The main highway leading out of the city came to a complete halt. Hundreds of cars sat bumper to bumper, their horns blaring in the afternoon heat.

Inside the central transit command center, the phones were ringing off the hooks. The director of transit stood at his desk, his face pale and covered in sweat as he held a phone to his ear.

"I don’t care what the city council says," Harrison’s voice came through the line, cold. "No planes leave the private runways. No boats leave the northern docks. Shut down every single bridge leading across the river right now."

"Sir, this is going to cost millions," the director stammered, his hand shaking. "The entire transport network is freezing up. We can’t just block the main borders without a federal order."

"You have my order," Harrison replied, his tone perfectly flat and empty of mercy. "If a single vehicle crosses the city before I give the word, I will personally come down there and remove you from that chair. Do your job."

Harrison slammed the phone down onto the dashboard of his SUV. He sat in the driver’s seat, his massive hands gripping the wheel as he watched the gridlock block the intersection ahead. Beside him, his personal assistant, Marcus, was rapidly typing on two different phones at the same time, his face tense.

"The train lines are completely locked down, boss," Marcus said, keeping his voice steady despite the thick, angry Enigma scent filling the car. "The harbor master just confirmed that every shipping boat is being held at the docks for inspection. Nothing is moving out of this city by land, air, or water."

"What about the safehouse cameras?" Harrison asked, his dark eyes fixed on the stopped traffic.

"Anna is waiting for us at the main basement facility right now," Marcus replied, shifting the papers in his lap. "She brought the security logs from the lower levels. Daniel also called. He managed to track down one of the men associated with the van."

"Drive," Harrison rumbled.

Marcus quickly shifted gears, navigating the car down a narrow side street to bypass the massive traffic jam Harrison had just created. Within fifteen minutes, the SUV descended into the lowest basement facility beneath Harrison’s main office building.

The basement was large, dimly lit by a few overhead bulbs. Daniel stood near the center of the room next to a heavy metal chair. Anna was leaning against a nearby pillar, her arms crossed over her chest, her face pale and lined with deep worry.

Tied securely to the metal chair was a young man in a torn jacket. He was breathing heavily, his eyes darting around the cold room in pure panic.

Harrison got out of the car, the raw, suffocating pressure of his presence flooded the basement. Daniel and Marcus both took a quiet, heavy breath, while the man in the chair looked like he was about to throw up from the sheer terror in the air.

"What do we have, Daniel?" Harrison asked, his voice low and dangerous as he walked up to the chair.

"These guys were amateurs, boss," Daniel said, shaking his head. "They were not smart enough to swap the plates on the backup vehicle. They used a local garage truck registered to a small gang on the east side. We picked this guy up near the salvage yard twenty minutes ago."

Harrison stood directly over the tied man, looking down at him. "Where are they?"

"I don’t know, man! I swear I don’t know!" the man cried out, his voice cracking as he tried to pull away from Harrison’s massive frame.

"They just called me yesterday. They told me they had a big job and they needed an extra driver to spot the road. They didn’t tell me where they were taking the guy. They just gave me five grand and told me to stay by the truck."

Harrison didn’t say a word. He looked at the man’s eyes, watching the slight twitch in his eyelid and the way his gaze shifted to the left corner of the room. He knew the look of a liar.

He had spent his entire life dealing with people who thought they could hide things from him.

"He’s lying," Harrison said softly.

"Listen to me, man, I’m telling the truth!" the man screamed, his chest heaving. "They just said it was a big job! I don’t know the names of the bosses! I don’t know where the safehouse is!"

Harrison didn’t waste another second. He reached down to his waist, pulled his black gun from his holster, and pointed it straight at the man’s forehead.

Bang.

The loud noise echoed violently against the concrete walls of the basement. The man’s body went completely limp in the chair, his head dropping forward.

Daniel blinked, stepping back a half inch, while Anna let out a sharp breath but remained still. Harrison slowly lowered the gun, his expression completely blank. He was done being merciful.

"We don’t have time to listen to fairy tales," Harrison said, his voice completely devoid of emotion as he looked at Daniel. "What else do you have?" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Daniel swallowed hard, forcing his voice to remain professional. "The plates from the truck trace back to an old abandoned meat factory on the edge of the east side.

I think we should take twenty of our heavy units, drive down there right now, and break the doors down. We hit them hard before they can move Julius again."

Marcus stepped forward immediately, shaking his head. "That is a terrible idea, Daniel. If you roll up to that factory with twenty armed trucks, the lookouts will see you from a mile away.

If they feel cornered, they might do something drastic to Julius or his mother before we even touch the doorknob. We need a quiet approach. I can use the city power grid to cut the electricity to that entire block, blinding their security cameras, and then we send two small teams in through the back utility lines."

Daniel turned around sharply, his eyes narrowing at the assistant. "A quiet approach takes too much time, Marcus. We don’t know if they are prepping him for interrogation right now. My guys know how to clear a building in less than five minutes."

"You handle every single problem with too much violence, Daniel. You think punching your way through a front door solves everything, but this is a hostage situation. We need intelligence, not a loud circus." Marcus argued back, his voice rising with annoyance.

"A circus?" Daniel stepped into Marcus’s personal space, his jaw tight.

"Both of your ideas are good, but you are letting your egos get in the way," Anna interrupted, walking over from the pillar with a glare on her face. "Must you two argue like children while Julius is out there bleeding somewhere?"

"No!" Daniel and Marcus shouted at the exact same time, both of them fuming as they stared each other down.

"Enough," Harrison rumbled.

The word wasn’t loud, but it carried a terrifying weight that instantly froze the air in the room. The two men immediately stopped talking, their bodies going completely rigid as they turned to look at Harrison.

Harrison walked between them, his dark eyes cold and sharp enough to cut. He looked down at Daniel, then at Marcus, his face completely serious.

"The next time I hear a single voice raise in this room," Harrison said, his low voice dripping with a dangerous promise, "I will put a bullet in your head and send you to follow this dead man on the floor. Maybe you can give him a warm greeting for me. Do you understand me?"

The basement went completely dead silent. Daniel lowered his eyes, his hands flat at his sides. "Yes, boss."

"Understood, sir," Marcus whispered, his face completely pale.

Harrison tucked his gun back into his waist holster. He looked at the map Daniel had laid out on the small table nearby, his mind working quickly to combine both plans into something lethal.

"Marcus," Harrison commanded. "You are going up to the tech room right now. Cut the power grid to the east district factory block just like you said. I want their screens completely dark in ten minutes. Monitor their local radio frequencies and tell me if they try to call for backup."

"Yes, sir," Marcus said, immediately turning on his heel and walking toward the elevator.

"Daniel," Harrison turned to the security chief. "Take five of your best men. No heavy trucks. Use the standard delivery vans from the warehouse. You will enter through the utility lines Marcus provides. If anyone pulls a weapon, you drop them. But I want the leaders alive."

"I’m on it, boss," Daniel said, nodding quickly as he pulled out his radio to call his team.

"Anna," Harrison said, looking at the older woman. "Go back to the main office upstairs. Keep the transit lines locked down. Don’t let a single train or boat move until I call you myself."

"I will handle it, Harrison," Anna said softly, giving him a firm nod before heading toward the exit.

Harrison stood alone in the center of the basement for a long moment, looking down at the concrete floor. His chest burned with a deep, silent rage that he was barely keeping under control. Every second Julius was away from him felt like an eternity.

He walked back to his SUV, opening the driver’s door. He paused, his hand gripping the door frame as he looked back at Daniel, who was just about to leave through the main security door.

"Daniel," Harrison called out, his voice dropping into a dark, chilling tone.

Daniel stopped and turned around. "Yes, boss?"

"Before we even touch that factory," Harrison said, "get me Helen, her father, and every single member of that household. Bring them to the old warehouse by the docks. I think it’s time I settle scores with them."