Page 397 of Eight of Swords, Part Two

Riley calls a general meeting on the ground floor.

Everyone in Iron Star attends.

Enforcers gather by team. Captains stand at their heads. The Tower Crew occupy the remaining space: mechanics, analysts, laundry, cleaning and logistics. Cole and Finn have left the Watch only long enough to attend. Luca and Noah are the only notable absences.

The Moroz Front and Last Light keep naturally to their own people around the edges. While the Front is made up of a mixture of men and women, Last Light are only women.

There are a little over twenty in total, all dressed in individual variations of black. Leather, silk, tactical mesh, fitted armour and heavy boots, broken up by glints of silver. Chains loop around wrists and hips. Metal caps sharpen long fingernails. Blades disappear into corsets, sleeves and thigh holsters so elegantly they might be part of the clothing. They wear jewellery like weapons. All the women vary in age, build and nationality, but each one of them possesses the same unnerving stillness. They don’t stand in formation like the Front. They arrange themselves around exits, pillars and clear lines of sight, each apparently separate while collectively leaving no part of the room unobserved.

Lee’s influence is unmistakable.

She waits near the main doors with the ones selected to accompany her. The team carries light equipment, suppressed weapons and enough explosives to destroy whatever they find beneath the Estate and gain access to the Knot body.

Kade keeps telling himself it’ll be simple.

One key to unlock many doors.

A single death is the solution.

The large room falls impressively silent when Riley enters.

‘All right,’ he says. ‘Listen carefully. At eighteen hundred hours, Céliane will lead a specialist team beyond the Tower on a time-sensitive operation. As you already know, we’re braced for an attack. We’ve already been breached twice in the past week. I know several of you are concerned, and this is why I want to address each of your concerns with my second-in-command,’ he says, subtly beckoning Kade to join him.

Kade doesn’t hesitate.

He gives a smart nod when he’s by Riley’s side. ‘Boss.’

‘Now. Most of you don’t know that Seth let our last attackers inside. He gift-wrapped entry for them to break in here in broad daylight, bypassing our exterior defences entirely. Lachlan Tanner entered through the disposal system while a tunnel assault held our attention elsewhere. Neither breach succeeded by overpowering the Tower.’

Riley surveys the room.

‘The attack tonight will apply pressure from multiple directions in successive waves. We have to assume an aerial component until proven otherwise. That’s why the Tower is entering full lockdown and why, tonight, Iron Star will defend it alongside the combined forces of the Moroz Front and Last Light.’

A mild stir goes through the crowd.

Riley glances at Kade, who is poised to speak. Kade knows he’s about to be asked to use his Vox to quell any concerns, but at the last moment, Riley frowns to himself and steps forward.

‘The Front has been our enemy for a long time. Killing has taken place on both sides. When someone makes a decision for you to team up with the people who’ve done damage in the past, I know how it feels. I get that it feels like betrayal,’ he tells everyone. ‘I know some of you doubt the decisions I’ve made over the last week. I know choosing to bring Tanner on was hard to swallow. Every single one of us has a record. Mistakes. Blood on the ledger. What we do succeeds because of hard choices. Some we make together; some I make alone. I’m asking you to let this be one of the ones we make together. My second-in-command, Kade, isn’t human.’ Riley pauses. ‘Neither am I.’

Whispers move through Iron Star, quiet but urgent. Riley stands perfectly still and lets his people absorb the truth.

Then Rike says, ‘No offence, boss, but most of us knew that anyway.’

‘I appreciate that, but I wanted to be completely honest with you all before tonight because if you want to leave, now’s the time and here’s your reason.’

Kade watches the crowd closely, biting the inside of his cheek.

A few people mutter things to one another, but nobody moves.

Nobody leaves.

Riley waits another moment before nodding.

‘Good. Then we move forward together. Iron Star’s command structure was built for a smaller organisation operating alone. That is no longer what we are, and High Command must change to reflect it.’

Riley looks towards Rike.

‘Rike is our Quartermaster General. Cole and Finn are the Eyes. Kade is First Captain and my second-in-command in all matters. The position of Overseer has been vacant since Seth’s death, so effective immediately, it now belongs to Luca. He’ll assume duty when Noah clears his return.’