The vans rolled up to Hazard King Tower. The girls were guided inside by female operatives. A medical team was ready for them, along with food, fresh clothes, and safety.

Leo watched them go into the building.

Reyes popped up beside him. "We did a great job tonight."

"We sure did," Leo agreed. "But the night’s not over yet."

"Nope. Now we become someone else."

They walked toward the transformation room, where the makeup teams were waiting. There, they would stop being Leo and Reyes.

They would turn into Victor Marlowe and James Chen.

Rich criminals going to an auction.

Ready to take down an empire from the inside.

*****

Hazard King stood in the shadows across the street from Maksim Karza’s penthouse.

Next to him were twenty masked guys—quiet, armed, and ready to go.

His voice came through the mask, cold and distorted. "Are the teams ready?"

His earpiece crackled with sounds. "Team Alpha’s at the Brooklyn warehouse. All set."

"Team Bravo’s at the Berlin distribution center. Good to go."

"Team Charlie’s at the Moscow money-laundering spot. Ready."

Each of the fifteen teams confirmed they were ready. Fifteen countries. Fifteen targets. All in sync.

Hazard King glanced at his watch. 10:48 PM.

"Twelve minutes," he said. "When I say go, we move at the same time. No one jumps the gun. No one’s late. Got it?"

Fifteen voices replied back in agreement.

Hazard King turned to his crew. Behind his mask, Zayden’s eyes were like ice.

"Selina’s out. Sarah’s on her way. The auction kicks off in an hour. If we hit Maksim now, he’ll run straight to Alpha, just like we planned."

Kade, his right-hand man, checked his weapon. "And what if he doesn’t?"

"He will," Zayden said confidently. "Victor will make sure of that."

*****

Inside the penthouse, Maksim Karza poured himself a drink.

Whiskey. Fancy. Smooth.

With twenty guards in the building and another thirty scattered across his operations worldwide, he felt untouchable.

At least, that’s what he believed.

Victor stood by the door, completely still. "Boss, the car’s ready whenever you want to head out for the auction."

"In thirty minutes," Maksim replied. "I want to enjoy this drink first."

"Sure thing, Boss."

Victor’s phone buzzed. He got one message.

"11:00. Be ready."

He deleted it right away.

*****

10:59 PM

Hazard King checked his watch one last time.

"Sixty seconds," he said into his comm.

His crew spread out: four guys took the front door, six went around the side, four headed up to the roof, and six stuck with him for the main assault.

Zayden pulled out his gun and checked the magazine. Thirty rounds—should be plenty. This ends tonight.

"Thirty seconds."

His heart was calm. This was what he did; this was who he was.

"Ten seconds."

Across the globe, fifteen teams were gearing up to strike.

"Five."

"Four."

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

"GO."

*****

The front door blew open.

Not loudly—suppressors kept the noise down, but four guards went down in three seconds.

Hazard King moved through the entrance like smoke—fast, silent, lethal. Two guards turned to face him, and he took them both out—center mass, clean shots.

His team fanned out through the living room, kitchen, and hallway.

Gunfire erupted from upstairs. Hazard King’s crew fired back, sending two guards tumbling over the railing.

Kade showed up next to him. "Twelve down, eight left."

"Find Maksim."

They hurried up the stairs, moving fast but staying in control.

A guard popped out of a bedroom. Hazard King took him out with two shots, and he hit the floor.

Another guard came out of the bathroom. Kade dealt with him.

Finally, they reached the master suite.

It was empty.

"Where’s he at?" Kade growled.

The comm crackled to life. "Rooftop team. Maksim’s on the move. He’s in the office on the third floor."

They sprinted down the hall.

*****

Inside the office, Maksim grabbed his phone.

"What the hell’s going on?!" he shouted.

Victor stood by the window. "We’re under attack. This is a pro job, all coordinated."

"How many?" Maksim pressed.

"At least twenty. Maybe more."

Maksim’s face went white. "Hazard King."

"Seems likely, Boss," Victor replied.

Gunfire erupted outside the door, close and threatening.

Maksim pulled out his weapon. "Get me out of here."

Victor went to the bookshelf and hit a hidden panel. A door slid open, revealing a way out to the service elevator.

Emergency protocols had kicked in—hidden exits only a few knew about.

"This way. Hurry," he said.

They rushed through the door.

Just behind them, the office door blew open.

Hazard King walked in with his gun drawn.

The room was empty.

But the secret door was still closing.

Zayden smiled behind his mask. "Let him run." Run straight into the trap.

Kade looked confused. "So, we’re just letting him get away?"

"Yep, just like we planned," Zayden answered.

*****

Maksim and Victor hit the service elevator and dropped down quickly.

Maksim was trying to catch his breath. "My operations..."

Victor checked his phone. "Reports are coming in. The Brooklyn warehouse is being attacked. The center in Berlin is under attack. Moscow..."

"All of them?! This isn’t random. This is war."

"Yep, Boss. It’s a coordinated hit. All over the world."

Maksim slammed his fist against the elevator wall. "Hazard King. That jerk."

The elevator got to the underground garage.

A car was ready, engine running.

Victor opened the door. "Get in. I’ll take the wheel."

They took off fast.

Behind them, the building was alive with gunfire.

*****

Back in the penthouse, Hazard King walked through the mess.

Twenty guards were down.

No civilians, no collateral damage—just a smooth operation.

His comm crackled to life. "Team Alpha. We’ve got the Brooklyn warehouse secured. Maksim’s guys are taken care of."

"Team Bravo. Berlin’s secured."

"Team Charlie. Moscow’s secured."

One by one, all fifteen teams checked in with their success.

Maksim’s empire was crumbling.

Kade walked up to Hazard King. "He got away, Boss. Victor helped him escape through the service elevator."

Hazard King smirked. "Perfect."

"Perfect?"

"Maksim is totally freaked out. He’s heading straight to Alpha. To the auction. It’s the only spot he thinks he’ll be safe." Zayden looked over at the others. "And we’ll be ready for him."

Kade couldn’t hide the grin on his face, even with his mask on. "You saw this coming."

"Every bit of it," Zayden said back.

Another team member rushed in, urgency in his voice. "Boss, I hear police sirens. They’ll be here in two minutes."

Hazard King nodded. "Is the evidence set?"

"Yep, Boss. We’ve got Maksim’s financial records, weapons manifests, trafficking documents—everything the cops need to tie him to his operation."

"Great. Everyone out. Now."

The team moved quickly, rushing down the service stairs, spilling out through the garage, and hopping into the waiting cars.

Zayden was the last one to leave. He took one last look at the penthouse before taking off.

*****

They made it to the vehicles just as the sirens got louder.

Hazard King jumped into the lead SUV with Kade driving.

Three more cars followed behind them.

They pulled out of the garage at a chill pace. No rush. No panic. Just another convoy cruising through the city at night.

Two blocks away, police cars zoomed past, heading straight for Maksim’s building.

Zayden glanced in the side mirror and saw the red and blue lights lighting up the street.

By the time the police got into the building, Hazard King’s crew would be long gone—an anonymous tip, no suspects, just the evidence.

Perfect.

Kade shot him a look. "Phase one is done."

Zayden pulled off his mask and took a deep breath. "Now it’s time for phase two."

His phone buzzed with a message from Aylin.

"I’m all set. Just waiting on you."

He texted back, "Maksim’s headed to Alpha. Let him get there first. Then we hit it."

Aylin replied, "Got it. Whenever you’re ready."

Zayden leaned back in his chair.

Then he felt it.

Warmth spreading along his side.

He glanced down.

Blood. Damn... when did that happen?

His shirt was soaked.

Kade caught it right away. "Boss, you’re injured."

"I’m fine," Zayden said. Not ideal... but not enough to stop me.

"You’re bleeding."

"I said I’m fine." But his voice didn’t sound convincing.

Kade pulled over. "Let me see."

Zayden lifted his shirt. A bullet had grazed him—a long cut across his ribs. It wasn’t deep, but it was bleeding a lot.

"When did this happen?" Kade asked.

"I guess, third floor. A guard got a lucky shot off just before I took him down."

"You didn’t say anything about that."

"Because we had a job to finish." Zayden pressed his hand to the wound. "It’s just a graze. I’ve dealt with worse."