Page 84 of Cold Ignition

That told Keanu everything he needed to know.

“Black Tide,” one of them said, like he’d been expecting it.

Keanu didn’t answer. Didn’t hesitate. Didn’t give them time to speak again. Shots cracked in tight succession—controlled, precise. Three targets. Three dropped.

Rangi closed the distance on the last one anyway, finishing it with brutal certainty. Alexios checked the room in a single sweep.

“Confirmed,” he said. “All three.”

Silence.

Just for a second.

Then Kael said, “Leadership is down. Continue.”

“Left corridor,” Alexios said.

Keanu pivoted immediately, covering the angle as two more men pushed through from the adjoining space.

They didn’t make it far.

“Clear,” Keanu muttered.

“Moving,” Kael replied.

They advanced deeper.

The facility opened into a larger bay—vehicles lined up, engines still warm, the faint metallic tick of cooling parts echoing in the space.

And there—the drivers. Six of them with their hands bound and eyes wide. Two guards turning toward the breach.

Too late.

Keanu dropped one before he could raise his weapon. Rangi took the other head-on, slamming him back into the side of a van with enough force to dent metal before finishing it.

“Secure them,” Kael ordered.

Drew and Tane moved in immediately, cutting restraints, checking vitals.

“They’re drugged,” Drew said. “Some of them barely conscious.”

Rangi crouched in front of one of the drivers, gripping his jaw lightly, forcing his focus.

“Hey—stay with me,” he said, voice rough but steady.

The man blinked, dazed but alive.

Keanu scanned the space again, senses still keyed high. This was too easy.

“Movement,” Victor warned over comms. “South entrance—multiple.”

Keanu’s grip tightened on his rifle. There it was. This was going to be the real fight.

“Positions,” Kael snapped.

They shifted instantly. Keanu moved to cover the main line of entry, bracing behind a steel column as shadows spilled into the bay—armed, organized, faster than the ones before.

“Contact!”