Page 82 of Cold Ignition

The screen shifted again—facility layouts, entry points, choke zones.

“We prioritize leadership,” Luca said. “Eliminate all three. Then we move through the system, free any remaining drivers, and strip the site of usable hardware.”

Drew straightened slightly. “Everything?”

“Everything,” Luca confirmed. “Anything that supports the network.”

Kael’s voice came in, final. “No one gets left behind.”

“Agreed,” Alexios said.

Rangi nodded once. “Damn right.”

Luca stepped back slightly from the console. “Timing will be tight. We’ll need precision.”

“Always do,” Rangi muttered.

For just a second—Kael looked at Luca. Not long. Not obvious. But something in it—something Rangi couldn’t quite place—held.

Then it was gone.

And Luca was just—Luca again.

Kael straightened.

“We move fast,” he said. “We move clean, and we end this.”

Rangi rolled his shoulders once, tension settling into something sharper.

Purpose.

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “Let’s burn it down.”

And this time—they weren’t walking in blind.

They were walking in to finish it.

****

The convoy moved without headlights.

Keanu sat in the second vehicle, the engine a low, controlled growl beneath him, every vibration familiar, every shift in the road feeding straight into muscle memory. But this wasn’t the track.

This wasn’t speed.

This was insertion.

“Two minutes,” Luca’s voice came through, crisp and steady. “Thermal shows movement inside. Perimeter light but rotating.”

Keanu rolled his shoulders once, feeling the weight of his gear settle into place. Rifle secured. Sidearm holstered. Comms tight in his ear.

Across from him, Rangi sat forward, elbows braced on his knees, eyes dark and focused—no humor now, no looseness. Just intent. There was a tension in him that always edged toward feral when the stakes got high.

Next to him, Alexios was still. Not relaxed or passive, but still like a blade laid flat—every part of him ready to move the second it was needed.

Keanu met his gaze briefly. Alexios nodded once. They were all ready.

The vehicle slowed. Stopped. Doors opened in near silence.