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Brody, Regan, and Fuse piled out behind me.

Each dressed entirely in black, our faces masked.

Our breaths were held as we stole through the lush swath of uninhabited property that connected with the backside of our target’s house.

Our boots that would later be burned crunched against the bed of leaves that covered the earth floor, and the scent of mossy pine and mold-sodden dirt filled our nostrils.

City lights glowed in a smoky haze from below, this sick fuck staged at the top of the hill like its ruler.

No question, he was. Brandished his control on society’s most vulnerable, then he lived up here like a king.

Disgusting.

Vile.

Cruel.

He’d found himself in the crosshairs of our radar when we’d gotten the report that five factory workers had been found with gunshot wounds to the back of their heads. Word was, someone in the facility had made a report to the authorities about suspicious activity going down at all hours of the night, resulting in five million dollars’ worth of pills being seized.

No question, it was a message to the rest to keep their mouths shut.

That was our cue to intervene.

We stayed low as we slinked through the warbling shadows.

Wraiths sent to destroy.

We eased up to the back of the property.

The house was on the hill’s upmost pinnacle. A brick mansion that had been built more than a hundred years before, the three acres surrounded by block walls interspersed with ornate wrought iron.

We’d already identified our entry point. A gate used for deliveries.

The three guards he kept on duty throughout the night were stationed up closer to the house. Two on the backside and one at the front.

Faulty arrogance convinced this prick he was safe.

Immune to the coming consequence.

We kept our pace slow and calculated as we crept to the gate.

Two lights glowed from the posts on either side, a wisp of jaundiced smoke that curled through the air.

I let my attention skate the perimeter. Satisfied it was clear, I tipped my head three times.

One, two, three.

In an instant, the four of us shot into action. Scaling the gate and dropping onto the other side. Crouched and our guns drawn as we searched the area.

Fuse and Brody went left, while Regan and I ran along the wall to the right.

Each pair hit the end of the house at the same time, where we knew a single guard stood post at each side.

A man leaned casually against the wall, a machine gun strapped across his front. The cherry of a cigarette glowed as he brought it to his mouth.

Regan moved.

Rushing up to the side of him.