Herald of death

Ethan parks their newly stolen Toyota in the parking garage, where Kyle awaits them. They disembark, and Nine flickers a light to signal his position.

"Any signs of someone else following the target?" Ethan asks as they regroup. Russ pokes his head through Kyle's car window, and Ethan pets him. "We had Russians, Chinese, and Koreans on our end."

"We were lucky; I haven't seen anyone following them. They were all onto you," Kyle says.

"And the target?" Kate asks. "Surely they aren't in this garage."

"I followed them to a suite on the second floor; they had a hard time pushing the crate through the door," Kyle says. He shows a live video feed of a door on his phone. "They are still in there. No one entered, and no one left since they arrived."

"Good," Ethan comments as he calls Tombstone.

"Welcome back, Reaper Five," Tombstone says. "What may I do for you?"

"We need the plans of the building we're in," Kate says. "Including the electrical installation."

A silence follows. Blueprints appear on all their phones, detailing the layout of the tower. "According to their systems, there is a suite on the second floor drawing significant power."

"That's the one," Kyle says. "It's bigger than I expected. But it has a balcony we could use to attack from multiple angles."

"That won't be needed," Kate says. "This building has centralized air conditioning. I'll access the roof and put everyone to sleep."

"Including us," Ethan comments. He points at the vents in the garage. "I don't have gas masks, and the AC runs through the entire building."

"The rooms are connected by chutes," Kyle notes. "That's another exploitable access. You could use it to poison them; it won't be as efficient but could neutralize a few."

"I'll take the main door, Six the chute, and Nine the balcony," Ethan says. "Six will trigger our break-in."

"If you need to restock, I have some equipment here," Kyle says, opening hidden compartments in his trunk. "Rifles, pistols, SMGs, grenades, combat drugs, and protections."

Ethan approaches and pulls out a compact suppressed M4 with subsonic magazines. He inspects and cycles it. Kate imitates him with a suppressed UMP45, storing it in her haversack.

"I'm taking a month off when we are done," she quips. "Any sign of video surveillance? Or communication from their suite?"

"They aren't transmitting or receiving anything other than the internet. And I'm not picking up any calls coming from that area on any cell tower," Tombstone answers. "The hotel's network is infected with our failsafe; no one will react to your presence."

Ethan, Kate, and Kyle split up, heading to their respective positions. Ethan reaches the main door, taking cover behind a corner. Six silently climbs into the chute from the laundry room, positioning herself right above their hatch. Nine scales the building in seconds, placing himself next to the balcony door.

Kate opens a slit in the hatch to release an ability-generated gas into the room. Heart rates slow slightly; some cough lightly or rub their heads. A ringtone resonates. The caller's name surprises the man who raises his phone. His heart rate skyrockets as he picks up. "Yes, boss," he says.

"Are you on schedule for tonight?" a young man's voice crackles through the phone.

"Yes, everything is on track. We are running the last of your safety checks as we speak."

"Good," the boss responds. "Remember, our clients are very particular. Do not antagonize anyone; angering any of them could be disastrous."

"We understand," the man assures, wiping sweat from his forehead. "We'll do our best."

"See that you do," the boss says before hanging up.

Kate takes a deep breath and counts down. "Three… Two… one… go!"

'Strengthening,' Ethan thinks. He shoulders the door, opening it with a loud metallic crack. Kyle mimics him, hurling himself through the balcony windows. The occupants of the room split their inhibited stupor between the two of them, unable to take cover in time.

Ethan and Kyle fire precisely at each target, avoiding endangering each other. Kate fires through the small opening she created, cutting down several guards. Seconds later, only Cyrius remains unharmed. He raises his hands above his head, surrendering while holding his phone.

"Ranged weapon (Assault Rifle) leveled up."

Alongside tables covered with laptops and documents, they find a perplexing bomb. Standing two meters high, it holds fire Ether crystals embedded in sockets surrounded by H-6 explosives. Eldorian runes adorn its structure, glowing with a reddish hue. Cables link the laptops with its exposed inners, connecting them to onboard computers.

Kyle secures the room, his eyes scanning for any remaining threats. Kate steps through the hatch with her gun still trained on Cyrius.

"Talk," Ethan demands. He scans through the walls with predator's sight, searching for hidden threats. "Where is tonight's meeting?"

"You think I'll tell you anything?" Cyrius sneers, his eyes darting between the three of them with a hint of defiance. "You have no idea how fucked you are. Once my boss realizes that he's unable to contact me—"

"You have no idea how fucked you are," Kate cuts in, mimicking his exact voice. She leans against a wall, her weapon aimed at his legs. "Don't bother with threats; it won't help you."

"The Ritz-Carlton, that's where we were going to be," Cyrius says. His heart is beating rapidly as more beads of sweat form on his forehead. "But you'll never get close. You won't even make it past the lobby."

Kyle examines the tables covered in documents and laptops, searching for additional information.

"Who is your boss?" Kate asks, stepping closer.

Cyrius chuckles softly. "You think I'm going to give you his name? You're naive, inexperienced at best."

Cyrius lunges at the table, grabbing a Glock taped to the underside. Ethan shoots the pistol, breaking it into pieces. Cyrius jams the now-jagged under slide into his throat, slashing it open. His eyes widen, then his body goes limp and collapses to the floor.

"Damn it," Ethan says. Cyrius' blood pools on the parquet until his heart stops.

"How afraid of your boss must you be to go to such lengths?" Kate comments. She picks up his phone from the ground, placing it in her pocket.

"People do strange things for love," Kyle says. "Maybe the lives of his loved ones are on the line."

"He wasn't the head of the operation," Kate reminds them. "We must act before their boss realizes the situation. I will be able to stall him, but it won't last forever."

Ethan approaches the cylinder; it hums quietly, the crystals leaking fire Ether. "It's no wonder that foreign nations want to get their hands on this," he says. He passes his finger over the structure, sensing the Ether reinforcing its steel.

"They haven't tested it yet, but they estimate the damage radius to be a kilometer," Kyle comments, glancing at schematics on an open laptop.

Ethan takes a picture, sending it to Tombstone before calling her. "It's a lot for its size. The MOAB has roughly the same explosive power but is twenty times as big."

"Welcome back, Reaper Five, Six, and Specter Nine," she says. "I guess you are calling for a cleaning crew."

"And exploitation. There are several laptops and a weapon of a new kind here," Ethan says.

"Seeing the picture I just received, I can think of many clients who would be interested," Tombstone says. "But I guess you'll need it to infiltrate your target's convention."

"I'll leave here a disabled phone I took from a Chinese soldier. At the very least, Russians, Chinese, and Koreans are looking for it," Ethan says. "Our best intel is that Valeria's convention happens tonight at the Ritz-Carlton."

"By the way, I have the address of the Korean clandestine HQ. I'll send it to you," Kate says. "We may need you to get them some intelligence at the right time for them to intervene and occupy Valeria's guards."

"The Ritz-Carlton will be home to a tech meet-up tonight. A lot of companies will be present, with their higher-ups and commercials. I'm sending all the details to your phones," Tombstone says. "I found a crew near your location; they will be there in fifteen minutes. Good luck for tonight."