2025-03-25 05:51:05Monte Carlo – 2:05 A.M.
Ethan stared at the dead phone in his hand, his pulse a steady drumbeat of adrenaline.
Adrian Locke wasn’t just watching him.
He was waiting.
A knock at the door snapped Ethan’s attention back to the room. Instinct kicked in—he drew his gun, stepping to the side before opening it.
Leo stood in the doorway, breathing hard, sweat on his brow. “We need to go. Now.”
Ethan’s grip on the gun tightened. “Talk.”
Leo pushed past him, locking the door behind him. “Locke isn’t alone. He’s got a kill team in Monaco.”
Ethan’s jaw clenched. So that’s why he called.
It wasn’t just a threat.
It was a warning.
Mirage Casino – Underground Parking Lot – 2:30 A.M.
Ethan and Leo moved fast and silent, their weapons tucked beneath their jackets.
Sebastian had arranged an extraction, but it wasn’t foolproof. Nothing was when Adrian Locke was involved.
Leo tapped his earpiece. “Evelyn, we’re in position.”
Static. Then—her voice, sharp with tension.
“You’ve got company.”
Ethan’s gut tightened.
Footsteps echoed from behind the parked cars. Shadows moved.
Leo pulled his gun, eyes scanning. “How many?”
Evelyn’s voice came low and urgent. “Four… no, five.”
Ethan exhaled sharply. Five against two. Not great, but not impossible.
Then—a click.
Ethan’s instincts screamed. He spun, tackling Leo to the ground just as—
BOOM.
A silenced shot tore through the air, missing his head by inches.
Leo swore. “We’re made.”
The fight was on.
The Shootout
The garage erupted in gunfire.
Ethan rolled behind a car, his back hitting the metal with force. A second shot shattered a side mirror above his head.
Leo returned fire, clipping one of the operatives in the leg. The man collapsed, cursing in Russian.
Another rushed Ethan’s position.
Ethan waited—counted the steps.
Then, he moved.
A sharp elbow to the attacker’s ribs. A twist. The man’s gun hit the ground.
Ethan didn’t hesitate—he fired, point-blank.
The body crumpled.
Leo shouted, “Two more coming in!”
Ethan ducked as another shot whizzed past his ear. He turned, fired twice—one bullet to the chest, the other to the head.
The last man standing hesitated. Fear flickered in his eyes.
Ethan stepped forward, gun raised. “Tell Locke I’m not running.”
The man swallowed, then bolted.
Silence settled over the garage.
Leo exhaled. “That was close.”
Ethan reloaded. “Not close enough.”
He looked down at one of the dead men.
Their gear was high-grade military. Locke hadn’t sent assassins.
He’d sent hunters.
And Ethan had just declared war.
At Mirage Casino 's Underground Parking Lot – 2:45 A.M.
The air stank of gunpowder and blood. The bodies of Locke’s men were scattered across the garage floor, their weapons cooling beside them.
Ethan wiped a streak of blood from his jaw, his pulse still hammering.
Leo let out a breath. “This was a message.”
Ethan nodded. “Locke wants me dead. But not yet.”
Because Locke could’ve sent ten men. Twenty. A full kill squad.
But he didn’t.
He wanted Ethan to know he was being hunted.
A warning. A game.
And Ethan had no choice but to play.
Leo pulled out his phone. “We need to move. Monaco’s not safe.”
Ethan glanced at the security cameras—the red lights were blinking.
Someone was watching.
He gritted his teeth. “We’re already compromised.”
Then, a sharp ring from Leo’s phone. Evelyn.
Leo answered. “Tell me you have good news.”
Silence.
Then—Evelyn’s voice, tight with urgency.
“You need to get out. Now.”
Ethan’s stomach dropped. “What’s happening?”
Evelyn’s breath was unsteady. “Interpol is on the way.”
Leo cursed under his breath.
Ethan’s eyes darkened.
Locke was always ten steps ahead.
And he had just made Ethan a wanted man.
The Escape – 2:50 A.M.
The garage was a death trap.
Leo pointed to the far side. “Service exit. We take it, we’re ghosts.”
Ethan didn’t argue. He moved.
They reached the door just as the wail of sirens filled the streets above.
Ethan shoved the exit open, stepping into the cold night air.
Then—floodlights exploded to life.
A dozen black SUVs blocked the alleyway.
Ethan’s gut twisted. Not Interpol. Not Monaco PD.
Locke’s men.
Leo swore. “This was a setup.”
Ethan’s eyes scanned the exits. Too many guns. No cover. No way out.
The car doors opened.
A man stepped out, dressed in a tailored black suit, cigarette hanging from his lips.
His voice was smooth. Refined. Deadly.
“Mr. Cross.”
Ethan’s blood ran cold.
Because he knew that voice.
Viktor Ivanov.
A ghost from his past.
And one of the most dangerous men in the world.
A Devil’s Bargain – 2:55 A.M.
Viktor smirked. “I hear you’ve been making enemies, Ethan.”
Ethan’s jaw clenched. “You’re working for Locke now?”
Viktor chuckled. “No. But I do owe him a favor.”
Ethan’s mind raced. Viktor was ex-KGB, now a high-level arms dealer. He didn’t work for free.
So what did he want?
Viktor took a long drag from his cigarette. “Locke wants you dead. I, however, have an offer.”
Ethan’s fingers twitched near his gun. “I’m listening.”
Viktor smiled. A predator’s grin.
“You work for me. One job. One target.”
Ethan didn’t flinch. “And if I refuse?”
Viktor shrugged. “Then I hand you over to Locke.”
Leo muttered, “Great options.”
Ethan’s mind spun. Viktor didn’t bluff.
He could fight—but not against an army.
And Locke was closing in.
Ethan exhaled. He had no choice.
Finally, he nodded.
Viktor smiled wider. “Good.”
He flicked his cigarette aside.
“Welcome to hell.”
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Chapter 36– Shadows and Echoes
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Chapter 35 – The Hunter’s Gambit
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Chapter 34 – Shadows Within Shadows
The remnants of the explosion still echoed in Ethan’s ears as he stood amidst the smoldering wreckage of the Romanian forest. The night was thick with the acrid scent of burnt earth and metal. The crater where Victor’s compound once stood was a testament to the man’s ruthlessness and his willingness to erase any trace of his operations.Ethan wiped the blood from his brow, his mind racing. Victor had anticipated their move, setting a trap that nearly cost them their lives. This wasn’t just a game of cat and mouse anymore; it was a full-blown war.Clara approached, her face illuminated by the glow of the burning debris. “We need to get out of here. If Victor’s watching, he’ll know we survived.”Ethan nodded. “You’re right. But we can’t run blind. We need intel, and fast.”Leo, ever the pragmatist, interjected, “We have one lead left—Anatoly. If anyone knows Victor’s next move, it’s him.”Jason, still catching his breath, added, “Assuming he’s still alive. Victor might have anticipated
Chapter 33 – The First Strike
Ethan sat in the back of the jet, staring blankly at the skyline of Bucharest through the oval window as the sun rose like a bleeding eye over the horizon. He hadn’t slept. His mind was running too fast, calculating and recalculating their next move.Victor Valente wasn’t just hiding—he was preparing for war. And now Ethan had the maps, the intel, and the leverage to strike first.Across from him, Clara scrolled through the decrypted contents of the flash drive Anatoly had given them. Her brow furrowed in concentration. Jason was cross-referencing names on the list with Interpol red notices, while Leo cleaned his weapon, a suppressed SIG Sauer, with the calmness of a man used to chaos.“This compound in Romania isn’t just fortified,” Clara finally said, eyes sharp. “It’s sitting on top of a Cold War-era nuclear shelter—five levels deep. Reinforced walls. Armory-grade steel. We’ll need more than bullets and guts.”“We’re not storming the place head-on,” Ethan replied. “We cut the power
Chapter 32 – Into the Lion’s Den
The wind howled as the black SUV cruised through the dim streets of Montclair Heights, its tinted windows swallowing the glint of streetlights. Inside, the tension was palpable. Ethan sat in the front seat, jaw clenched, scanning the surroundings as the vehicle approached the outskirts of a gated estate—an abandoned manor that once belonged to one of Victor Valente’s most trusted lieutenants: Anatoly Rurik.Anatoly had vanished after Victor’s supposed “death” years ago. Rumors claimed he had gone underground, living off the grid, growing bitter and paranoid. But Ethan had a lead—a trail of old offshore transfers and a single burner number that pinged in this area only once. It wasn’t concrete, but it was the best shot they had. If Anatoly was still alive, he was the only person who might know where Victor was hiding.The car rolled to a stop a block away. Ethan turned to Clara, Leo, and Jason in the back.“We go in quiet. This guy doesn’t trust anyone, especially not us. He sees us as
Chapter 31 – The Echoes of Power
Ethan leaned against the cold concrete wall of their hideout, staring at the documents Clara had laid out before him. His thoughts were racing, but beneath the surface, there was an underlying sense of unease. The name that had appeared on the financial ledger had rattled him in ways he hadn’t expected. It was an old, familiar name, one that he thought was long gone from the criminal landscape.But there it was, unmistakably clear, staring back at him from the pages: Victor Valente. The name carried a weight that sank deep into his gut. Ethan had crossed paths with Victor years ago. Back then, Victor was the ghost in the underworld, a figure who operated from the shadows, pulling strings from behind the scenes. But when he had disappeared, the world seemed to exhale. No one had dared to speak his name for years, and for a reason—Victor was chaos personified. His name alone could send entire organizations into disarray.And now, his name was tied to everything that had been happening l
