Chapter 32 Face to face

Chapter 32 Face to face
The train from Budapest to Vienna took just under three hours.

Kai and Lena traveled as a quiet German couple, new identities, plain clothes, minimal luggage. They sat side by side in second class, hands occasionally brushing, saying little. Outside the window, the Austrian countryside rolled past in muted autumn colors.

They arrived in Vienna in the late afternoon under a sky threatening rain. The city felt both elegant and watchful.

They checked into a modest hotel near the Prater, paying cash under their current aliases. The room was small but clean, with a view of distant spires.

That evening, they spread the latest intel from Phantom across the bed.

Specter-2 planned to publicly claim the Ghostmaker title in nine days at a private gala inside the historic Hofburg Palace.

The event was disguised as an exclusive tech-and-defense networking summit. Only the inner remnants of The Circle and a handful of carefully chosen loyalists would attend. Security would be extreme: biometric scanners, plainclothes operators, and rapid-response teams on standby.

Kai studied the floor plans Lena had pulled. “She’ll make the announcement in the main Redoutensäle ballroom during the closing remarks. That’s our best window, chaos, lights, crowds. I go in as catering staff. You handle remote support from a van outside the security cordon.”

Lena nodded, but her expression was tight. “The Hofburg is a fortress. Metal detectors, facial recognition, and at least thirty armed personnel. If she claims the title on live internal feed, the protocol activates automatically. We have to stop the announcement or disrupt the biometric confirmation.”

Kai reached over and took her hand. “We’ve done harder. Como worked. This will too.”

They spent the next two days in quiet, meticulous preparation.

Day one: Scouting. Kai walked the palace exterior as a tourist while Lena mapped camera blind spots and service entrances from a nearby café. They identified the catering company handling the gala and forged credentials for Kai as a temporary waiter.

Day two: Dry runs. In their hotel room, they rehearsed timing, signals, and emergency extraction routes. Lena practiced jamming the palace’s internal comms. Kai drilled drawing and firing from under a waiter’s jacket.

On the third night, the night before the gala, they allowed themselves one final quiet evening.

They ordered room service, simple pasta and wine and ate on the small balcony overlooking the city lights. The air was cool, carrying the faint scent of rain.

Lena set her fork down and looked at Kai across the table.“Promise me one thing. If it becomes a choice between stopping her and getting out alive… you choose us. Choose life. Elena and Mia wouldn’t want you dying for revenge.”

Kai was silent for a long moment. Then he stood, pulled her up with him, and held her close on the balcony.

“I choose us,” he whispered against her hair. “But I also choose to finish this so we can actually live. No more looking over our shoulders.”

They moved inside. The lovemaking that night was slower than usual,tender, almost reverent. Every touch carried the weight of possible last times. When it ended, they lay facing each other in the dim light, foreheads touching.

“I love you,” Lena said softly. “More than I ever thought I could love anyone after the life I’ve lived.”

Kai brushed his thumb across her cheek. “I love you too. You gave me back something I thought was gone forever. Tomorrow… we end it. Then we go home, wherever home turns out to be.”

Sleep came eventually, but lightly.

The next morning ..gala day... they woke before dawn.

Kai dressed in the waiter’s uniform. Lena helped adjust the concealed holster and earpiece.

“You look almost respectable,” she teased, though her eyes were serious.

He kissed her once, hard and quick. “Stay safe. Keep the van ready. If I say abort, you leave. No arguments.”

“Same goes for you,” she replied.

They left the hotel separately. Lena headed to the pre-positioned van two blocks from the Hofburg. Kai walked the final distance on foot, blending into the morning foot traffic.

As he approached the service entrance of the palace, his earpiece crackled.

Lena’s voice: “Cameras looped. You’re clear for the next four minutes. Valeria is already inside, confirmed in the green room preparing for her speech. Good luck, love.”

Kai nodded once to himself and stepped through the service door.

The op had begun.

Inside the opulent corridors of the Hofburg, staff bustled preparing for the evening’s high-stakes gala.

Kai moved with purpose, carrying a tray of glassware as cover. He passed security checks using the forged credentials. The atmosphere was thick with tension, everyone knew something important was happening tonight.

He reached the staging area near the Redoutensäle ballroom and began helping set tables, all while mentally mapping guard positions.

Lena’s voice kept him grounded: “Valeria is moving to the backstage area. Speech scheduled for 20:30. You have ninety minutes. The biometric confirmation station is set up near the podium. That’s your primary target, disrupt it before she reaches it.”

Kai slipped away from the tables during a quiet moment and made his way toward the backstage corridors.

He was halfway there when a familiar voice stopped him cold.

“Maintenance staff aren’t allowed back here.”

Kai turned slowly.

A tall woman in a sleek black dress stood in the corridor, flanked by two armed men.

Specter-2 looked exactly like her dossier photos, but colder in person. Her ice-blue eyes locked onto him with recognition.

“Hello, Kai Voss,” she said with a thin smile. “Or should I call you… the failed heir?”

She raised a hand, and the two guards leveled their weapons at him.

The trap had closed faster than expected.

Lena’s voice urgent in his ear: “Kai...multiple teams converging on your location. Abort! Get out now!”

But Kai stood his ground, hand inching toward the concealed pistol under his jacket.

Valeria stepped closer, unafraid.

“You rejected the crown,” she said softly. “But the crown has chosen someone else. Tonight, I become the Ghostmaker. And you… you get to watch it happen before you die.”

Kai’s fingers closed around the grip of his pistol.

The final confrontation had arrived sooner than planned.