Chapter 39 TROJAN HORSE
"You want me to do what?" Jax’s voice was barely a whisper, but it was thick with a mixture of horror and disbelief.
We were standing in the back of the garage, the air heavy with the scent of rain and motor oil. I had just finished explaining the final detail of the night's operation.
"You heard me, Jax," I said, my voice as cold and flat as a stone. "When the ambush happens, you need to make it look real. That means I can't walk away without a mark on me. You have to injure me."
Jax stepped closer, his eyes searching mine with a desperate kind of intensity. "I am not hitting you, Si. I won't do it. We can use fake blood, or we can say they grazed me. But I am not laying a hand on you."
"Fake blood won't work with Viper," I countered, stepping into his space. I grabbed his hand and pressed it against my shoulder. "She is a predator. She smells weakness and she smells lies. If I show up at the drop-off point looking like I just came from a spa, she will know. This is the only way to earn her total trust. Do it, Jax. That is an order."
Jax pulled his hand away as if I had burned him. He looked over at Mina, who was checking the magazines of their "prop" weapons. She looked just as uncomfortable as he did, but she remained silent.
"Fine," Jax gritted out, his jaw so tight I thought his teeth might crack. "But if I go too far, I am never going to forgive myself."
"You won't," I said. "Now, let's move. Viper is waiting at the port."
The pickup at the docks was a clinical affair. The air was salty and damp, the giant cranes looking like prehistoric monsters against the night sky. Viper was standing next to a reinforced transport van, surrounded by six of her best-armed guards. When we pulled up in our own modified security vehicle, she looked us over with a critical eye.
Leo was already in the back of our van, hunched over three different monitors. He was tapping away, his face illuminated by the blue light of the screens.
"We are tapped into the city’s traffic grid," Leo announced, not looking up. "I have the street cams on a thirty-second loop for our path. Any unauthorized vehicle within two blocks will trigger a proximity alert. I am also monitoring the Harbinger internal comms for any chatter."
Viper walked over and peered into the van. She let out a low whistle of appreciation. "I must say, Siren, I am impressed. I didn't realize your crew had this kind of technical reach. You make my own tech guys look like they are playing with tin cans."
"You get what you pay for," I said, leaning against the side of the transport. "And you paid for the best."
We moved the cargo into our vehicle. It was several heavy, silver-plated cases that hummed with a low, electronic vibration. I didn't ask what was inside, but I knew from the weight and the security that it was the heart of Kanan’s high-end operations.
The trip began smoothly. I sat in the passenger seat with Kael behind the wheel. Leo was in the back, his fingers dancing across the keys. We were almost halfway to the designated drop-off point when the first alert chimed.
"Heads up," Leo said, his voice turning sharp. "Two black SUVs just broke the loop. They are coming up fast from the south. They are armed, Si."
"Here we go," I whispered.
The ambush happened at a secluded intersection near the old rail yards. A black sedan screeched across the road, blocking our path. Jax and Mina, wearing full masks and neutral tactical gear, leapt out of the vehicle along with three hired guns we had picked up from the lower districts.
"Get down!" Kael roared, ducking as the first round of "warning" shots shattered the side mirror.
I kicked the door open and rolled out into the street. I moved with the practiced grace of the Siren, using the van as cover. I fired back, making sure my shots hit the brickwork behind Jax. It was a choreographed dance of violence. I moved through the smoke, engaging the hired muscle in hand-to-hand combat. I made it look difficult. I made it look like I was fighting for my life.
I signaled Jax.
He moved toward me, his movements blurred and fast. We clashed in the middle of the street. I felt the air leave my lungs as he drove his shoulder into my gut. He swung a heavy tactical light, aiming for my ribs. I saw the hesitation in his eyes for a split second, and I glared at him.
Do it.
He swung. The impact was a dull, sickening thud. I felt a rib groan, and white-hot pain flared in my side. I went down hard, the grit of the pavement scraping against my cheek. I tasted blood in my mouth.
"Siren!" Kael shouted, firing a volley of cover shots.
Jax and the "robbers" retreated into the shadows as the sound of distant sirens approached. We had timed it perfectly. The attackers fled just as the mission seemed lost.
I lay on the ground, my breath coming in jagged gasps. My side was on fire, but a dark, triumphant satisfaction was blooming in my chest.
Viper’s voice crackled through the radio. "Siren! Status! What happened? I see the heat maps on the grid!"
I crawled back to the van and grabbed the radio with a trembling hand. "We... we held them off, Viper. They were organized. They knew the route. But we have the goods. They are safe."
"Are you hit?" Viper asked, her voice sounding genuinely panicked.
"I'm fine," I lied, coughing as the metallic taste of blood filled my throat. "We are moving to the drop-off point now."
"No," Viper said. There was a pause on the other end, the sound of her shifting her position. "The drop-off point is compromised if they knew the route. Change of plans. You have shown your worth today, Siren. You and your team are the only ones I trust right now. Follow the GPS coordinates I am sending to your lead driver. You are taking the shipment all the way to the vault."
My heart stopped. I looked at Kael, who was already staring at the new coordinates on the dash.
"The main vault?" Kael whispered, his eyes wide. "Si, nobody goes there. Not even high-level captains."
"Follow the map, Kael," I said, a slow smile spreading through the pain.
The journey took us deep into the heart of the Harbinger territory, into a nondescript industrial complex that looked like a power station. We passed through four different security checkpoints, each more intense than the last. Finally, we pulled into an underground garage that was built like a bunker.
The vault was a massive, seamless sheet of reinforced titanium. It didn't have a handle or a keyhole. It was operated by a biometric scanner and a rolling encryption code.
I stepped out of the van, leaning heavily on Kael’s shoulder. Viper was already there, looking pale but relieved. She rushed toward us, her eyes scanning the cases in the back of our van.
"Thank the gods," she breathed. She looked at me, her gaze lingering on the blood on my face and the way I clutched my side. "You did it, Siren. You actually did it. My reputation was on the line tonight. If Kanan had lost this... I don't even want to think about what he would have done to me."
"We keep our promises," I said, my voice raspy.
"I can see that," Viper said. She turned to the vault, her hand hovering over the scanner. "I am going to make sure Kanan knows exactly who saved his empire tonight. You are moving up, Siren. Faster than anyone I have ever seen."
As the vault hissed open, revealing the stacks of gold, cash, and digital drives that held the secrets of a thousand murders, I felt a chill run down my spine. I had never seen this place as Elena. Kanan had kept me in a gilded cage, miles away from the real power. Now, as his enemy, I was standing in his inner sanctum.
Viper walked inside, her voice trailing off as she began to check the inventory.
Jax walked up beside me, his face a mask of guilt as he looked at my injury. "We got in," he whispered. "You actually got us in."
I looked at the heavy titanium door, then at the glowing screens of the vault’s security system. I could feel the weight of the ledger in my mind, the patterns finally aligning.
"This is the spine that breaks the camel's back, Jax," I whispered.
"What are you saying, Si?" Jax asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
I leaned against the cool metal of the van, my eyes fixed on the heart of the Harbinger empire.
"We aren't just fixers anymore," I said, my voice dropping to a predatory low. "We are about to break into the Harbinger's vault and take everything."