Dominic
38
__________
The early morning light filters through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the penthouse, casting golden streaks across the dark hardwood floors. I sit at the dining table, nursing a lukewarm cup of coffee. The remnants of Lena’s files are spread out in front of me, their cryptic notes and fragmented reports swirling in my mind like a storm that refuses to settle.
Every lead we’ve followed has only revealed more of Reyes’s intricate network, and it feels like we’re still several moves behind. Last night’s message to Eva—simple, direct, and dripping with malice—lingers in my mind. He knows we’re getting closer, and it’s making him bold. Dangerous.
Across the room, Eva is curled up on the couch, her legs tucked beneath her as she reviews the notes for the hundredth time. Her focus is unwavering, but the shadows under her eyes betray the weight she’s carrying. It’s a look I know well—the same one that stares back at me from the mirror every morning.
“Eva,” I call, breaking the silence.
She looks up, her green eyes locking onto mine, their fire dulled by exhaustion. “What’s wrong?”
I set the mug down, leaning back in the chair. “We need to think carefully about our next move. Reyes isn’t just playing defense anymore. He’s targeting us—and that message proves he’s not afraid to escalate.”
She sets the papers down, her expression hardening. “So what are you suggesting? That we stop? That we let him win?”
“I’m suggesting we be smart,” I say, my voice calm but firm. “Reyes thrives on chaos, and the more reckless we are, the easier it is for him to manipulate us.”
Eva stands, crossing the room until she’s in front of me. Her arms are crossed, her jaw set. “Reckless? Is that what you think I’m being?”
“That’s not what I meant,” I reply, softening my tone. “But this isn’t just about us anymore. Lena’s involved now, and Reyes has made it clear he’s willing to target anyone close to us. We can’t afford to make mistakes.”
She stares at me for a long moment, the tension between us thick enough to cut. Finally, she exhales, her shoulders dropping slightly. “You’re right,” she says, her voice quieter. “We need to be smart. But we also need to act. The longer we wait, the more damage Reyes will do.”
I nod, relieved that we’re on the same page. “Then we move forward—together. No more taking risks alone.”
Her lips twitch into a faint smile. “Deal.”
A Lead Emerges
By mid-morning, Adrian calls with an update. I put him on speaker as Eva and I sit side by side at the dining table, the remnants of coffee cups and scattered papers surrounding us like battle plans.
“I’ve got something,” Adrian says, his voice tense but steady. “The coordinates you found in Lena’s files—they’re tied to a facility just outside Harbor Springs. Officially, it’s listed as a research site for marine ecology, but there’s something off about it.”
Eva leans forward, her brows furrowing. “What do you mean?”
“The company listed as the operator doesn’t exist. It’s a front, and the funding ties back to Halcyon Resources—and by extension, Reyes.”
I glance at Eva, whose expression shifts into one of grim determination. “What kind of activity is happening there?”
“Shipments,” Adrian replies. “Unmarked cargo coming in and out at odd hours. Whatever they’re doing, they’re keeping it off the books.”
My jaw tightens. “Do we have eyes on the facility?”
“Not yet,” Adrian says. “But I can get a team out there. Discreetly.”
“No,” I say, my mind already racing. “Eva and I will handle this ourselves. If Reyes gets even a whiff of surveillance, he’ll bury whatever he’s hiding.”
Eva shoots me a look but doesn’t argue.
Adrian hesitates. “That’s a risky move, .”
“So is waiting,” I reply. “Send me everything you’ve got on the facility. We’ll take it from here.”
Harbor Springs
The drive to Harbor Springs is quiet, the tension between us palpable. Eva scrolls through her phone, cross-referencing Lena’s notes with Adrian’s intel, while I focus on the road ahead. The coastline comes into view, its serene beauty a stark contrast to the storm brewing beneath the surface.
As we pull into the small town, Eva glances up from her phone. “This place is beautiful,” she murmurs.
“It’s also vulnerable,” I say, scanning the streets. “Small towns like this don’t have the resources to fight back against someone like Reyes. That’s why he targets them.”
We park a short distance from the facility, choosing an inconspicuous spot near the treeline. The building itself is unremarkable—a low, nondescript structure surrounded by chain-link fencing. But the security presence is anything but ordinary.
“Cameras, motion detectors, armed guards,” Eva notes, her voice low. “They’re protecting something big.”
I nod, my eyes narrowing. “Let’s find out what.”
Breaking In
Under the cover of darkness, we make our move. Eva follows close behind as I cut through the fence, our movements silent and deliberate. My heart pounds in my chest, but I push the fear aside, focusing on the task at hand.
Inside the facility, the air is thick with the smell of oil and salt. Stacks of shipping containers line the walls, their labels deliberately vague. Eva moves to one of them, prying it open with a crowbar we found nearby.
Her breath catches as the contents are revealed. “, look at this.”
Inside are barrels filled with a viscous, black liquid. A clipboard attached to the container lists its contents as “biohazard material,” but the details are deliberately obscured.
“This isn’t just about the spill,” I say, my voice low. “Reyes is moving something dangerous.”
Eva pulls out her phone, snapping pictures of the barrels and the clipboard. “We need to get this to Adrian. If Reyes is transporting biohazards, it’s a violation on a global scale.”
Before I can respond, the sound of footsteps echoes through the warehouse.
“Hide,” I whisper, pulling Eva behind a stack of crates.
We crouch in the shadows as two guards enter, their voices low but clear.
“They’ll be here tomorrow to move the rest of it,” one of them says. “Reyes wants everything gone before anyone gets too close.”
“And if they find out what’s in these barrels?” the other asks.
The first man chuckles darkly. “They won’t. And if they do, it’ll be too late.”
Eva’s hand tightens on my arm, her breathing shallow. I place a reassuring hand over hers, silently vowing to protect her no matter what.
As the guards move deeper into the warehouse, I lean close to her ear. “We need to get out of here.”
She nods, and together we slip back toward the exit. Every step feels agonizingly slow, but finally, we reach the fence and make our way back to the car.
As we drive away from the facility, Eva’s phone buzzes with a new message. She glances at the screen, her face going pale.
“What is it?” I ask, glancing at her.
She turns the phone toward me, the words chilling in their simplicity:
“You were warned. Now there’s no turning back.”
My hands tighten on the steering wheel, a mix of fury and dread coursing through me.
“He knows,” Eva whispers, her voice trembling. “He knows we were there.”
I meet her gaze, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me. “Then it’s time to stop playing defense. If Reyes wants a war, we’ll give him one.”
But even as I say the words, I can’t ignore the sinking feeling in my gut. Reyes isn’t just reacting—he’s planning his next move. And if we’re not ready, it could be our last.
The car’s tires hum against the asphalt as the tension between Eva and me thickens with the knowledge that Reyes is watching. Every mile feels like another countdown tick to an inevitable explosion. I can see Eva glancing repeatedly at her phone, her face pale but her jaw set in determination.
“We can’t let him get into our heads,” I say, breaking the heavy silence.
She looks up at me, her green eyes sharp despite the fear simmering just beneath the surface. “It’s not just our heads he’s getting into. He’s always three steps ahead, . And now he knows we’re onto the barrels. What if this is exactly what he wanted?”
The thought sends a chill through me, but I shake my head. “Reyes’s arrogance is his weakness. He thinks he’s untouchable, but that also makes him reckless. We use that.”
“And if he’s right? If we are walking into his trap?”
“Then we spring it on our terms,” I reply, my voice calm and firm. “This isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with someone who thought they were invincible. They all fall the same way—by underestimating the people fighting back.”
Eva doesn’t respond, but I see the flicker of trust in her expression. It’s a small victory, but in moments like these, every inch matters.
Back at the Penthouse
The city lights glitter through the penthouse windows as we step inside. Adrian is already waiting, a grave expression on his face. He’s hunched over his laptop at the dining table, several monitors open and flashing with data.
“You’re late,” he says without looking up. “I’ve been running analysis on the facility.”
“Let’s hear it,” I say, shrugging off my coat and tossing it onto a nearby chair.
Adrian gestures to the largest monitor, where a schematic of the facility is displayed. “The barrels you found? They’re not just biohazards. My initial analysis suggests they’re holding compounds used in advanced explosives—highly unstable, incredibly dangerous, and banned under multiple international treaties.”
Eva’s face drains of color. “Explosives? Why would Reyes be stockpiling those?”
Adrian clicks a few keys, pulling up a list of shipping routes. “That’s the million-dollar question. These barrels have been moving along multiple routes, but the latest shipment is scheduled to leave tomorrow. Based on the manifest we intercepted, it’s headed for an unregistered freighter waiting off the coast.”
I step closer to the screen, my mind racing. “What’s the freighter’s destination?”
Adrian shakes his head. “It’s a ghost ship. No official registry, no tracking data. But based on the patterns, I’d say Reyes is planning to distribute these explosives to multiple locations.”
Eva inhales sharply. “Terror cells? Organized crime? What’s his angle?”
“Leverage,” I say grimly. “The same thing it always is. Reyes doesn’t just want money—he wants power. This gives him a way to control anyone, anywhere.”
Adrian nods. “And if these explosives get out, we’re looking at global repercussions. We have to stop this shipment.”
The Plan
Eva sits across from me at the dining table, her notebook open as she scribbles notes furiously. Adrian continues outlining the details, but my focus is split between the plan and the growing tension in Eva’s shoulders. I know what she’s thinking—Lena, Harbor Springs, and everyone else caught in Reyes’s crosshairs. She’s not just fighting for justice; she’s fighting to protect people she cares about.
“We hit the facility tonight,” Adrian says, snapping me back to the moment. “We can intercept the shipment before it leaves the docks. But we’ll need to move fast—Reyes has men on-site, and they’re armed.”
Eva looks up, her pen paused mid-sentence. “What about the freighter? Even if we stop the shipment, it’s still out there.”
“We’ll deal with that next,” I say. “One step at a time. First, we take the barrels out of play.”
She hesitates, then nods. “Okay. But if Reyes shows up—”
“He won’t,” I interrupt, my tone leaving no room for argument. “He doesn’t get his hands dirty unless he’s cornered. That’s why he sends messages like the one you got—he’s trying to scare us into backing off.”
“And what if we don’t?”
“Then he makes mistakes,” I say, standing and grabbing my jacket. “And that’s when we finish this.”
The Facility
The air is sharp and cold as we approach the facility under the cover of darkness. Adrian’s intel has proven invaluable—the security cameras have been looped, and we’ve identified the guards’ patrol routes. Eva sticks close to me, her breathing steady despite the tension thrumming between us.
“This way,” I whisper, gesturing toward a side entrance. The lock is easy enough to disable, and within seconds, we’re inside.
The warehouse is even larger than I remember, its cavernous interior filled with rows of shipping containers. The faint hum of machinery echoes through the space, punctuated by the occasional footsteps of patrolling guards.
“Split up,” Adrian’s voice crackles softly in our earpieces. “You need to find the barrels and disable them before the shipment is loaded.”
Eva nods, moving toward the far end of the warehouse as I take the opposite direction. My heart pounds in my chest, but I push the fear aside, focusing on the task at hand. Every step feels like a gamble, every shadow a potential threat.
I spot the barrels near the center of the warehouse, stacked haphazardly inside an open container. My breath catches as I see the symbols painted on their sides—warning labels that confirm Adrian’s analysis. These aren’t just explosives; they’re catastrophic.
“Adrian,” I whisper into the comm. “I’ve got the barrels. How do we disable them?”
“Cut the containment seals,” he replies. “They’re designed to detonate under specific conditions. Disabling the seals will render them inert, but you’ll need to be careful—any sudden movement could trigger them.”
Careful. Right.
Eva’s Discovery
While I work on disabling the barrels, Eva’s voice crackles through the comm. “, I found something.”
“What is it?” I ask, my focus never wavering from the delicate work in front of me.
“It’s a ledger,” she says, her tone laced with urgency. “Shipping logs, payment records—it’s all here. This proves Reyes is behind the operation.”
“Good,” I say, relief flooding through me. “Secure it and get back to the exit.”
“Not yet,” she replies. “There’s something else—”
A loud crash cuts her off, followed by the sound of shouting. My blood turns to ice.
“Eva?” I demand, my voice sharp. “What’s happening?”
“Guards,” she says, her breathing ragged. “They found me.”
The Cliffhanger
I don’t hesitate. Leaving the barrels behind, I sprint toward the sound of her voice, weaving through the maze of containers. My pulse is deafening in my ears, every second stretching into eternity.
I round a corner just in time to see Eva struggling against two armed guards. One of them raises a weapon, and instinct takes over. I fire twice, the shots ringing out like thunder in the cavernous space. The first guard drops instantly, while the second scrambles for cover.
“Eva, run!” I shout, covering her as she bolts toward me.
The remaining guard fires back, the bullets ricocheting off the metal containers around us. I grab Eva’s arm, pulling her behind a stack of crates as we catch our breath.
“Are you okay?” I ask, scanning her for injuries.
She nods, her eyes wide but focused. “I got the ledger,” she says, holding up a small flash drive.
“Good,” I say, my voice grim. “Now let’s get out of here.”
The sound of reinforcements echoes through the warehouse, and I know we’re out of time. Reyes’s men are closing in, and the only way out is through them.
As we make our move, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Reyes knows we’re coming for him, and this battle is only the beginning. But as I glance at Eva, her determination unwavering, I know one thing for certain:
We’re not going down without a fight.