Chapter 156

Chapter 156

When Jack walked out of the armory fully armed, Lucy was already waiting quietly at the door.

She had changed into a black tactical outfit, practical and form-fitting, her long hair pulled back into a sharp ponytail.

Two stuffed backpacks sat on the ground beside her.

"You're coming with me?" Jack frowned.

"Of course." Lucy's tone left no room for argument. "We're allies, aren't we?"

"Bangkok isn't Zurich." Jack's voice was flat. "No luxury hotels there. No bodyguards waiting on your word. Just chaos, danger, and more desperate men than you can count. You'd only slow me down."

He didn't want to drag her into this.

The enemy this time was something far more shadowy and dangerous than Ronan or the White Tower Foundation.

He wasn't even sure he'd make it out himself.

"Slow you down?"

Lucy didn't get angry. She laughed.

She stepped toward him and reached out, straightening a slightly crooked magazine pouch on his tactical vest.

"Jack, did you forget who dragged you out of a pile of bodies in that base as it was coming down around us?"

"Did you also forget who sat by your side for a whole month, not sleeping, while you were out cold?"

"If I'm dead weight, you'd already be a cold corpse right now."

Jack had no comeback.

He looked at her — those clear, steady eyes full of stubbornness and something completely serious.

He knew he wasn't going to win this one.

"Fine." Jack let out a breath, giving in. "But you follow my lead out there. Everything goes through me."

"No problem, sir."

Lucy snapped him a playful salute.

Jack shook his head, hoisted his pack, and headed toward the tarmac.

Lucy fell in right behind him.

They walked through the empty corridor, one after the other, neither saying a word.

But something unspoken was growing between them — quiet and steady, like it had always been there.

They weren't just employer and bodyguard anymore. Not just allies either.

They were the kind of people who could turn their backs to each other and not flinch.

Out on the tarmac, the black Gulfstream G650 was already running.

Alex leaned against the boarding stairs, a lollipop tucked in the corner of his mouth, waving them over.

"Hey, you two — can you move it? We're going to hit Bangkok rush hour at this rate."

Jack and Lucy boarded the plane.

Alex followed them in, but instead of sitting down, he made his way to the command console at the rear of the cabin.

"I won't be going down with you this time." He tapped at the equipment as he spoke. "Bangkok's network environment is a mess. I need a clean, stable rear base to run proper intel support for you."

"Here." He tossed Jack something that looked like a watch. "Lighthouse's latest tactical terminal — satellite comms, biometric monitoring, micro-drone control, all built in. Put it on and we stay connected no matter what."

Jack caught it and strapped it on.

"This one's for you." Alex handed Lucy a tablet. "Everything we have on Ouroboros and the Morningstar Key is in there. I also set you up with a legitimate investment firm in Bangkok and put some funds into it. Sometimes money opens doors that guns can't."

Lucy took it and nodded. "Thank you."

"Anytime, Your Majesty." Alex grinned. "Keeping you two in one piece is part of my job. I really don't want a repeat of last time — you both looked half-dead when you came back."

The plane climbed into the sky.

Inside the cabin, Jack sat by the window and pulled out a P226 he'd picked up from the armory, running through a full field strip and clean.

His ritual.

Before every mission, the weapon had to be perfect.

Across from him, Lucy had the tablet open, working through the files with steady focus, brow slightly furrowed — the same look she probably gave a complex business deal.

Watching her like that, Jack felt something he couldn't quite name. Something he hadn't felt before.

Strange. And somehow... warm.

He wasn't alone anymore.

There was someone behind him now. Someone he trusted.

"What are you thinking about?" Lucy glanced up and caught him looking.

"Nothing." He turned back to the parts in his hands. "Just thinking this one's going to be complicated."

"I know." Lucy said. "According to the files, the Ouroboros field team's commander goes by 'Shadow' — former KGB, top tier. Known for being ruthless and hard to pin down."

"And it's not just Ouroboros. Several other players have their eyes on that key fragment too. Local Bangkok gangs, Golden Triangle traffickers, and... some buyers we don't have names for yet. People still in the dark."

Jack set down what he was holding and looked at her.

"Are you scared?"

"A little," Lucy said honestly. "But mostly... excited."

She met his eyes, and there was something in hers he hadn't seen before.

"My whole life used to feel like a blueprint someone else drew. When to study, when to take over the company, when to get married and have kids... everything mapped out, step by step. Predictable. Dull."

"Until I met you. That's when I found out the world has another side."

"Dangerous, yeah. But... alive."

Jack looked at her for a long moment, then the corner of his mouth lifted — just slightly.

"Welcome to my world."