Kael heard the unmistakable metallic click of a magazine being inserted.
He didn't wait to see them.
He lunged immediately for cover, rolling until his back slammed against a stack of cargo crates just as the first shots exploded, tearing splinters and metal just centimeters from his head.
The firefight had begun.
From the second floor, armed silhouettes started appearing, one after another. Down below, more men burst in through the side entrances. Too many. All carrying automatic weapons. The echo of gunfire ricocheted inside the warehouse like constant thunder.
"Shit…" he muttered through clenched teeth.
He moved.
He didn't stay still.
Kael advanced in short bursts, jumping from cover to cover, forcing them to lose their angles. He ran into two of the men at close range and responded without hesitation. The exchange was brutal and fast: point-blank shots, bodies dropping before they could even hit the ground.
As he moved, one idea hammered inside his head.
I fell for it too easily.
He had known it. That entry had been too clean. The guys who'd followed him days ago. The absence of real resistance. Everything fit now.
They were waiting for me.
His obsession with understanding everything, with tying up every loose end, had pushed him straight into the trap.
But there was no time for regrets.
Kael moved with the precision of someone who had spent years training in tight corridors and impossible situations. Controlled shots. Using the environment. Fast strikes when the space didn't allow anything else. He dropped another man with an empty weapon and took his gun without stopping.
Then, from above…
A flash.
A guy on the second floor had managed to line him up in his sights.
The shot sounded different.
Kael felt the impact before he heard it.
A violent burn tore through the lower side of his abdomen, as if someone had driven a molten bar into him. His body reacted on instinct: he threw himself sideways, teeth clenched, and fired back almost blindly.
The shooter went down.
Kael breathed with difficulty. He lowered his gaze for barely a second. The bullet had gone through cleanly.
"Goddamn it…" he growled.
He pressed the wound with his free hand.
Lower side…
Doesn't look like it hit anything vital.
At least for now.
But they didn't give him a break.
Another shot whistled over his head. He dropped just as the bullet punched through the crate he'd been leaning on a second earlier. He rolled, got up, and fired at two men advancing from the front.
One fell.
The other was too close.
The man raised his weapon, but Kael reacted first. He threw himself to the ground, wrapped the man's legs with a move learned in alleys and dirty training, took him down, and shot him from the floor.
He hadn't even fully gotten up when the second impact came.
The shot hit him in the left shoulder.
The blow slammed him into the crates, ripping the air from his lungs. The pain was immediate—dry, brutal. A jolt that ran down his arm to his fingers, numbing them.
The pistol almost slipped from his hand.
Kael hit the ground, breathing hard, the world vibrating around him. He clenched his teeth, ignored the tremor in his arm, and fired again, covering his retreat as he dragged himself toward the back of the warehouse.
Every movement hurt more than the last.
He finally managed to dig in behind a metal structure at the far end. His breathing burned in his chest. Blood stained his clothes. The sound of gunfire kept getting closer.
My odds…
are getting worse and worse.
Kael pulled out his phone quickly, taking advantage of a brief moment of cover. His fingers moved with automatic precision as he attached the image he had just taken.
Just in case.
He sent the photo to Foreman and, without stopping, added a second message.
The exact location.
He knew what that meant.
Even if he called for reinforcements, that area was too far out. The closest units would take—at best—eight minutes. The others… fifteen or more.
Too long.
He couldn't count on them.
Not this time.
He shut off the phone without waiting for a reply and slipped it into the inner pocket of his jacket just as a burst of shots hammered his cover, shredding wood just centimeters from his head. He dropped flat to the floor, his heart pounding in his chest.
The key to the assassination attempt is here, he thought.
Now I just have to hold out long enough.
He rolled to the side and peeked out only as much as necessary. Three silhouettes advanced between the crates, confident, thinking they had him cornered.
Mistake.
Kael fired without hesitation.
Three sharp blasts. Precise.
Two bodies dropped immediately. The third took one more step before collapsing onto the floor.
He ducked back into cover at once.
Gunfire returned with renewed fury. The sound was deafening. The metal vibrated. The crates were slowly being chewed apart under the constant impact.
Kael breathed with difficulty, teeth clenched as he felt the damp heat of the wound in his side.
Then something unexpected happened.
Through the thunder of gunfire, a voice rose with authority.
"Stop!" someone ordered. "Cease fire!"
The shooting cut off instantly.
The silence that followed was almost more unsettling than the bullets.
Kael didn't move.
He knew exactly what that meant.
Someone important had decided to step onto the stage.
"So… the Wolf," a voice said from the gloom, dripping with mockery.
"You finally made it."
Kael lifted his gaze slightly.
"Is that the welcome?" he replied, pulling out a cigarette with the hand that still obeyed him.
"I was expecting something more creative."
The lighter clicked. The flame lit his face for a second. He clenched his teeth as he inhaled; the pain forced a small expression he couldn't hide.
"We were waiting for you," the Accountant continued.
"I hope you like surprises."
Kael exhaled the smoke slowly.
"Oh, sure… I love them," he said.
"I wouldn't miss them for anything."
The Accountant took a step forward, still out of direct range.
"For far too long you've been getting into our operations," he added.
"And not only ours."
He paused briefly.
"But look at you now," he went on.
"'The Wolf.'
What a nickname… for someone so alone."
Kael smiled faintly.
"I always preferred working alone," he replied.
"That way I don't have to carry idiots."
The silence tightened.
"Come out," the Accountant finally ordered.
"Let's end this quickly."
He leaned forward a little.
"It's too late, Kael," he said in a low voice.
"And the more you resist… the worse it'll be for you."
Kael pulled out his last magazine.
He held it a moment between his fingers, feeling its weight, as if everything he had left was concentrated in that small object. Then he slid it into the weapon and chambered a round. The sharp sound echoed through the warehouse—clear, definitive.
The Accountant smiled.
Not with exaggerated mockery, but with calm satisfaction, almost tired.
"As you wish," he said.
He raised a hand without even looking at him.
"Finish him."
Kael exhaled slowly and murmured to himself, barely moving his lips:
"What irony…"
The cigarette smoke dissipated among the gunpowder and the dust suspended in the air.
"I never thought my end would be in a warehouse full of trash," he continued quietly. "But if I'm going down… I'll take as many as I can with me."
Ignoring the pain tearing through his side and shoulder, he crouched behind cover. His body screamed at him to stop, that it was enough. His mind, on the other hand, was strangely clear.
He prepared.
On the other side, the men began advancing in unison—steady steps on concrete, weapons raised, aiming at the crates protecting him. The circle tightened slowly, without hurry.
They knew he had nowhere left to run.
And Kael knew it too.
That's why he gripped the weapon tighter.
For the final confrontation.
Outside, Aiden was still chasing the men who had tried to beat him.
The night air cut across his face as he ran. The city lights fell farther and farther behind, and for the first time since the pursuit began, he lifted his gaze.
The sky was completely dark now.
"Damn…" he muttered. "How long have I been chasing them?"
He refocused ahead.
"Stop!" he shouted at them, his voice charged with irritation.
The men didn't respond. They sped up even more and crossed a metal fence surrounding the warehouse.
Aiden didn't stop.
He jumped.
Just one.
When he landed, he was already on the other side.
"What the hell?!" one of them managed to shout as they ran.
"What's wrong with that guy?!" another said, looking back in panic.
Aiden clenched his teeth.
"Bastards!" he roared. "How long do you think you can keep running?"
The warehouse was only a few meters away.
That's when it happened.
One of the men, ruled by nervousness, kept running straight. The others instinctively split to the sides, searching for any escape route.
Aiden smiled.
A tight smile.
"Got you," he said, his voice loaded with anger.
The man turned just in time to see the shadow coming down on him.
He only had time to scream.
The impact was brutal.
Aiden slammed into him with all his strength, and both of them crashed through the warehouse wall like it was paper. The concrete gave way, throwing up a thick cloud of dust, drywall fragments, and debris that scattered inside.
The noise boomed through the entire place.
For an instant, nothing could be seen.
Only dust hanging in the air.
Aiden pushed himself up, shaking his head and hair as he coughed.
"Finally…" he said, with a mix of relief and excitement. "I think I should improve my speed."
The dust began to clear.
And then he saw it.
Dozens of armed men surrounded him.
Pistols. Rifles. Eyes locked onto him.
Absolute silence.
Aiden blinked.
He looked around.
"Uh…" he said, lifting one hand slightly. "I think I took a wrong turn."
The weapons rose in unison.
"Look!" one of the men shouted. "It's the faggot man!"
Aiden felt his eye twitch.
"…What did you just say?" he asked, his voice dangerously calm.
"It's true," another replied, not lowering his gun. "It's him."
From the back, the Accountant advanced through the men.
A slow smile formed on his face.
"Well, what luck," he said. "He came straight to us."
He lifted his hand calmly.
"Catch him alive," he ordered. "We'll have fun with him."
Aiden barely had time to think.
What did I get myself into now…?
The men rushed him all at once. Messy, furious punches—some well-aimed, others pure instinct. Aiden took a couple to the torso and another to the shoulder, enough to make him step back.
The pain was real.
But it didn't stop him.
Step back… use your enemy's weight.
The phrase surfaced in his mind as if the video were still playing right in front of his eyes.
"Ah… I think that's how it went," he muttered.
When one of the guys charged him, Aiden turned his body and stole the other man's momentum. He pulled, changed the axis… and threw him.
Too hard.
The man went flying and slammed into a shelving unit stacked with boxes. Metal groaned, the structure buckled, and everything collapsed with a crash. The body fell among the wreckage and didn't move again.
Aiden didn't even look at him.
He was focused.
"…Yeah, I think that was the right way," he said to himself.
The others stopped for a second.
Surprise.
Fear.
"Good," Aiden added, stepping forward. "Let's try another move."
He ran at them.
At the back, Kael clenched his teeth.
With quick hands made clumsy by pain, he pulled off his belt and threaded it under his left arm, tightening it hard over the wounded shoulder. The bleeding slowed—just barely enough.
Two men appeared on his flank.
Kael rolled before they could fire and answered from the floor. Two sharp detonations.
Both fell.
He used the distraction to change position, pushing himself up on a leg that no longer fully responded.
Who the hell is that guy…?
He had no idea. But it didn't matter.
It was an opportunity.
He advanced with difficulty, firing when necessary, dodging when he could, forcing his way toward the central area of the warehouse. That was where the chaos was… and the guy giving orders.
He saw him.
Only for a second.
The tattoo.
There you are…
He tried to follow, but two more men got in the way.
"Let them handle it," he ordered coldly, walking away.
"Bastard!" Kael spat. "He's getting away!"
Meanwhile, Aiden was starting to feel it.
Too many.
Hits from multiple angles. One caught him square in the face and made him stumble back. Before he could react, another blow came down from above.
Aiden looked up.
The guy was huge.
Twice his size.
I have to land one good one… just one.
That's when he saw him.
In the back.
Two men fighting with another guy. One of them moved differently. More precise. More… tired.
Who is that guy…?
No time to think.
He had to help.
The giant charged again.
Maybe…
I know.
The video.
"Learn Krav Maga in 5 steps."
Aiden planted his feet.
Waited.
When the punch came, he took a short diagonal step outward. He slipped the line of attack by centimeters. He raised his forearm and deflected the impact, letting it pass.
The man's body surged forward under its own weight.
There.
Aiden rotated his hips, focused everything into a single point… and struck.
For an instant, a green glow crossed his eyes.
Fleeting.
Instinctive.
Green sparks wrapped around his fist.
The impact was brutal.
Kael saw it.
Just for a second.
That look…
That glow…
Who the hell is that kid…?
He couldn't think further.
The giant's body went flying straight toward him.
"What the—?!"
The man crashed down on top of Kael and the two guys he was grappling with, knocking all three of them down in a tangle of bodies and metal.
"Idiot!" Kael growled, pinned under the weight.
"Sorry!" Aiden said immediately. "It was to save you!"
"What a rescue," Kael spat.
Aiden reacted fast. He shoved the body off, freeing him, and with clumsy but determined movements, subdued the man who was still moving, pinning him to the floor.
"And who are you?" Aiden asked, without taking his eyes off the men still pouring in.
Kael let out a brief humorless laugh as he reloaded awkwardly.
"I'm the one who should be asking that."
No time for more.
A new burst of gunfire erupted from the back of the warehouse. Both of them reacted instantly, diving for cover just as the concrete where Kael had been seconds earlier crumbled under the impacts.
"Great…" Kael growled, breathing hard. "I'm right back where I started."
Aiden barely stuck his head out and saw the full scene: more men coming in, surrounding them little by little, tightening the circle with cruel calm.
"There are too many…" he muttered. "Damn… I should've kept going to school."
Kael didn't answer right away.
His mind wasn't on the noise, or the pain, or even the blood soaking his clothes. He analyzed the environment like a board: distances, angles, escape routes… and what he had seen minutes earlier.
Then he understood.
"I've got it," he said suddenly.
Aiden looked at him.
"What?"
Kael clenched his teeth.
"There's a chance. Just one," he admitted. "But it'll cost us all the evidence."
He paused briefly.
"And even so… it's that or we don't get out alive."
Aiden swallowed.
"What are you thinking?"
Kael looked him straight in the eyes.
"Do you trust me?"
Aiden hesitated for barely a second.
"Uh… nope."
Kael gave a tired smile.
"Perfect," he said. "Because we don't have any other options."
He leaned slightly toward him.
"There are explosives in the corner, on the far end of the warehouse. RDX. They've got detonators. We're going to set them off."
Aiden raised his voice without meaning to.
"What?! Are you crazy?"
Kael didn't flinch.
"Can you break through a wall again?" he asked. "Like when you came in."
Aiden thought fast.
"It's… the first time I've ever done it," he answered. "But I guess so."
"Good," Kael said. "I'll cover you with the bullets I have left. You run, smash through the wall, and get out of here."
"And you?"
"I'm right behind," he replied. "But I need you to do it first."
Aiden looked at the bullet marks, the bodies, the smoke hanging in the air.
"I guess there's no other option…" he said at last. "Don't screw up."
He unfolded one of his wings and set it on the exposed side, shielding himself from incoming fire.
Kael looked at him with genuine surprise.
"You can move those things at will?"
Aiden shook his head as he adjusted his stance.
"I'm barely learning," he said. "Usually they come out on their own… when everything goes to hell."
"Great time to learn," Kael muttered.
Aiden took a deep breath.
"Here I go."
Kael stopped thinking.
He acted.
He burst from cover and laid down continuous fire, forcing the men to fall back. Every shot tore a groan out of his body, but he didn't stop.
"Now!" he shouted.
Aiden ran.
He didn't hesitate.
He charged with everything he had and smashed through the wall in an explosion of dust and concrete, blasting out into the open.
Kael used the last hit of adrenaline he had left. He ran, ignoring the pain, locking his eyes on the detonators while firing on the move.
One bullet.
Just one.
It hit dead center.
"Run!" he shouted.
Aiden, already outside, turned just in time to see Kael stumble out. Both ran and threw themselves to the ground.
The explosion was brutal.
The warehouse ripped open from the inside, hurling fragments of metal and concrete into the air. The shockwave hit them head-on, lifting them several meters before slamming them back down.
Aiden spread his wings.
This time, on purpose.
Even so, the impact hurled them farther, leaving them stunned, ears ringing and vision blurred.
Seconds passed.
Maybe more.
Aiden was the first to move. Everything hurt. His wings were damaged, covered in black marks and cuts, but they were still there.
He got up and went to Kael.
"I'll take you to a hospital," he said, lifting him as best he could.
Kael weakly shook his head.
"No…" he murmured. "Those guys are dangerous. It's the first place they'll look."
He breathed with difficulty.
"I know… someone," he added. "Maybe they can help us."
Aiden hesitated.
"Are you sure?"
Kael nodded.
Aiden held him more firmly and they started moving away from the place.
Neither of them noticed the nearby security camera.
But it saw them.
Elsewhere, far from the smoke and sirens, Cobra sat behind his desk.
The light from the monitor washed over his face as he reviewed information in silence.
His phone vibrated on the surface.
Cobra answered without hurry.
"Talk."
The Accountant's voice came through on the other end of the line, tense, trying to keep his composure.
"The Wolf is eliminated," he reported. "And the other kid… was also a problem."
Cobra raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
He didn't respond right away.
With a couple of quick movements, he sent a file from his computer.
"I sent you something," he said. "Look at it."
On the other end of the call, the Accountant fell silent.
You could barely hear the sound of a phone unlocking.
A few seconds passed.
"…No," he finally murmured. "This can't be."
On his phone screen, the video played:
Aiden and Kael, still alive, walking away through debris and smoke.
"It's impossible…" the Accountant added, his voice cracking. "How the hell did they make it out alive?"
Cobra let out a deep laugh.
"Well, well…" he said. "This is getting more and more interesting."
He leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers together.
"Looks like there are new players on the board."
He turned his face slightly and spoke to the side, addressing the man waiting in the doorway.
"Victor."
"Yes, sir," Victor replied immediately.
Cobra's smile widened just a bit.
"I want everything we have on that so-called… Moth Man."