The rain didn't just fall; it hammered against the asphalt, washing the stray ash from the tip of Franz's cigarette before it could even drift away.
He stood just beyond the tree line, a dark, solitary silhouette wrapped in a ruined, blood-stiffened hoodie. Fifty yards ahead, the road was fractured by a violent sea of flashing red and blue lights. The Ardent estate was completely cut off, surrounded by a wall of steel, flashing sirens, and tactical units.
Franz took one last, deep drag, the cherry glowing a fierce orange beneath the fabric of his hood. He exhaled the smoke slowly, watching it dissolve into the cold downpour, then dropped the butt into the mud, crushing it deliberately beneath the heel of his boot.
'Let's start moving' Franz muttered internally, his voice dropping into that familiar, cold resonance.
...
Twenty Minutes Ago...
