CHAPTER 73

The room fell into a stunned silence.

Fiona could hear the hum of the warehouse’s flickering lights, the faint sound of the city beyond, but everything else faded into the background. A hit. On them.

Marcus’s voice crackled through their earpieces again, urgent and clipped. “Fiona, Darwin, Bella—you’ve all got bounties on your heads. This isn’t just some underground contract. We’re talking about a full-scale, multi-tiered kill order. Every mercenary, assassin, and rogue operative out there is going to be looking for you.”

Darwin exhaled slowly, running a hand over his face. “How much?”

A pause.

“Five million each,” Marcus said. “Fifteen million total.”

Bella let out a sharp laugh, shaking her head. “Damn. We’re worth that much?”

Fiona ignored the sarcasm. “Who put the order out?”

Marcus hesitated. “It was relayed through encrypted channels, but the origin point traces back to multiple shell accounts linked to… Luther Cain.”

All eyes turned to Cain, still sitting calmly in his chair, bound but eerily composed.

Fiona stepped toward him. “You really don’t know when to quit, do you?”

Cain smirked. “You think this ends with me?”

Darwin clenched his jaw. “You’re locked down, Cain. No contacts. No backup. So tell me, how exactly do you plan to play this?”

Cain chuckled. “You’re not getting it. You think cutting off my resources means you’re safe? The Echelon is bigger than any one of us. It moves through people, through systems. I don’t need to make a call for things to be set in motion. The moment William fell, the moment you took me, the wheels started turning. The world you stepped into doesn’t forget. And it doesn’t forgive.”

Bella’s expression darkened. “So what, we’re supposed to run? Hide?”

Cain’s smile widened. “No. You fight. Because if you don’t, you’ll be dead by sunrise.”

Fiona clenched her fists. She hated to admit it, but Cain wasn’t lying. The Echelon wasn’t going to let them walk away.

Darwin turned to Marcus. “How bad is it?”

Marcus sighed. “Bad. The bounty went out on private channels an hour ago, and I’m already seeing chatter. Some of the top hitters are sniffing around for intel. They’ll start tracking movements soon.”

Fiona nodded, her mind racing. “We need to get out of here.”

Bella narrowed her eyes. “And go where?”

Fiona took a deep breath. “We don’t run. We don’t hide. We take control.”

---

Breaking the Chain

The first step was shaking off their pursuers. Marcus coordinated an escape plan, planting false signals and scrambling surveillance feeds. They ditched their vehicles, splitting into separate routes before regrouping at an underground bunker Darwin had secured years ago—a forgotten relic of his old life, buried beneath the city.

It was cold, dimly lit, and reinforced with steel. Not exactly comfortable, but safe.

For now.

Fiona paced near the entrance, phone in hand. Marcus had managed to set up a temporary firewall against trackers, but they couldn’t stay off-grid forever.

Darwin sat on a crate, rubbing his temple. “We can’t keep reacting. If we don’t go on the offensive, we’re just waiting for the next wave to hit.”

Bella leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “Yeah? And what do you suggest? Because right now, we’ve got a kill order and no real allies.”

Fiona turned to them. “We make allies.”

Darwin frowned. “With who?”

Fiona’s mind worked fast. “The bounty is high enough to attract top-tier mercs, right?”

Marcus nodded over the comms. “Correct. And I’m guessing your next move is flipping one?”

Fiona exhaled. “Exactly. Every bounty hunter has a price. We just need one to talk.”

Bella tilted her head. “You have someone in mind?”

Fiona did.

---

The Black Fox

Her name was Liana Voss.

A former government assassin turned freelancer, she had a reputation for being ruthless but pragmatic. She never took a job unless it benefited her long-term.

And she never bet on the losing side.

Fiona managed to get a message through one of her known channels. A simple offer—meet, talk, and hear a better deal.

The rendezvous was set at a private club, one of the few neutral zones where business was done without bullets flying.

Fiona arrived first, Darwin close behind. Bella stayed outside, watching for threats.

Liana was already waiting in the VIP section, a glass of whiskey in hand, her dark eyes sharp with amusement. She was dressed in sleek black, her posture relaxed but her gaze assessing.

“You must be desperate,” she said as Fiona sat across from her.

Fiona didn’t waste time. “The bounty is fifteen million. I can offer you double.”

Liana arched a brow. “Bold. But money isn’t always enough.”

Darwin leaned forward. “How about something better? Information. A chance to get ahead of the Echelon before it turns on you, too.”

Liana swirled her drink, considering. “I do like being ahead of the game.”

Fiona kept her gaze steady. “You know how this works. William’s gone. Cain is losing ground. The Echelon is eating itself. Align with us now, and you’ll be on the winning side.”

Liana smirked. “Tempting.”

Fiona leaned in slightly. “Or you can take your shot, collect your bounty, and spend the rest of your life watching your back. Because if you come after us, we will make sure you don’t get another contract again.”

A tense silence.

Then Liana laughed softly. “I like you. You don’t bluff.”

She set her drink down. “Alright. I won’t take the contract.”

Fiona exhaled, but Liana wasn’t finished.

“But I also won’t work for free. You want intel? That costs extra.”

Darwin slid a folder across the table. “You’ll get what you want.”

Liana flipped it open, her expression unreadable. Then she chuckled. “You’ve been busy.”

She closed the file. “Alright. I’ll tell you what I know.”

Fiona leaned in, every nerve on high alert.

“The Echelon isn’t just cleaning house,” Liana said. “They’re preparing for a full reset. New leaders, new structure. Cain was never the final boss.”

Darwin frowned. “Who is?”

Liana’s smile turned sharp. “You’re thinking too small. The real power? It’s not in some boardroom or hidden bunker. It’s woven into the system itself. You don’t kill it by taking out one man.”

Fiona’s pulse quickened. “Then how do we kill it?”

Liana studied her, then said three words that changed everything.

“You don’t. You replace it.”

The weight of the words settled between them.

The Echelon wasn’t just something to destroy.

It was something to control.

Fiona wasn’t sure if that made them saviors or something else entirely.

But one thing was clear—

The war wasn’t over.

It was just evolving.