Chapter 24
Afew days later…
Tamsin
We spent more than a week learning London and mapping it like the back of our hands.
We fell into a rhythm that felt almost domestic: wake early, blend into the morning churn, disappear by afternoon, and resurface at dusk.
Most nights, I went out too. Before long, it became obvious that Ashcroft moved on a schedule.
He liked late mornings, fancy lunches, and inspections that looked spontaneous but never were.
We tracked everything and kept mental checklists.
When it was dark and the streets were mostly abandoned, we would return to the safehouse. We would lay out what we’d learned on the table, shifting a cup to mark a corner, a coin to mark a guard, a folded scrap of paper to mark a door that wasn’t on any public map.
Eamon would press a cup into my hands before I realized I was thirsty.
“Drink,” he’d say, and I would, because I trusted him.
Bishop would sit beside me on the narrow stairs, our shoulders barely touching, and tell me what he noticed about the body language between political officials he’d tailed that day.
Griff would walk me home through a crowded street and say nothing, his presence doing the work words didn’t need to.
Nox would catch my eye from across a market and make my heart skip with nothing more than a wink.
And Elias would kiss my temple in the evenings when we were back in the safehouse and say, “I’m proud of you. ”
Later at night, I would lay awake and think about Ireland, about Zara and Sera and their packs, and hope that they were safe and that they were having as much success as we were.
A few nights later, I didn’t sleep at all.
I lay on the narrow mattress in Mirae’s safehouse and listened to London’s steady hum through the walls. The city never truly went quiet. Most nights, it lulled me to sleep, but apparently tonight wasn’t one of those nights.
After a few hours of tossing and turning, I stopped pretending rest was going to happen and sat up. I swung my feet to the floor and padded down the stairs into the common room where everyone else was apparently already up.
Eamon was leaning over the table with a cup of tea in his hands, looking at the map like it might move if he stared hard enough.
Bishop sat opposite him with his sleeves rolled up, a pencil behind his ear and his face half-lit by the dim light of the moon slipping through the slit in the curtains.
The others were scattered around, sipping tea, eating something, or just trying to shake off the fog of sleep.
They all looked up when I entered.
No one asked why I was awake.
Elias held out the mug without comment. “I had a feeling you wouldn’t be able to sleep in today.”
I took it. It was hot and bitter and exactly what I needed.
Eamon looked up. “You sure about tonight?”
I didn’t answer immediately because I was still trying to figure out whether my instincts were telling me to act because it was right, or because I was tired of waiting.
I took another sip of my tea and forced myself to slow down.
“Talk me through it,” I said.
Elias didn’t hesitate. “If we go tonight, we hit the lab during its lowest traffic window. We’ve watched enough to know their schedule. We know the stairwell Ashcroft uses, and we know the maintenance corridor that bypasses the main checkpoint.”
Griff added, “We also know where the exits are. We can seal the service doors and force anyone down there to stay down there.”
Nox chimed in, “And we know which guards pretend to do their jobs and which ones actually keep watch.”
Eamon’s tone was careful. “And if something changes? If there are more people than expected?”
Bishop answered that one. “Then we get the fuck out of there. We don’t force it. We’re not going down there to die.”
I looked at them one by one.
They were all looking to me for guidance and that made my chest loosen a fraction.
I was not only their mate, but their leader.
I could do this.
“All right,” I said. “Let’s lay it all out.”
Bishop flipped the map to the annotated side and began marking with a pencil. Eamon pulled out a scrap of paper and started listing what we needed to carry.
Elias spoke first. “We enter through the maintenance hatch by the pressure hall. Same one Nox used to follow Ashcroft before. We’ll be dressed as maintenance workers. We’ll fit right in.”
Nox nodded. “If anyone asks, we’re there to check some faulty valves.”
Griff grunted. “And if they keep asking?”
Nox smiled without humor. “We dispose of them. Cleanly and quietly. Then we hide the body.”
I swallowed hard and pointed to the lab level on the map. “Once we’re inside, our main priority is destroying the stocks of the feral drug.”
Eamon leaned forward, hands braced on the table. “That’s on me. I know what their storage units look like. I’ll take the pry bar and the two incendiaries Mirae provided us with. I will break every vial, and burn what’s left so nothing usable survives.”
Bishop tapped the edge of the table. “I’ll handle physical security.
I’ve got chain for the hatch, two new padlocks, and wedges for the lower corridor doors.
Once we’re in, I lock the route behind us.
Doors, gates, anything that needs to stay closed, stays closed.
Anything that needs to open, only opens for us. ”
Nox traced a route with his finger. “I’ll take point from the hatch down. If something has changed, I’ll be the first to see it.”
Elias glanced at me. “Griff and I will provide cover. I’ll make sure our weapons are clean, oiled, and loaded before we go.”
I nodded once and met his and Bishop’s gaze. “Good.”
“We should talk about Ashcroft,” Griff said quietly. “He’s been visiting around ten most nights.”
“Yes,” I said. “He likes to see things himself after hours. Less staff. Fewer witnesses.” I drew a slow breath. “If he’s there, the rest of us will deal with him accordingly.”
“And if he tries to run?” Nox asked.
Bishop answered. “I’ll make sure that he won’t get far.”
The room went quiet again.
I nodded. “We leave as soon as it’s done. Whatever happens down there stays down there.”
Elias came to stand behind me, resting his hand briefly on my shoulder. “You’re making the right call.”
I didn’t lean into it. I just nodded.
“Tonight,” I said.
“Tonight,” he echoed.