Chapter 94
Havoc
Iturn the patch over in my hand.
Black.
Worn.
Not decorative.
Not symbolic.
Functional.
Which means it matters.
The stitching is clean.
Precise.
Military-grade.
But it’s the insignia that locks my focus.
A split triangle.
Broken down the center.
With a thin line running through it.
I’ve seen it before.
Not in the field.
Not officially.
Which is exactly the problem.
Behind me, the CIA agent exhales slowly.
Too slowly.
Like he already knows what this is.
“Say it,” I tell him.
He doesn’t answer right away.
I wasn’t surprised.
Because whatever this is—
It’s not something he wants out in the open.
I don’t turn.
Don’t look at him.
“Say it,” I repeat.
Quieter this time.
More dangerous.
Silence stretches.
Then—
“Black Division,” he says.
The name lands wrong.
Like it shouldn’t exist.
Like it was never meant to be said out loud.
Briggs lets out a low curse.
“What the hell is that?”
The agent rubs a hand across his jaw.
Thinking.
Weighing.
Then—
“It’s not official,” he says.
That doesn’t help.
“That’s not an answer,” I reply.
His eyes flick to me.
Sharp.
“It’s not supposed to exist.”
That helps even less.
I straighten slowly.
Turn.
Face him fully now.
“Try again.”
A beat.
Then—
“It’s a splinter unit,” he says. “Off-books. Black operations.”
My stomach tightens.
“How far off-books?” Wolf asks.
The agent hesitates.
Then—
“No oversight.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Real.
That means no rules.
No chain of command.
No accountability.
Exactly the kind of people who would run something like this.
“Rogue?” I ask.
His jaw tightens.
“Depends who you ask.”
“Try me.”
He exhales.
“They were built to handle problems no one else could touch. Or worse problems no one wanted out.”
There it is.
The justification.
The lie they tell themselves.
“And now?” I press.
His gaze flicks to the bodies.
Then back to me.
“Now they’re the problem.”
Yeah.
That tracks.
Aspen steps closer behind me.
I feel her.
Hear her breath catch.
“Are those the men who took grandpa?” she asks.
The agent nods once.
“Yes.”
Her voice tightens.
“And Tank?”
A pause.
Then—
“Yes,” he says again.
That hits.
Harder.
Because now we know.
Tank didn’t just get caught in something.
He got taken out by something designed to disappear people.
Something trained to clean up messes.
Something that doesn’t leave witnesses.
My grip tightens on the patch.
“They’re running the pipeline,” I say.
The agent nods slowly.
“Or controlling it.”
Same difference.
Worse, actually.
Because that means—
This isn’t just crime.
This is infrastructure.
Systematic.
Organized.
Protected.
I glance down at the maps again.
The tunnels.
The routes.
The names.
Everything clicks into place.
“They’re using it to move people,” I say.
“And information,” the agent adds.
“And evil powerful people,” Briggs mutters.
Yeah.
That too.
Aspen’s voice is barely there.
“And they were willing to kill for it…they did kill for it. A lot of deaths because of this.
I look back at her.
Hold her gaze.
“They still are.”
Silence.
The weight of it settles in.
Heavy.
Crushing.
Because now we all know—
This isn’t something you expose and walk away from.
This isn’t something you survive clean.
This is something you go to war with.
And war?
War takes everything.
The agent steps closer.
Careful now.
Different.
Less control.
More urgency.
“We need that box,” he says.
There it is again.
That push.
That need.
I shake my head once.
“No.”
His jaw tightens.
“You don’t understand—”
“I understand exactly,” I cut in.
I hold up the patch.
“This isn’t your operation anymore.”
His eyes narrow.
“It never stopped being ours.”
“That’s the problem,” I say.
Silence.
Sharp.
Cutting.
Because now we’re back here again.
Same line.
Same standoff.
But this time?
The stakes are higher.
Way higher.
Behind me, I feel Aspen step closer.
Right at my back.
Trusting me.
Choosing me.
Again.
Always.
I think about grandpa.
Still at the tavern.
Safe.
For now.
Dylan too.
Everything I care about—
Right in the line of fire.
And now I know what we’re up against.
A ghost unit.
Off-books.
No rules.
No limits.
No conscience.
Perfect.
I look back at the agent.
“You said they don’t have oversight,” I say.
“That’s right.”
“Good.”
His brow furrows.
“Why is that good?”
I meet his gaze.
Let him see it.
The decision.
The shift.
The war.
“Because neither do we.”
Silence.
Then—
Briggs lets out a low, satisfied breath.
“About time.”
The agent studies me.
Long.
Hard.
Like he’s finally understanding what this is.
What I am.
And what I’m about to do.
“You go after them,” he says slowly, “there’s no coming back from that.”
I don’t hesitate.
“Good.”
Because I already crossed that line.
The second they came for her.
The second they touched her family.
The second they killed Tank.
This was never going to end clean.
I tuck the patch into my pocket.
Secure the box.
And turn toward the door.
“Let’s go,” I say.
The team moves instantly.
No hesitation.
No questions.
Because they know.
They feel it too.
This just became something else.
Something bigger.
Something darker.
And now?
Now we’re not just defending.
We’re hunting.
I glance back at Aspen one last time.
Her eyes meet mine.
Fear.
Strength.
Trust.
All of it.
And I make her another promise.
Silent.
Unbreakable.
I will end this.
No matter what it costs.
Because they made one mistake.
One fatal mistake.
They came for what’s mine.