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“Be careful, Jace. This place is a damn maze.”
“Me? I’m always careful,” I said. It was a lie, but it didn’t matter. She needed to get out of there; they all did.
“Okay, let’s unravel this mystery,” I whispered to myself, pulling up schematics and diving back into the digital abyss. Because beneath this sea of data and danger, I’d find the truth—weaving through it with bits and bytes as my thread. Sofia needed me. Sam needed me. And I wouldn’t stop until they were safe.
I slipped off the boat, a shadow against the inky black of the Everglades night. The distant croak of bullfrogs and the soft lapping of water against mangrove roots were the only sounds that accompanied me as I wove through the tangled wilderness.
From my surveillance of the island, I knew I was clear through the east, but I also knew I needed to be careful. The lair had to be close. Staying low, I crept forward, using all the tricks of stealth I’d honed over years of running with the Blades. The night air was thick, heavy with the scent of decay and brine.
A soft beep in my ear signaled a disabled camera ahead, thanks to my earlier handiwork. But tech could only get me so far; intuition had to do the rest. I paused, listening, feeling the place. Every nerve ending was on alert, tasting the tension in the air like copper on my tongue.
“Almost there, Jace,” I told myself, my voice sounding hollow in my ears. This wasn’t where the rest of the team had approached the lair from, which was good for me.
Lucky, even.
There it was—a flicker of movement in the darkness. Slowly, carefully, I approached what looked like nothing more than an overgrown hillock. But hidden beneath the wild foliage was a door, cleverly disguised to blend seamlessly with the swampy terrain. I pulled out a small USB stick which I had programmed for exactly this scenario, letting it interface with the concealed keypad. Seconds ticked by, stretching into eternity until…
Click.
The vault opened with a silent gasp, as if it too was shocked by the audacity of intrusion. I stepped inside and the stench hit me, making me clasp my hand over my mouth and nose.
What the fuck was this? This was worse than anything I had ever seen before.
Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting a sickly glow over rows of unmoving bodies. My stomach twisted, bile rising as I took in the macabre tableau—men and women, young and old, discarded like broken dolls in a monstrous collection.
“Jesus…” My voice was a hoarse whisper, the horror clawing up my throat.
“Jace, talk to me.” It was Sofia, her voice a lifeline I desperately needed. “Where are you?”
I blinked back tears, unsure if they were from the stench itself.
“Found them,” I choked out. “So many… I—he’s playing god with people’s lives.”
“What?” Sofia asked.
“Where?” Teo added. “Who are they? Are they alive?”
I looked around, moving between the rows, checking for signs of life. Everyone was dead. Different stages of dead, but dead. “No,” I said. “Some are fresher than others.”
“Do you recognize anyone?” Teo asked over the intercom.
“No,” I said. “I don’t.”
“Get out of there, Jace. Now,” Sofia urged, terror sharpening her command.
“I will,” I said, my hand still over my mouth and nose as my heart hammered in my chest. “But first we end this. No one else gets added to his collection.”
“Be safe,” she said.
“I promise,” I said. It was a lie. But I couldn’t think about that now—not when every second counted, not when the Viper’s poison was seeping deeper into the veins of my city. I had tomove, had to act. For Sofia, for Sam, for all the silent voices in this room begging for justice.
As I turned to leave, I committed the scene to memory. This was the fuel I needed—the rage, the disgust—to burn down the empire of a snake. And when the fire started, I’d make damn sure it consumed everything the Viper held dear.
“Nothing prepares you for this,” I whispered, half expecting my own echo to disagree.
“Jace,” a voice crackled through the static of my earpiece. Teo, again. I tapped it, grateful for any lifeline.
“Go ahead,” I grunted, my voice sounding hollow even to me.
