Chapter 9 - THE SECOND SYNDICATEVincent kicked the balcony door open, his pistol raised and sweeping the empty, rain-slicked terrace. Nothing was there. Just the howling wind of the Manhattan night and the distant hum of city traffic below.
He walked back inside, scooped up the silver envelope from the floor, and tore it open with his bare hands. A single photograph slid out onto the mahogany desk.
Zara leaned over, her breath catching in her throat.
It wasn't a picture of Vance. It was a satellite photograph of an entirely different facility—an underground bunker hidden deep beneath the mountains of upstate New York. And stamped across the bottom in crisp, crimson ink was a seal she had never seen before: a double-headed serpent wrapped around a dagger.
"It wasn't just Vance," Zara whispered, the blood draining from her face. "Vance was just a branch. We cut off the wrong head."
Vincent stared at the photograph, his jaw clenching so hard muscles ticked in his cheek. The terrifying, cold predator that had ruled the underworld for a decade returned to his eyes in full force.
"They think because we survived one war, we're ready for another," Vincent said, his voice deadly calm.
Ghost walked over to the desk, pressed his heavy nose against the photograph, and let out a deep, rumbling growl that shook the glass windows. The dog was ready.
May you like
Zara stood up straight, smoothing down her blazer, her fear completely gone, replaced by a cold, razor-sharp resolve. She picked up her tactical tablet, tapped the screen, and initiated a secure global satellite uplink.
"Find me the coordinates," Zara said, looking directly into Vincent's eyes. "We're going hunting again."
