01. His Sworn Enemy

The air in the sewers was thick with tension and heavy with silence. William gripped his weapon tightly, signalling his team to get in formation. There was something off about the mission tonight.

"It's quiet," Amy Banks whispered as she looked around the sewers.

"Too quiet," Jeremy responded, watching her back to avoid any surprise attack.

"Stay sharp and focused," William ordered. Something wasn't right. Did HQ get their facts wrong? They've been watching this place for a month now and the mission was S rank rated.

Well, supposed to be. With this peace and quiet, it felt like he took his team out on a stroll-

Then William saw it. A figure moving in the dark. Not one, not two and certainly not three. Their silhouette as they raced down carrying weapons.

"It's a fucking ambush. Everybody down!" William bellowed in a loud voice.

The gunfire erupted as the team scattered to take cover. Gunfire erupted from the shadows, the deafening sound echoing off the walls. Bullets sprayed in the sewer ceaselessly and the team scurried to hide.

"How the hell did they know we were coming?" Amy Banks yelled from her corner, aiming her weapon at the closest target she could hit off.

"They are too prepared!" Andrew groaned. "Shit! I thought it was an easy in-and-out."

For the best team in their field, they sure did complain a lot. William didn't respond. He was too busy thinking on his feet to get them out of this.

"Complain later, move your asses now!" He barked at them, firing a clean shot twice. "Do not let them throw a fucking grenade or we're all gonna die!"

This wasn't just bad luck-- someone had tipped them off. So much for "top secret information" at HQ. Someone was moving faster than them and putting their lives at risk.

Now William didnt care if those old geezers were gamblers, what they wouldn't do, was gamble with his team and send them off to their fucking deaths.

Their opponents yells and cries were drowned out by the loud gunfires and when the last man fell, the silence returned again settling in with a tight knot in their stomachs.

"Clear," Amy panted, looking at the dead bodies and lifting her eyes to the door they walked in from. "You don't see that everyday in a sewer." The door was camouflaged and would easily go unnoticed if they hadn't left it open.

"Too clear," William muttered once he was by her side. His gaze swept over the scattered bodies, instincts going haywire about the whole mission.

"How the fuck did these fuckers get their hands on these weapons?" Jeremy gasped. "That was last year's edition-"

"Well, one cargo was missing at the port last year," Andrew shrugged. "Guess we know where it ended up now."

"Missing Cargo. Abducting scientist. Black market drugs. Changing pheromones. What's next, we're actually not humans but aliens in disguise?" Jeremy wondered. "When will it fucking end?"

"When you get fired or killed for having a big mouth," William chipped in. "Move. We still have a mission to finish."

"Highlight of my day? HQ woke me up and sent me on an ambush," Jeremy continued to whine as they stepped in through the door and down the hallway.

"No one asked," Andrew teased. His eyes darted across the room as he watched their behinds.

"I'm telling y'all anyways. There's so many things that go unsaid. For example, like how 'you know who' missed today's meeting and we didn't have to act like someone fucking died in the boardroom."

Amy's chuckle cut through the stiff atmosphere. "Glad I wasn't the only one who noticed. How can someone so young bring about the cloud of death everytime to a meeting."

"But hey, now no one can deny William the praise for this mission."

That was something they all agreed to and one thing William was looking forward to. "That's enough, you guys. I need your eyes more than I need your mouths. Less talking, more working."

They burst out of the hallway and into a dark bedroom. Tension rose as Jeremy counted to three and pulled the door open.

"Clear," he reported and stepped outside. "Woah! You guys aren't gonna believe this but I think we're inside a-"

"Mansion?" Andrew breezed past him as he took in the sight. "Only a man with guts would do this-"

"Or power," Amy added. "Power, connections and security. He must have some bigshots behind him."

"Ouh. Talk about backshots," Andrew winked.

"Yeah, no he's an Alpha. You guys didn't read his profile?" Amy scowled at them. She climbed the stairs and took the left wing with William by her side while the other two took the right.

"No, but you did. That's great. I hear some Alpha's can take it in the back too," Jeremy kicked a door open and scanned the bedroom. "Clear."

“No, we can't. That's why we have Omega's who will lift their butts in the air, dripping wet and begging for our dicks, Jerry. Alpha pheromones in bed is fucking disgusting!” Andrew pushed a door open and he froze when he held a few shocked faces with scars and guns in their hand.

“Sorry for barging in,” he chuckled nervously, pulling the door shut. “As you were.”

“Drew, take care of that!” William ordered and his groan came through.

“Awen man! Why do I always get the hardest job?” He pulled out a grenade, threw it in and backed away from the door. “We'll handle this, you guys go get our man.”

“Roger that.” They raced down the hall leaving behind the blast and the gun fired. Only one room happened to be on the left wing and the door was unguarded.

“I hate everything about this mission and I have a bad feeling about it,” Amy raised her concerns, glancing at a jaw clenched William.

He thought the same but he wouldn't speak it. They kicked the door open and burst in with their weapons in the air but the cool breeze from the window slammed their faces with the harsh truth.

Their target was seated on his chair right behind his desk, with a gunshot wound to the head.

“What the…” William moved closer to observe the scene. “The blood's still fresh.”

“Look at this, the floor,” Amy opened her helmet to stare at the wet print of footsteps on the wooden floor. She looked at William with horror, “Someone was here.”

“Uhm guys… do you hear that?” Jeremy said through the intercom. “Something's coming. Meet you right there.”

“No wonder they attacked us so viciously,” Amy pieced the dots together. “Someone was already here and they took the damn blueprints with them.”

William moved to the window, pulling the curtains aside. The sound of tires screeching as they pulled into the compound was concerning.

“Reinforcements?” Andrew asked as he stepped into the room. “You guys finished fast-”

“We didn't do that, Drew. Someone got here before us!” Amy hissed in the corner, still searching for the blueprint she knew was long gone.

“Oh dammit! HQ is gonna flip…” Drew groaned. A pause. “It couldn't have been him, could it?” His voice was low and hopeful.

Jeremy’s voice cut through like a knife, “He wasn't even there for the meeting this morning,” Jeremy clenched his teeth, seething with annoyance. “He wouldn't have known just where to go—”

“Unless he did.” Drew mumbled , sharing a glance with his teammates.

“No way,” Amy refused to buy into it. “It can't be-”

But William had his eyes on a figure walking away in the shadows. The sharp lines of his suit, that slender waist and hung arms, he knew that pose anywhere.

Elijah Lancaster.

The lone wolf. The thief of their glory. The organization's wildcard.

And William’s sworn enemy.