Theyre here
Chapter 91: They're Here
The first gunshot echoed across the storage facility.
Then another.
Then six more.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The world exploded.
Immediately.
The betrayal.
The dramatic-timing betrayal.
Undefeated.
Every soldier Lorenzo had brought into the facility moved at once.
Weapons drawn.
Orders shouted.
Engines roared.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The storage unit transformed from a crime scene into a battlefield in less than three seconds.
A remarkable achievement.
Very remarkable.
Lorenzo reacted instantly.
Naturally.
The king stepped in front of Amara.
Immediately.
The protective-man betrayal.
Undefeated.
"Inside."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Amara stared.
Then stared harder.
Because apparently everyone kept forgetting who she was.
A recurring problem.
Very recurring.
"No."
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Lorenzo looked like he wanted to argue.
Then remembered they were being shot at.
Reasonably.
Very reasonably.
Outside—
More gunfire erupted.
Closer now.
Dangerously close.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
One of Lorenzo's captains rushed into the unit.
Breathing hard.
Eyes wide.
A concerning combination.
Very concerning.
"Boss."
Silence.
The captain swallowed.
Hard.
Then:
"Twenty plus."
Absolute silence.
The room froze.
Immediately.
Because twenty armed attackers was not ideal.
Not even slightly.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Then:
"They came prepared."
The captain's expression darkened.
Dangerously.
"They knew exactly where we were."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Everybody looked toward the wall of photographs.
Toward the files.
Toward the evidence.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Someone had followed them.
Or anticipated them.
Neither possibility felt comforting.
The betrayal.
The surveillance betrayal.
Undefeated.
Then Daniel suddenly stood.
Immediately.
The ghost looked toward the back of the storage unit.
Thinking.
Calculating.
The way he always did.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
"What."
Evelyn followed his gaze.
Then froze.
Immediately.
A recurring problem.
Very recurring.
Because hidden behind the bookshelf...
Almost invisible...
Sat another door.
Absolute silence.
The world stopped.
Because of course there was another door.
A recurring theme.
Very recurring.
The betrayal.
The secret-door betrayal.
Undefeated.
Amara stared.
Then stared harder.
Because the door wasn't on any wall.
It was built into the shelving itself.
Concealed.
Hidden.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Then Elias laughed.
Once.
Short.
Disbelieving.
The sound of a man realizing he'd been outplayed.
Again.
A recurring problem.
Very recurring.
"Ava."
Silence.
The ghost shook his head.
Slowly.
Almost admiringly.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Then:
"She expected this."
Absolute silence.
Gunfire continued outside.
Louder now.
Closer.
The facility shook.
Dangerously.
Then another captain appeared.
Immediately.
The poor man looked stressed.
Actually stressed.
Reasonably.
Very reasonably.
"They're breaching the east side."
Silence.
Lorenzo's expression became lethal.
Immediately.
The king had officially run out of patience.
A recurring problem.
Very recurring.
"Hold them."
The captain nodded.
Then disappeared.
Instantly.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Meanwhile—
Amara approached the hidden door.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Dangerously.
The way people approached answers.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
A small keypad sat beside it.
Dusty.
Old.
Unused.
Or so it appeared.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Then Daniel noticed something.
Of course he did.
The betrayal.
The noticing-things betrayal.
Undefeated.
The keypad wasn't random.
The numbers 4 and 5 showed significantly more wear.
Absolute silence.
The room froze.
Immediately.
Because apparently Ava had a sense of humor.
The worst kind.
The genius kind.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Amara pressed 4.
Then 5.
Nothing happened.
Silence.
The betrayal.
The too-obvious betrayal.
Undefeated.
Then Evelyn stepped beside her.
Thinking.
Calculating.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Suddenly—
She smiled.
The wrong smile.
The terrifying smile.
The smile of someone who had solved something.
A dangerous development.
Very dangerous.
"What."
Amara hated that smile.
Immediately.
Deeply.
Dangerously.
Evelyn pointed toward the letter.
Ava's letter.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Then toward the signature.
The name.
Ava.
Silence.
The strategist entered four numbers.
Absolute silence.
The lock clicked.
The world stopped.
Immediately.
Because Ava.
The forty-fifth child.
The chosen name.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The door slowly opened.
Darkness waited beyond.
Cold.
Silent.
Unknown.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Then emergency lights flickered to life inside.
Revealing a narrow staircase descending underground.
Absolute silence.
The room froze.
Because suddenly...
Storage Unit 45 wasn't a hiding place.
It was an entrance.
The realization settled heavily over everyone.
Dangerously heavily.
Then Amara noticed something at the top of the stairs.
A single envelope.
Waiting.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Written across the front:
If you're reading this, you're late.
The betrayal.
The passive-aggressive-letter betrayal.
Undefeated.
Outside—
An explosion rocked the facility.
The walls trembled.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Gunfire erupted louder than ever.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Then Lorenzo looked toward the staircase.
Then toward the battle outside.
Then back toward Amara.
The king already knew.
Of course he did.
The betrayal.
The inevitable-decision betrayal.
Undefeated.
Because somewhere beneath them...
Ava had left the next piece of the truth.
And somebody was willing to kill to make sure they never found it.
End Chapter 91: