Chapter 11
Location: Oceanview Spa, Coastal Town – 2:24 PM
"This is sacred," Ash said, sprawled in a fluffy robe, cucumber slices over his eyes.
Leo lay beside him, towel draped over his hair, clay mask hardening on his face. "You said that about the cotton candy stand."
"That was emotional sacredness. This is aesthetic sacredness. Big difference."
A spa attendant passed by with herbal tea. Ash accepted his like a movie star. Leo stared into his cup suspiciously. "This smells like grass."
"It's lemongrass, you uncultured raccoon. Now hush. I am entering my chrysalis."
They were the only ones in the secluded VIP suite. Sea breeze wafted through open bamboo shutters. Waves crashed somewhere beyond the salt-bleached balcony.
Leo closed his eyes. The world was still. Ash hummed a spa playlist. It was stupid. It was perfect.
Neither of them noticed the shift change.
Downstairs, two new spa attendants entered through the back. They wore perfect smiles and gloves that didn't quite fit. One nodded subtly to a third man outside the emergency exit.
They were not here for facials.
Location: Madrid - The Sinkhole Facility, Below City Sub-Level G – 3:11 AM
Nox moved like liquid shadow through the corridor. The Sinkhole wasn't on any map. It was once a military comms relay, now abandoned and sold off to corporate ghosts.
Ghost's safehouse.
Two guards on the lower stairwell. One blinked. Nox was already behind him.
Throat slit. Gun taken. No sound.
He was inside before the body hit the railing.
Down the hallway, encrypted vault doors were cracked open. The air smelled of cold metal and ozone. Blueprints, prototypes, data cores. Nox placed a tracker on each.
Ghost was in the final room. Alone.
He sat at a terminal, suit half-undone, a drink half-empty.
"You're late," Ghost said without turning.
Nox stepped inside. No theatrics. Just purpose.
"You're finished."
Ghost turned. His face was pale, thinner than Nox remembered. He raised a hand. Not in surrender.
"You could work for me."
"No."
"You think Ortega ran this? Ortega was a glorified courier. You have no idea how deep this goes."
Nox aimed. "Then I'll dig."
He fired once.
Ghost slumped backward, still in his chair. Eyes wide. No last words. Just open silence.
Nox approached. Retrieved a single flash drive from Ghost's pocket. Marked: Kitefall / Echo R6.
He slid it into his vest.
The lights flickered.
Location: Oceanview Spa - Steam Room Hallway – 2:58 PM
A guard in disguise stepped closer to the suite door.
He whispered into his earpiece. "Prince is inside. No security. Should I proceed?"
From the far end of the hall, a second voice cut in, hard and cold: "Negative. Fall back. Perimeter is hot. Repeat: hot."
Too late.
One of Leo's shadow guards disguised as a gardener stepped into view with a silenced pistol. Two shots. One attacker dropped. The second reached for a blade—
Throat shot.
The door to the suite never opened. Leo and Ash remained inside, blissfully unaware.
Ash was talking about getting a tiny shark tattoo.
Leo was debating which flavor of mochi he'd try next.
Location: Madrid - Sinkhole Facility Exit Tunnel – 4:03 AM
Nox emerged into pre-dawn fog. Blood on his gloves. Data chip secure.
He didn't look back.
He sent one message through a ghost channel: "Phase complete. Target neutralized. Ghost is dead."
A reply blinked green:
[ACKNOWLEDGED. EXFIL APPROVED. HOME WHEN READY.]
Nox stared into the glow of the message. Then closed the burner phone and dropped it into the sewer.
The mission was done.
But something in his chest stayed wound tight.
He lit a cigarette. Watched smoke vanish into mist.
Location: Oceanview Spa Rooftop Lounge – Sunset
Ash leaned back with a face full of glowing moisturizer.
"If I die tomorrow, tell them I died hot."
Leo chuckled. "You'd haunt the living to keep your skincare routine."
"Damn right."
They toasted overpriced sparkling water. The sun dipped low. Everything golden.
Just below, another shadow guard quietly changed shifts. The failed ambush already handled. Bodies gone. No questions asked.
Peace held.
For now.
End of Chapter 43