through the hollow structure as the search teams spread out.

Dust shook loose from the ceiling.

The air shifted.

And the silence—finally—shattered.

****

Alexios moved first. Because that was how they worked.

Rangi saw the board. Alexios moved the pieces.

He stepped into the corridor with controlled precision, boots landing soft despite the debris scattered across the floor. Broken glass, fractured concrete, splintered wood—every inch of the space wanted to betray them with noise. He adjusted without thinking, shifting weight, finding the quiet paths through chaos.

Behind him, Rangi followed without needing direction.

Always did.

Alexios didn’t look back, but he felt him there—the presence steady, unshakable. It grounded something deep in his chest, something he didn’t have a name for but trusted more than anything else in this world.

Voices echoed from below.

Closer now.

“They’re still in here.”

“Clear the upper floors.”

The hunt had begun.

Alexios angled left at the next junction, slipping into a narrower hallway where the walls had partially collapsed inward. Rebar jutted out at sharp angles, rusted and jagged, forcing them into single file.

Good. It narrowed the approach. Forced the enemy to come at them one at a time.

He raised his hand slightly. Rangi slowed behind him.

Listened. Footsteps on the stairs up ahead of them.