Lian crouched low on the rooftop of a half-abandoned warehouse and let the sea wind push strands of hair across her face. Below her, a maze of stacked shipping containers stretched into the dark, lit only by yellow lamps swinging from rusting poles.
“East side clear,” Kai’s voice came through her earpiece.
She tilted her head slightly, keeping her eyes on the walkway where two guards were smoking. They were laughing about something, one of them flicking ash over the railing, the other glancing nervously around. They wore mismatched gear, not professional mercenaries but not street thugs either. Somewhere in between.
“North side has six,” Lian whispered. “Two on patrol, four static near the dock crane.”
Kai’s keyboard clacked in her ear, his fingers always moving when he was nervous. “Heat signatures confirm. Inside the warehouse… hold on… three more, all clustered near the office. That makes eleven total.”
“Plus whoever is running the deal,” she said.
“Yeah. If the intel’s right, he’ll be there in person.”
That was why they were here. Their latest target, a trafficker named Liang Hao, had been moving girls through shipping lanes for months, selling them to whoever had the cash. A monster hiding behind cargo manifests and shipping company fronts. And tonight, he was supposed to oversee a transfer himself. That was rare. People like him usually preferred to stay behind layers of protection.
Kai’s voice cut in again. “Want the quick route or the clean route?”
Lian smirked slightly. “Quick.”
“I thought you’d say that.”
She shifted her weight and let herself drop silently from the rooftop. The fall ended with a soft bend of her knees on top of a container. The metal groaned faintly but the sound was drowned by the sea breeze and the laughter of the guards below. She pulled her knife free and edged closer.
The two men never noticed her. She came down behind them like shadow, one hand covering a mouth, blade sliding across a throat. The second man barely had time to reach for his weapon before she shoved the knife up under his ribs. She lowered them both gently, blood pooling dark on the ground.
“Two down,” she murmured.
Kai exhaled softly in her ear. “West patrol’s turning the corner in thirty seconds. If you want to keep it quiet, now’s the time.”
She moved like water, slipping through the narrow spaces between containers. A young man in a loose jacket appeared ahead, yawning as he strolled with a flashlight. He swept the beam lazily, more bored than alert.
She stepped out just as the light touched her face. His eyes widened but her arm hooked his neck before he could make a sound. She twisted sharply, the crack echoing softly in the night. She dragged his body into the shadows.
“West patrol neutralized.”
“Clean so far,” Kai replied.
“Keep me updated,” she said, moving again.
The path opened onto the dock where four guards leaned against the crane supports, smoking and sharing a flask. She crouched low, studying their formation. Taking all four head on would be noisy. Too noisy.
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“Kai,” she whispered.
“I’ve got a distraction ready. See that stack of barrels on your left?”
She glanced. “Yes.”
“Remote detonator on one of the valves. Non-lethal but loud. Want me to?”
“Do it.”
A soft click sounded in her ear. A moment later, the barrels hissed and a burst of steam shot into the air. The guards cursed and stumbled toward the noise, weapons half-raised.
Lian used the moment. She was on them before they realized what was happening, knife flashing. One fell with a slit throat, another with a blade in his gut. The third raised his gun but she grabbed his wrist and snapped it sideways, the shot blasting harmlessly into the ground. Her boot crushed his knee, and she finished him quickly. The fourth tried to run but she caught his collar and dragged him back into the dark, steel kissing flesh.
“Kai. Crane team is down.”
“Copy that. Three left inside. You’re clear to move.”
The warehouse loomed ahead, its corrugated steel walls rusted and scarred. A single lamp above the door cast a pale circle of light on the concrete. She wiped her blade clean on her sleeve and approached.
Kai’s voice came again. “Thermal shows they’re all in the office, far corner. One of them is bigger than the rest. Must be Liang Hao.”
She nodded to herself.
“Wait,” Kai said suddenly. “New heat signature. Just entered from the back. Armed.”
“Another guard?”
“Too big. Could be hired muscle.”
Lian pressed against the wall and breathed slowly. The steel felt cold against her back.
“Keep eyes on him,” she whispered. “I’ll deal with Hao first.”
She slid the door open just enough to slip inside. Crates lined the floor, some with fresh padlocks, others half-open. She didn’t look too closely at what was inside. Not yet.
Her steps were silent as she crossed the wide space, moving toward the lit office at the far side.
She reached the door and crouched beside it, knife ready.
“Now?” Kai asked in her ear.
She exhaled slowly. “Now.”
She pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The office was cramped, a desk piled with papers, a fan buzzing lazily in the corner. Three men sat around the desk. Two were mid-level thugs, shirts unbuttoned, pistols at their sides. The third was Liang Hao. His hair slicked back, gold rings gleaming on every finger, a smile too wide for his round face.
The smile froze when he saw her.
“Who—” he started, but the knife was already flying. It buried itself in the throat of the man to his left. He choked on his own blood and collapsed.
The second thug fumbled for his gun but she was faster, crossing the space and shoving her blade between his ribs. He gasped and fell against the desk.
That left Hao. He scrambled back, chair toppling, hands clawing at the desk. “Wait—wait! We can talk!”
She closed the distance, her knife pressing under his chin. His breath came in quick, shallow bursts.
“Keys,” she said coldly.
His hands shook as he pulled a keyring from his pocket. “I’ll give you whatever you want. Money. Contacts. You don’t have to—”
She silenced him with a harder press of the blade. “Where are the containers?”
He swallowed hard. “Dock 14. Three containers. The girls are inside. Alive, I swear.”
“Codes.”
He fumbled with a paper slip from his pocket and shoved it toward her.
She snatched it, eyes narrowing.
In her ear, Kai said, “Lian. We have a problem. That heat signature isn’t just muscle. He’s—”
The office door burst open.
The man who stepped inside was tall, broad-shouldered, wearing a black tactical vest. His eyes were sharp, his movements fluid. He didn’t hesitate. His pistol came up in one smooth motion.
Lian dove sideways as the shot cracked. The bullet splintered the desk. Hao screamed and ducked behind the fan.
The fight had begun.
To be continued…
