Page 12 of Nocturne
“We should head back home. Carter might have more intel we can actually use,” Vincent says, dodging my question completely. “We can deal with them some other time.”
“You outta your damn mind?” I snap. “I’m dealing with this now, even if I gotta show up alone”
Emma and Vincent exchange a look.
“Damon’s right, Vincent,” Emma says, firm and straight to the point. “But Damon, we’re not just after the money.”
“Ain’t that so?”
“There’s shit we need to recover. Carter thinks they hid valuable info in that spot — files, records, some kinda digital proof.”
“Heard the warehouse was used to stash sensitive shit. If there’s a device there, we gotta grab it before they wipe it all.”
“And you think if Hunter finds it, he’s just gonna hand it over that easy?” I snap, annoyed, almost rolling my eyes.
“It ain’t like that...” Emma’s voice drops, cautious, like she’s hiding something.
?????
Emma parks the car on the side of the street and each of us pulls out a gun, except Vincent, who’s got a knife. We walk with big, but calculated steps. Vincent, leading the way, busts the rusted lock tied to the chain wrapped around the fence and we get inside.
The lot’s empty, just some rusty, blue warehouses scattered around. Through the midnight darkness, I see weeds growing through the cracked concrete, confirming this place has been dead for a long time. Some crows perch on trees at the corner of the lot, and the only sounds we hear are our footsteps and cars rolling down the streets behind.
“Eyes open,” Emma whispers, gun steady in her hand. “I don’t like this dead silence. This shit’s supposed to be packed.”
As we step deeper, the warehouse swallows us in more darkness. It’s filthy as hell, reeks of mold mixed with blood. I’m hoping those motherfuckers are inside because that’d make my job easier. No need to chase each one down to get cash back. Who the fuck do these bastards think they are?
We take a few more steps inside, our phone lights sweeping cracked floors, peeling walls, the ceiling dripping rust and water stains. Tensions written all over everyone’s faces. Even Vincent, the coldest of us all, has his jaw clenched tight.
Then, a snap echoes from the back. We freeze. Silence turns alive around us. Emma lifts her gun, aiming at the sound. My heart pounds. Adrenaline spikes and suddenly, a shot cuts through the air, The bullet slams into a metal wall, kicking up dust and sparks. I dive to the side, rolling on the ground with my gun ready, heart thundering in my chest. Emma crouches, eyes wide open. Vincent moves forward, knife raised.
A figure rises from the shadows, hands up.
“Chill the fuck out! It's me!”
The flickering flashlight hits his face. My blood runs cold. Messy hair, sweat-soaked, dirt smeared across his face, holding a goddamn encrypted flash drive between his fingers.
Hunter.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I growl,standing back up, gun pointed right at him.
He doesn’t flinch. Just stands there, breathing hard, that same look he always has. Like he ain’t the reason everything fell apart. Like nothing ever happened.
“I got here before you,” Hunter starts, his eyes gleaming in the dark like he’s carrying some invisible weight. “I tore through this fuckin’ place from top to bottom and managed to find this device using a visual inspection cam.”
He pulls out a black flash drive with silver details.
“They dropped this flash drive behind a metal panel near one of the rusty machines.” Hunter smirks, crooked, almost daring me.
“And why the hell should we trust you? That’s real convenient, you showin’ up first with the damn flash drive. Who the fuck’s gonna guarantee that shit’s the real deal?” I snap.
He locks eyes with me, calm, annoyingly in control. Chaos all around and here he stands like he read the damn script.
“You still don’t get it, do you?” he says. “Nobody told you.”
“Told me what? That you’re some infiltrator asshole? That you love showing up uninvited? Or that you’re just waiting for the right moment to fuck us all over?”
Vincent and Emma exchange a look that sets off alarms in my gut. Silence. And I fucking hate silence more than anything.
