He kept kicking her in the stomach while she was down. She curled up tighter and spat blood onto the floor.

  “Ready to talk yet?” Kestrel asked from behind the tattooed man. He looked as if he was enjoying the show.

  Hunter spat out more blood and glared at him. “You think this is the worst I’ve been through?”

  He sighed, sounding bored and sarcastically sorrowful. He pressed the magazine release on his gun and checked to make sure there were enough bullets before closing it and walking toward her. “She’s right. Giving her bruises and broken bones won’t do much.” He pressed the gun against her knee and grinned. “What if I take away your legs?”

  Her glare didn’t waver, but she felt chills run down her spine. She could feel the panic crawling up her throat, clawing at her insides. If Kestrel shot her knees, she wouldn’t be nearly as useful to anyone. And the useless died in Othloh. Lucian wouldn’t hire her, and Weston only kept people he could use.

  Without her skills, Hunter was nothing.

  “What do you want?” She asked hesitantly, stalling. She had no idea how she was going to get out of this, or what the rest of Occisor was doing.

  He smiled and pulled the gun away from her knee. “I want you to tell me where the rest of your people are, and where you’re hiding now that Lucian’s bookstore is no more.” He patted her knee.

  “I don’t know right now.” She lied, holding Kestrel’s gaze. “If I got caught they were supposed to scatter.”

  He laughed and stood up straight. He slowly walked around to stand behind her before crouching down. He placed a hand on the back of her neck. “Someone in Lucian’s inner circle knows how to hide their tracks. They’ve been hiding you for all these years. Tell me where to find them.”

  “I kill people for Lucian. I don’t deal with covering his tracks.” She glanced at the two other men in the room, looking for a possible escape. “I told you, I don’t know where they are anymore.”

  “Hunter,” Kestrel sighed. She felt the barrel of the gun against the back of her head. “For old times’ sake, won’t you tell me the truth?”

  “Old times’ sake? You mean the time you chased my brother out of the Lorenzo Cartel and then tried to have him killed?” She hissed, glaring at him.

  Long before Weston created Minosea, he’d been a drug runner for a much smaller and less influential Lorenzo Cartel. Her brother was ruthless and clawed his way further up the ranks. But Kestrel had been there too, doing the exact same thing. Eventually, they were competing for similar positions, and Kestrel decided it would be easier to eliminate his competition permanently. Weston barely escaped and was forced to hide away, plotting a way to get back at Kestrel for what he’d done. But by the time Weston became strong enough to have any influence, Kestrel was already too powerful to touch without starting a city-wide war.

  She felt the barrel of the gun vanish before Kestrel reappeared in front of her.

  “Maybe you should break some of her fingers.” He suggested, glancing sideways at the man standing beside him.

  The tattooed man smirked and stepped forward, cracking his knuckles again. He was reaching for her throat when the door burst open, knocking the younger Lorenzo Cartel member forward.

  “Boss, someone’s attackin’ the front entrance.” The man who’d barged in said, winded, as if he’d just run up many stairs.

  Kestrel whipped around to face the new person and glared at him. The man at the door and the younger Lorenzo Cartel member both flinched. “What did you say?”

  The man at the door stepped back into the doorway and clasped his hands together nervously. “People are attackin’ the building. They’re shootin’ with snippers.” He opened his mouth and then closed it again. He looked as if he had something else to say. He glanced nervously around the room and curled even farther into himself. “They also found the warehouse.”

  Hunter was good at reading people—she had to be when she lived in the slums. She saw Kestrel visibly tense, but she also noticed a sliver of fear flash in his eyes. She wondered if Raphael had maybe found something and hadn’t bothered to share it with the rest of them. He did enjoy surprises.

  Kestrel holstered his gun and turned to the tattooed man. “We’re leaving.” He growled before turning to face Hunter with a twisted smile on his face. It was as if he was trying to look kind while also planning her murder. “We’ll be back for you. I’m sure you won’t mind waiting. I would really enjoy killing you, if nothing else to hurt your brother even just a little.”

  She kept his face completely emotionless as he stormed out of the room. “You,” he pointed to the nervous man they’d come into the room with, “stay here and watch her.” He grabbed the collar of the messenger’s shirt. “You’re with us.”

  The three men quickly left the room and she heard the door lock, leaving her alone with a scrawny, nervous, and young member. She couldn’t believe her luck.

  He looked at the door and then back at her just as she jumped up and rushed toward him, slamming him into the wall. He gasped and tried desperately to push her off of him. But even with her hands still bound with zip ties, she had the upper hand. She kicked his knee, forcing him to lose his balance before bringing her arms around his neck, suffocating him with the crook of her elbow. She wrestled him to the ground and pushed her knee into his lower back.

  “Stop, stop!” He gasped, reaching for her arm. “Raphael sent me. Check my pocket.”

  She tightened her grip and glared at the choking man. He continued to beg her to stop, but she ignored him. She didn’t trust people easily, even if the man did know Raphael’s name. If anything, she was even more suspicious. He slowly stopped struggling and eventually passed out. She checked to make sure he was asleep before unwrapping her arms from around his throat. Her hands were still bound, so she rummaged through his pockets for something useful.

  The only weapon he had was a large knife strapped on to his belt. She manoeuvred it out and cut off the zip ties. She continued going through his clothes and, in his front pocket, she found a familiar-looking earpiece. She looked at it closely before hesitantly putting it in her ear.

  “Hello?”

  “Hunter!” Raphael’s voice was so loud she flinched and rubbed her ear. He sounded relieved. “Thank God you’re okay. I’m glad Payton found you.”

  “Oh, so he wasn’t lying?” She looked down at Payton and mouthed an apology, patting the top of his head. Well, at least now they wouldn’t suspect him of being one of Raphael’s rats.

  “Please tell me you didn’t kill him.”

  “He’s breathing but unconscious.” She said as she stood up and walked toward the door.

  He groaned. “You know I love you, but there are some days…"

  She chose to ignore him. “What’s going on? Kestrel said something about a warehouse.” She crept toward the door to make sure it was locked before returning to the computer. She felt much better now that she had a weapon and free hands.

  “Oh, that.” She could imagine Raphael grinning. “You sent Scarlet off with a shopping list, I had my own.”

  What an annoying answer. “Fine. Kestrel took my earpiece, are these still safe?”

  “Yeah, I changed the channel once you went quiet. It’s completely safe.” He reassured her.

  She sighed in relief. “There’s a computer here, but I don’t think there’s anything important on it. And there aren’t any cameras in this room.”

  “Yeah, you’re in a dead zone. I didn’t notice it at first, but there’s an entire section on the third floor that just doesn’t exist on paper.” He said.

  “What?” She said, surprised. She looked around the room, passing over Payton’s prone body. “How did we miss that?”

  “It wasn’t on any of the blueprints. Kestrel built it separately, probably as a holding cell.” He explained. “Their only other property is their warehouse. I knew it was outside of Othloh, but I didn’t know exactly where.”

  “I’m guessing you found it.”

  She heard him laugh, sounding satisfied with himself.

  “Then if you’re not busy, get me out of here.” She snapped. She took the butt of the knife and smashed it against the computer screen. It flashed a bright blue for a second before going completely black.

  “Did you just break something?”

  “I was drugged, locked in a room, and all my equipment is gone.” Hunter hissed as she sheathed the knife and walked toward the front door. “I’m allowed to be annoyed.”

  “Well, you’ll be happy to know your equipment is in the dead zone with you.” He said, “I saw them bring it in on the security cameras.”

  “But you can’t see in, yeah?” She asked.

  “Well, I tried to give you a guide…”

  She frowned and sighed through her nose. She unlocked the door and carefully opened it. The hallway was empty and she was surprised to see no one guarding the door. “No one’s here.”

  “Makes sense,” He said, “their building and their warehouse are under attack right now.”

  “Then where’s Kestrel?”

  “He’s still in the building.” Raphael said. There was silence for a few seconds before he spoke again. “But knowing his character, he’ll probably try to escape.”

  “With what?” She scoffed as she closed the door behind her and slowly started to walk down the hall. The “dead zone,” as Raphael called it, did not put its name to shame. It looked as if someone had started to build the walls, and then gave up halfway. The halls were made of unpainted drywall and exposed wooden floor. There were uncovered light bulbs hanging from exposed wires and dangling so low she was afraid she’d hit one. There were two other doors she could see. She figured one of them was the exit, and the other hopefully held her equipment.

  Probably a helicopter.” He said so casually she almost missed it. “So, he’s going to head for the roof.”

  “Is that your way of implying I should head there as well?” She asked as she tried the doorknob on the closet door. It was locked.

  “You would be correct.”

  She looked at the other door and frowned. Based on the layout of the hall, the second locked door was probably the exit. Once she had her lockpick it would be easy to unlock. The door in front of her, on the other hand, she’d have to break down.

  Sighing, she placed her foot beside the doorknob and pushed against it tentatively. She pulled her foot back and slammed it against the door. She heard the wood crack as the door moaned in protest. She pulled her foot back again and slammed it even harder. The door splintered at the knob and she easily pushed it open.

  “Hunter, you don’t have time to destroy everything in your path.” Raphael scolded.

  “I had to open the door somehow.” She defended as she stepped into the dark room.

  He clicked his tongue but didn’t say anything.

  From what she could make out with the light streaming in from the hallway, the room itself was small with sparse shelving. She stepped farther into the room and flipped on the light switch. A dim, yellow bulb flickered to life. In the far corner, half-hidden beneath empty cardboard boxes, she recognized a familiar black bag and a worn bird-like mask.

  She grinned and eagerly reached for her mask, quickly pulling it over her head. “I found my stuff.”

  “Great,” Raphael deadpanned, “now get to the roof. I haven’t heard anything about an inbound helicopter, but Kestrel’s already making his way up to the fifth floor.”

  “How do you still have access to their cameras?” She asked curiously as she opened her bag and pulled out some of her equipment. She kept Payton’s knife and took out the extra gun she’d packed and screwed on a silencer. Unfortunately, her original weapons were missing. She pulled out a belt full of smoke and flash grenades and her lockpick, and double-checked that her suction cups were still in her bag before putting it on her back.

  “Let’s just say I found another way in.” He said vaguely.

  “And also,” She hissed as she pushed open the broken door, “why didn’t you tell us you had someone on the inside?”

  “He wasn’t high ranking, and my people aren’t meant for Occisor missions, they’re there to gather information. It was Payton’s tenacity and some really good acting that landed him in that room with you.” He said. “Now hurry up to the roof, Kestrel’s almost there. You need to get there before the helicopter.” He added, quickly changing the topic.

  “Is no one else high enough?” She asked as she unlocked the exit with her lockpick and slowly pushed the door open.

  “There aren’t that many people who stormed the building. They’re mostly engaged at a distance with snipers.”

  When she finally opened the door, she was not surprised to find herself in the back corner of a janitor’s closet.

  “How’s the third floor?”

  Raphael chuckled darkly, sounding overly amused. “They’re all clustered together like idiots. They shut down the elevators, so no one is coming up that way.”

  “Wouldn’t you be able to turn them back on though?”

  He didn’t reply, but she could hear him grinning. “They’re all diagonal from you.”

  She slowly opened the janitor closet door, being very careful not to make any noise. She peeked her head around the corner and instantly spotted the clutter of men standing in front of the office entrance, wearing suits and holding guns. She grabbed one of her flash grenades, pulled the safety pin, and threw it into the middle of the small cluster. She ducked back behind the door and pressed her palms against her ears just before she heard a bang, followed by a lot of groaning.

  She rolled out of the room and started shooting at the incapacitated bodies. There were five of them and she picked them off easily, one falling after another.

  “Third level cleared.” She said after the final guard fell. It’d almost been too easy.

  “I have bad news for you,” Raphael said, “I see a helicopter flying toward the building.”

  She spoke too soon. She cursed under her breath and ran toward a window to look outside. “How much time do I have?”

  “Seven minutes at most.”

  “Are these windows bullet-proof?” She asked as she took a few steps back, unscrewed the silencer from her gun, and pointed it at the window.

  “What?” He asked, startled. “Say again?”

  She didn’t bother answering as she pulled the trigger three times, aiming for three different locations. The glass started to crack, spreading like lightning through the window. She ejected the magazine and replaced it with another, only to shoot another three bullets before the glass shattered loudly.

  “What the hell did you just do?” He yelled, “Why did you just break the window?”

  “Cutting through it would take too long.” She answered seriously. She pulled her bag off her back and dropped the silencer in before pulling out an extra bundle of rope and the suction cups. She tied one end of the rope to her waist and the other end to a large concrete poll near the windows.

  “What are you doing?” He asked worriedly. His voice was quivering. “Please tell me you’re not going to scale the wall?”

  She didn’t reply as she gripped both suction cups and stuck her head out of the window. It was still very dark outside and the wind was bitingly cold. She took a deep breath before sticking the first suction cup onto the window. All she could hope for was that if she fell, the rope would keep her from hitting the ground and breaking into a thousand little pieces.

  Chapter 7

  Are you an idiot?” Raphael yelled as Hunter began climbing up the wall. “Get back down! I’ll find you another way up.”

  “If you don’t stop screaming, I’m pulling this out of my ear.” She said through clenched teeth as she pulled herself farther up. She had good upper-body strength from her time climbing buildings, but climbing a completely flat surface with only her arms as support was exhausting, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to hold out for very long. She’d have to make her climb quick, or else she’d be stuck hanging off the side of the building.

  “With what free arm?” He snapped back. “Oh, God, Lucian’s going to kill me. And then your brother’s going to take whatever’s left of my corpse and feed it to a pack of dogs.”

  “Stop being dramatic.” She said as she pressed her feet against the glass for extra support. The soles of her boots had some grip, but it only helped relieve the tension in her arms when she wasn’t moving.

  “And the helicopter’s almost here!” He wailed.

  People often said Raphael was the calm and collected one, while Hunter was rash and dangerous. No one ever saw the drama queen he became when it was just the two of them.

  “Shut. Up.” She was about half-way to the roof and thankful for the cover of night. She could faintly hear the helicopter approaching from the other side of the building, blocking her from the pilot’s view.

  As she climbed higher, her arms began to burn and she stopped to press her feet against the glass to try and give her arms a break. But her feet kept slipping along the smooth surface if she tried to move them.

  “How much time?” She asked after a few minutes of silence, her voice barely audible over the sound of the helicopter and her heavy breathing.

  “Maybe two minutes.” Raphael said.

  She planted her feet against the window and breathed deeply. She was almost at the top, but her arms were killing her. She worried they would suddenly stop responding and she’d be stuck hanging 60 feet in the air.

  “You’re out of time.” He said just as Hunter reached the top of the fifth-floor windows. “We didn’t see Kestrel on the roof, but there was a door up there. If he’s coming through it, Jocco won’t have a clear shot. The helicopter’s in the way.” He added.

  The helicopter was loud and she could feel the wind pick up as it slowly lowered itself on to the roof. She cursed under her breath as she let go of one of the suction cups and grabbed the edge of the building, ignoring the pain in her arms and her back.

 

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