Page 20 of Born of Vengeance

When the guard returned, Rafael was slumped.

Faking sleep.

The moment the guard leaned in—

Rafael’s eyes snapped open.

He drove his thumb into the man’s throat, then slammed his head into the container wall. Once. Twice.

The body dropped.

Rafael took his knife.

Then his gun.

The other two heard the scuffle, but Rafael was faster.

He shot the first in the knee, then in the throat as he fell.

The last tried to run.

Rafael tackled him from behind, disarmed him, and broke his neck cleanly.

The container rocked from the force of it.

Blood pooled under the flickering bulb.

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Outside, the sun was setting.

They had parked the container on a train—a remote industrial loading line meant to bypass customs.

Rafael limped down the side of the tracks, bleeding but alive.

He didn’t stop until the lights of the city returned.

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Back at the safehouse, he collapsed into a chair.

His ribs were on fire. One eye nearly swollen shut. But his mind was clear.

He’d walked into a trap.

And survived.

Valderrama had started playing offense.

Good.

That meant the man was finally afraid.

Chapter 10 – The Hacker and the Crossroads

Quito sat in the clouds.

The air was thinner here, sharper—like breathing through gauze. Rafael moved through the streets of the old city with his hood up, every step calculated, every breath controlled. He was still bruised, stitched along his ribs and jaw, and his left arm hung a little lower than usual.

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