Page 150 of Princes of Carnage

Nico takes point, and Killian and I flank him, weaving in and out of traffic as we go. It’s dark out now, and we meet up with the members of Enigma who had eyes on the pawn shop for tonight.

I know Quinn told them to report to us the same as they would to her, but they still don’t look thrilled that we’re the ones here instead of their leader.

We gather in an alley down the street from the shop, and Nico steps forward.

“Report,” he says, all business.

“Silas went inside about fifteen minutes ago,” one of the Enigma crew answers, ruffling bushy brown hair as he speaks. “He hasn’t come out yet.”

Nico nods. “Good. You all clear out of here. The fewer people around when this goes down, the better.”

The three of them look at each other but take the dismissal, handing over the borrowed surveillance equipment and leaving us to it.

Nico, Killian, and I set up across the street and down the block a little way, watching from a safe distance. No one will be able to see us unless they come this way specifically, but we have a good view of the front of the shop. Silas isn’t getting out without us seeing him.

“The plan?” Killian asks, never taking his eyes off the shop. I can feel the tension radiating from him, everything in him coiled to strike.

“We’re not going to take him out here,” Nico says. “Like we talked about, we need to know first and foremost if he’s working solo or with some new group. So we’ll tail Silas after he leaves the shop and see where he goes. Figure out where his base is and go from there.”

Killian grunts. I know he’d prefer to have this over and done with right now, and I can’t say I blame him for that. I understand Nico’s reasoning, but there’s a part of me that’s too impatient to wait any longer now that we have Silas where we want him.

But I nod anyway, letting out a breath.

We don’t have long to wait before Silas comes out. The pawn shop door opens less than three minutes later, and a tall blond man emerges.

I study him, comparing the reality of him with the description we’ve been working from. I can’t get a great look at him from a distance at night, but it’s good enough.

He looks maybe early thirties, muscled and broad. There’s nothing overtly eye-catching about him, with his blond hair and average face. The scar on his cheek is his most unique feature, and I definitely don’t recognize him.

“Let’s go,” Nico says quietly, and we mobilize, waiting for Silas to get in his car and start driving off before we head to our bikes and start to tail him.

We ride after him for a while, keeping cars in between us and maintaining our distance from each other. It’s less suspicious if we’re not all in one group following him.

Eventually, he leads us to a house about ten minutes from the pawn shop. He gets out of his car and heads inside, and we wait for the door to close and the lights to come on inside before we move any closer.

Even then, we keep our distance, sizing the place up and casing it with critical eyes. We scan for cameras, trying to make sure there’s nothing obvious before we make any moves. There’s always the chance that a neighbor has a doorbell camera or something, but there’s not much we can do about that.

“Windows on every floor,” Killian murmurs, his gaze tracking over the house. “Side door, back door, front door.”

Nico nods. “From what I saw of the back of the house when we rode up, it looks like it just faces that abandoned lot back there. Easy to break in without being seen, but we don’t know if he lives here alone. One car in the driveway doesn’t mean much.”

I scan the top of the house, looking to see if there’s an attic or roof access anywhere, but come up short.

“Windows could be a good access point,” I say. “But it’s risky without knowing if anyone else is in the house, unless we manage to get in completely silently.”

Killian shoots me a look that says he’s more than capable of that, and I snort because he’s right. He could get through a window without alerting anyone he’s there. He’s done it plenty of times before.

“If you can fit through it,” I mutter, and he huffs a breath that might be a laugh if it were anyone but Killian, then refocuses on the house.

I do the same, peering through the night vision goggles and scanning the darkened windows, trying to make out any hint of movement that would indicate more people are inside. But I don’t pick anything up. The house is quiet and dark, except a single light shining from one of the first floor windows.

As I lower the night vision goggles a few minutes later, the light in the window suddenly flicks off.

“Movement,” Killian grunts, lifting his chin.

Silas emerges from the side door of the house and gets back in his car, pulling out of the driveway and onto the road before heading in the opposite direction from where he came.

“What do you think?” Nico says, glancing to me and Killian.

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