Page 15

“Who the fuck told you that you can come in like that?” My tone is sharp. The employee’s eyes widen, and his hands are trembling.

“I’m sorry, Lana. But, man down in the medical wing!”

“Fucking hell! Why didn’t you start with that?” I say as I motion for Emin to follow me to the medical wing. The blood is rushing to my ears with every step I take. This isn’t a mere coincidence; this is calculated.

And I hate being surprised.

We arrive in the medical wing, and my resident doctor is checking Adnan’s vitals. I stand beside his bed and assess the situation: face intact, but the rest of his body is decimated. His bones are evidently broken in multiple places, with multiple slashes across his stomach area, and he is missing his fingertips.

This is the work of only one man, and I need to see something to confirm it is him.

“Remove the bandage from the left side of his chest,” I coldly order the doctor. He is smart enough to do what I tell him. The bandage is off, and I close my eyes and let out a breath. I keep focused on what I am seeing, and I stay calm. My arms are crossed, and my teeth are grinding.

“Did he say anything else before he passed out?” I inquire of Evel, the doctor. The muscles around my eyes, mouth, and forehead are rigid. Evel puts a new bandage on his chest while he confirms what I have been thinking.

“He was very incoherent and kept telling me that a person named M was there with him.”

“M was here?” I ask through gritted teeth. Any mention of him sends me into a rage. My hands are on the verge of shaking, but I keep myself steady.

“How do you know?” the doctor asks as he is finishing patching up my employee. I don’t say anything–I leave the room with Emin on my tail. I go to my kitchen and grab the keys for my Norton V4 SV.

“To the armory, I presume?” He is out of breath as he is running behind me. No words are spoken between us, and we don’t need to. Emin is my most valuable employee–he understands me. That’s why he is putting on his helmet as I am. Before we leave, I grab a gun.

***

After driving for what feels like forever, we arrive at the armory. I get off my bike, and my eyes are looking for the incompetent assholes who let this happen. There were supposed to be eight guards; I only count three. Where are the bodies piled up? How did this all happen?

“Let’s hear them out, Lana,” Emin pleads with me. He knows from previous experiences that ineptitude makes all the hairs on my body stand up. My strides are measured by how mad I am–strong and deliberate.

“Single-file. Now.” My order makes the three living guards stand behind each other. They are clutching their rifles like it’s going to save them. Their attempts are futile as their fates are already sealed. I’m walking from left to right, while Emin stays rooted in one place.

“You three were in charge of handling the armory. Nod if you understand me.” With a great deal of reluctance, they do.

“Who can give me an inkling into how my armory got upended?” I look all three of them in the eyes, and nobody is telling me anything.

“Fine. This will make you talk,” I produce my gun and cock it. Beads of sweat are forming on their foreheads. “The first person who can tell me what happened gets to live.”

“Uhm… I…” The guard in the middle of the line starts stammering. I roll my eyes and put my gun against the side of his temple. The grip on my weapon is steady, and I’m starting to get bored. Why is nobody honest?

“You are a man of intelligence, and you possess the ability to speak. So why are you not utilizing that skill?” My question is loaded with cold honesty–and that makes him even more scared. He takes in a huff of air and exhales through his nose.

“At 7 p.m. we got back from the garden and checked the cameras like we always do, but then we noticed they weren’t working. We did everything to get them back up, but the system kept lagging.” This isn’t going in a great direction, as the guard’s lip is slightly trembling. A gust of wind goes through my hair, and I don’t feel the chill it brings with it. My body is ablaze with rage, and it’s keeping me warm.

“Did you call our IT specialist?” I ask him as I inch closer to him. Our bodies are almost touching, and the guard doesn’t dare to step aside–he knows the consequences. Death would follow immediately.

“We did, but he couldn’t get through. An untraceable external server took over our system. He couldn’t figure out where it came from,” he explains to me. But I know exactly where that server came from, or better said, who it came from.

Hana.

I knew that she was smart and incredibly capable, but I didn’t know she was that good. I will not underestimate my enemy's employees again. Otherwise, I will be left with more bodies next time. Hana is, as of now, the most valuable and dangerous employee Noa has. That also means she is in grave danger, because I’m not the only one who will notice. That’s a hurdle I will get over later; I have actions that require my immediate attention.

“Stand beside each other,” I order the guards, and they do like dutiful militias. The night has fully set, and the only light there is comes from the stars and the moon. It casts a glow on their faces, highlighting their fear even though they are trying their hardest to conceal it.

“You”–I point with my gun to the guard who talked earlier–“how many of you were there again?”

“Eight.” He answers as he stops blinking.

“How many of you stayed alive?”