"And we go at night. Late. When staffing is lowest and the Fox's men are at their most complacent."
"Tomorrow night," Reo said. "That gives us twenty-four hours to finalize equipment, brief the men, and get the hackers in position."
Tomorrow night.
Those two words sat in the room like a held breath. I could feel everyone behind me processing it—the Claws, the Fangs, and Hiro.
Tomorrow night, we walk into a building named after me and kill the Fox.
Hiro was quiet. He'd taken the lollipop out of his mouth and was holding it between two fingers, looking at the top of the miniaturehotel—the Fox's room—with an expression I'd seen before. The expression he wore when death became personal and all meaning centered around blood.
He looked at me. "A hundred steps. Probably sixty to seventy men between us and the top."
"Probably."
"Let’s add the twins to our three.”
“Okay.”
“Pace yourself, brother." His voice grew deadly. "You and I—we need our energy when we get to the top. Because it will be you and me that make the kill."
My heart boomed in my ears.
He held my gaze. "We're going to kill our father together."
Our men and the space went still.
I nodded. "Together."
“And we’ll take our time.” Hiro put the lollipop back in his mouth.
“Yes, we will.” I looked down at the book in my hands with the worn cover, and I considered some of the words inside that hadbeen written by men who hunted demons centuries before I was born.
To hunt demons, we wore their faces.
I tapped my finger against the book. “One more thing."
Everyone looked at me.
"We're wearing masks."
Reo tilted his head.
Hiro raised an eyebrow.
The Claws and Fangs shifted around us.
"Oni masks." I tightened my hold on the book. "In the last fight with Akiro's men, they saw our faces. Once they identified me, Hiro, and Reo, they targeted us specifically. Because killing one of us three devastates the entire operation."
Reo's eyes sharpened. He was already piecing together the logic. "If we're all masked, they don't know who to prioritize."
"Everyone looks the same. Everyone is a threat. No one is the target." I scanned their faces. "It levels the fight. They can't hunt what they can't identify."
Reo pulled out his notebook again. "I'll have masks made tonight."
"For everyone. Two hundred masks. Oni faces."
"We walk into the Dragon King's palace wearing demon faces." A dangerous smile slowly spread across Hiro’s face. The lollipop clicked against his teeth. “That sounds delightful.”
