Cold night airbites through my gloves as I crouch on the corrugated metal roof, peering through the scope of my binoculars. Inside, the place hums with low conversation, the metallic clink of crates being moved, the occasional gleam of a rifle slung over a shoulder.
“Two on the north door, three inside near the table,” I whisper into comms.
“Copy,” Jace’s voice comes through. “Luca, you and I will go in through the loading bay. Isobel and Dakota take the roof access and drop in on the east side. Noah’s on Overwatch.”
“Copy,” we reply.
We rappel down the side, boots hitting the rusted fire escape without a sound. My pulse is steady. It’s comforting. The smell of oil and saltwater clings to everything.
Inside, Luca’s already a shadow gliding between crates. One guard shifts, starting to look his way—until Luca clamps a hand over his mouth and drives him silently against the wall, knocking him out cold. We weave between the towering stacks. My gaze fixed on the glittering prize ahead.
The choker sits in a black case, gleaming under the dim light.
Dakota nods to me as she moves to cover a different path.
I keep making my way towards the table. A guard cuts me off, his hand brushing the grip of his weapon as his gaze narrows. For a second, the tension spikes, but I’m faster. My elbow drives into his stomach, knocking the air out of him, and before he can call out, the hilt of my dagger knocks his temple. He slumps, stunned but alive.
“Package in sight,” I murmur, slipping the velvet case into my bag. The weight of it thrums through me.
“Moving now.”
“Good,” Jace answers as he and Luca enter the small clearing. “Now let’s move before?—”
Shouts explode from the far side of the warehouse. Someone’s found one of the unconscious guards. Boots pound against concrete.
“—before that happens.”
We move fast. The necklace is secured. The shouts are closer now, boots hammering on concrete, rifles cocking from the shadows.
“Three incoming from the west corridor,” Noah warns.
“Take the north door,” Jace orders, voice clipped.
We pivot and weave. Adrenaline claws my chest as the shouts grow louder. A flashlight beam slices past. Luca drops one of the guards with a swift strike, keeping us from being pinned.
The exit glows faintly at the end of the hall. Almost there. Almost?—
A shadow pops out from behind a box. I fall back against Jace and we both tumble to the floor. More guards step out from behind crates and we stand back to back as they circle around us.
I pull another dagger out of my thigh holster, flipping it with practiced ease.
“Ready, pretty girl?” Luca murmurs.
“Don’t hold back.” Jace says, then he moves.
“I definitely won’t.” Dakota says as she charges forward.
She barrels straight into the nearest guard, her shoulder slams into his chest like a wrecking ball. Sending him crashing into the crate behind him.
Jace moves out of my peripheral vision, ducking under a swinging arm and drives a blade into a guard’s side, yanking it free as he pivots behind another crate. Every move is fluid and controlled.
Luca grins, shooting me a wink. “Ladies first.”
A guard lunges for me, baton raised. I catch his wrist, twisting hard, using his momentum until I feel something pop. His grip loosens just enough. My dagger slides under his jaw and he drops.
Another comes at me from the right.
I pivot, blades crossing as I block his strike. The impact rattles my arms, he drives me back until my shoulder hits a crate. Pain flares. I snarl and slash low, catching his thigh. He stumbles back with a grunt. I charge him, tackling him to the ground, shoving a dagger into his ribs.
