Chapter 18 Through Blood #3
I pulled out a bucket. Filled it with water from the tap that still worked. Came back.
“What are you doing?” the man asked. Eyes wide. Terrified.
“Waterboarding. You are going to tell me everything you know about Ghost Zero. Every detail. Every message. Every instruction.” I grabbed a towel. “And you are going to do it now.”
“No. No please. I can't breathe underwater. I have asthma. Please don't—”
I put the towel over his face. Poured water. He thrashed. Choked. Couldn't breathe.
I counted to fifteen. Pulled the towel away.
He gasped. Coughed. Vomited water and bile.
“Ghost Zero,” I said. “Talk.”
“He's. He's methodical. Plans everything. Months in advance.” The words came between gasps. “The motorcade attack. That was just a test. Testing security response. Testing how close they could get.”
“What's the real target?”
“I don't know. I swear. But it's big. He's been moving pieces into place. Getting people inside. Building networks.” More coughing. “He's patient. Willing to wait years if he has to.”
“Years for what?”
“To destroy the crown. That's what he says in the messages. Not just kill. Destroy. Make it so broken it can never recover.”
Sebastian's hand settled on my shoulder. “Viktor. That's enough. He doesn't know more.”
“He might be lying.”
“He's not. Look at him. He's telling the truth. He's just a foot soldier. They don't tell foot soldiers the real plans.”
I looked at the man. Broken. Bleeding. Barely conscious. Sebastian was right. He'd given us everything he had.
We couldn't let him go. He'd seen our faces. Heard our voices. Could identify us if Ghost Zero found him first.
And Ghost Zero would find him. Would torture him for what he'd told us. Would know that the prince and his bodyguard were hunting together.
Would know we'd crossed every line that should've kept us separate.
I drew my weapon. Fitted the suppressor. The threading was smooth. Familiar. I'd done this before. More times than I wanted to count.
“Wait.” Sebastian's hand caught my wrist. Firm. “Wait.”
I looked at him. “He is liability. He knows too much.”
“He's also barely conscious. Broken. Not going anywhere.” Sebastian crouched in front of the man. “What's your name?”
The man's eyes opened slightly. Unfocused. “Thomas.”
“Thomas what?”
“Miller. Thomas Miller.” His voice was barely a whisper. “Please. I have a daughter. She's eight. I just. I just needed the money. Her mother's sick. Medical bills. I didn't know what else to do.”
The words hit different than I expected. Made him human instead of just target. Made this complicated in ways I didn't want.
Sebastian's expression shifted. Something in his eyes changed. “What's her name? Your daughter.”
“Riley.” Thomas coughed. Blood on his lips. “She likes horses. Wants to ride them when she grows up. Tell her. Tell her I'm sorry I couldn't be better.”
“You're going to tell her yourself.” Sebastian stood. Looked at me. “Put the gun away.”
“Sebastian—”
“Put it away, Viktor.”
I didn't move. “He is witness. He can identify us. If Ghost Zero finds him—”
“Then we make sure Ghost Zero doesn't find him.” Sebastian pulled out his phone. “Call Adrian. Tell him we need extraction. Someone who can take Thomas somewhere safe. Medical attention. Protection.”
“This is mistake.”
“Maybe. But it's my mistake to make.” Sebastian's jaw set. Stubborn. Final. “I'm not killing a man in front of his daughter's name. Not for this. Not when there's another option.”
I stared at him. At this prince who'd just helped torture a man for information but drew the line at execution. Who could be ruthless when necessary but chose mercy when possible.
“Adrian will not be happy about this,” I said.
“Adrian will understand. He has Noah. He knows what it's like to have something worth living for.” Sebastian crouched again, met Thomas's eyes.
“Listen to me carefully. We're giving you a chance.
One chance. You're going to go with the people we send. Get medical attention. Then you disappear. New identity. New city. You and your daughter both.”
Thomas nodded. Weak. Desperate. “I understand. Thank you. Thank you.”
“Don't thank me yet. You're not safe until Adrian says you're safe.” Sebastian stood. Looked at me. “Make the call.”
I pulled out my comm. Reluctant but recognizing when I'd lost this argument. “Adrian. Need extraction and medical. One witness. Non-hostile. Needs protection and relocation.”
Static. Then Adrian's voice, sharp and questioning. “You're keeping a witness alive? That's not protocol, Viktor.”
“Is not my call. Is prince's call.”
A pause. Long enough that I thought Adrian might refuse. Then: “Coordinates?”
I rattled them off. Heard Adrian relay orders to someone in the background. Luka, probably. Or one of his people who specialized in making problems disappear without leaving bodies.
“Extraction in twenty minutes,” Adrian said. “And Viktor? This better not come back to bite us.”
“If it does, I will handle it personally.”
“See that you do.” The line went dead.
Sebastian was already moving to the sink. Filling a cup with water. He brought it back to Thomas. Helped him drink despite the broken fingers. Despite everything we'd done to him.
“They'll be here soon,” Sebastian said. “Stay awake. Stay quiet. When they arrive, do exactly what they tell you. No questions. No hesitation.”
“My daughter—” Thomas started.
“Will be safe. I give you my word.” Sebastian's voice carried weight. Authority. The kind that made promises feel like oaths. “But you have to hold up your end. Disappear. Stay disappeared. Live quietly. Be the father Riley needs you to be.”
Thomas nodded. Tears streaming down his face again. But different tears now. Not pain. Something closer to hope mixed with disbelief.
We waited in silence. Sebastian standing guard by the window. Me watching Thomas. Making sure he didn't try anything stupid. Making sure he stayed conscious long enough for extraction.
Twenty minutes felt like hours.
Then headlights cut through the darkness outside. A van. Unmarked. Luka climbed out first, followed by two men I didn't recognize. Professionals. The kind who knew how to move people without questions.
I opened the door. Luka looked at Thomas. Then at me. Eyebrow raised.
“Prince's orders,” I said.
“Prince has a soft heart.” But Luka was already moving. Checking Thomas's injuries with practiced efficiency. “Can you walk?”
“I think so.”
“Good. Then let's go. Long drive ahead.” Luka glanced at Sebastian. “Adrian says you're paying for medical and relocation. Hope this one's worth it.”
“He will be,” Sebastian said. “Or Viktor will make sure he isn't a problem anymore.”
Luka grinned. Sharp. Predatory. “Fair enough.” He hauled Thomas to his feet. Gentle despite his size. “Come on, Thomas Miller. Let's get you and Riley somewhere safe. Somewhere Ghost Zero will never find you.”
Thomas looked back at us as they led him out. Mouth forming words he couldn't quite say. Gratitude or disbelief or some combination of both.
Then he was gone. Van pulling away into the night. Taillights disappearing into rain.
Silence settled over the farmhouse again.
Sebastian exhaled. Long and slow. “You think I'm weak.”
“No.” I moved beside him. “I think you are better than me. Better than this world deserves.”
“I'm not better. I'm just tired of death.” He looked at me. “Too many people have died already. If we can save one. Just one. Maybe that means something.”
“Maybe it does.”
“Or maybe I just condemned us both by letting him live.”
“Then we deal with it. Together.”
His hand found mine. Laced our fingers together. Both of us still covered in Thomas Miller's blood. Both of us hoping mercy wouldn't be the thing that killed us.
“Let's go,” Sebastian said. “We're done here.”
We left the farmhouse behind. Rode back through rain and darkness. Toward the palace. Toward whatever came next.
But for once, we rode knowing we'd chosen something other than violence.
And maybe that mattered.
Maybe it was enough.