Kai, Matt, and the Omen crew were strapped into their chairs as the plane rattled, metal groaning under the pressure. Ahead of them, the rift opened like a wound across the sky—hundreds of meters wide, stretching and twisting as if reality itself were being pulled apart. It wasn't a simple hole; it was alive, writhing at the edges like stretched cloth lit from behind, veins of violet and crimson shimmering through its cracks. The rift looked less like a door and more like the sky was being peeled open.
The nose of the plane angled toward it. Engines screamed, and the air thickened as they crossed. The moment they broke through, the Underworld swallowed them whole.
Kai leaned forward, breath caught. Below stretched a jagged landscape where the ground itself seemed fractured and scarred. Cracks in the earth pulsed with faint light, like veins beneath bruised skin. Above, the sky was darker than night but alive with shifting bands of green and red. The scale of it left him wordless. He'd seen rifts before, sure—but never from this high, never this raw.
Renn, braced against the bulkhead, broke the silence. "Alright, plan's simple. We'll land at an airstrip outside Zone Alpha, open another rift at the airport, and sneak in. Deliver everything, keep it quiet."
Matt frowned. "Why not just land in Zone Alpha itself?"
Kai nodded, sharing the thought. "Wouldn't that be faster?"
Renn shot them a flat look, sarcasm dripping. "Maybe because we're carrying illegal contraband?"
Matt smirked and tapped at his comms. "Black Omen has a private strip inside Alpha. I'll get us a slot."
Kai raised a brow. "You can just do that?"
A brief call later, Matt leaned back. "Confirmed. Clearance approved."
Renn blinked, stunned. "That's… not how this usually works." She shook her head, muttering. "Fine. Whatever. Don't say I didn't warn you."
At the controls, Alboro didn't flinch. His heavy hands guided the plane like he was born in the cockpit. "Doesn't matter where we land," he rumbled. "Plane, boat, truck—I've flown it, sailed it, or driven it. This is nothing." His voice was calm, steady, the kind that came from a man who'd seen every vehicle as an extension of himself.
They punched through a second rift—this one smaller, flickering faintly—and the Underworld melted into the sprawling night of Zone Alpha airspace. The city spread beneath them like a circuit board, lights alive but fractured, a place equal parts civilization and ruin.
The landing came smooth. Operatives on the ground waved glowing batons, guiding the plane across the private Black Omen strip. No Concord eyes, no Zone Alpha officials—just shadows and silent approval.
Inside the hold, Renn slapped a manifest against the crate stack. "Alright. Three deliveries. Shipment one: M-88 tranquilizers for a very valuable client. Shipment two: weed and medical supplies for the Mist Clan. Shipment three: geiger counters and gas masks for the Free City. They're going to need them sooner than they think."
She looked at the three of them. "So, what's first?"
Matt's grin was faint, but it was there. "The Mist Clan. Always wanted to see if the rumors about their strength are true."
Kai rested a hand on the crate of tranquilizers. "I'll take the M-88s."
"Which leaves me with the counters and masks." Renn smirked. "Figures. The boring job."
For the first time since touching down, the weight of being inside Zone Alpha pressed on them—alive, hidden, and moving pieces in a game far larger than themselves.
---
Kai glanced toward the corner of the hold. The ghoul was still out cold, slumped against the wall with his jaw hanging loose, drool glistening on his chin. Even unconscious, he looked like he was dreaming of his next meal—something fresh, something human. Kai's lip curled.
"I'm dealing with the ghoul first," he muttered. "Then we handle the shipments."
No one argued.
Kai pulled his comm and patched through. "Tara? It's Kai—"
Her voice came back in a rush, sharp and frantic. "Holy crap, you're alive! Where the hell have you been?"
"Later," Kai said, keeping his tone level. "I need a government escort. Prisoner transfer. Dangerous one."
The line went quiet for a beat, then Tara sighed. "Fine. Sending a prison convoy to your location. Don't get yourself killed before they arrive."
Minutes later, the howl of engines split the airfield. Concord elites rolled in, armored and faceless, their movements precise as clockwork. They didn't ask questions. Chains rattled as they clamped down on the ghoul's limbs, securing him with a practiced efficiency. The creature stirred, a guttural hiss leaking past his teeth, but a baton crack to the temple silenced him again. Dragged across the tarmac, he looked smaller than he had in the hold—just another beast on its way to a cage.
Kai watched them disappear into the night, exhaling through his nose. "That's one problem solved." It was more a promise than a statement. His eyes shifted toward Matt.
The Mist Clan shipment still sat untouched. Matt was perched near it, arms crossed, expression calm as ever, like he had all the time in the world.
"Not moving your shipment?" Kai asked, brow raised.
Matt shrugged. "Waiting for you."
Kai shook his head but said nothing more. Instead, he hefted the crate marked for another client. The drop-off point wasn't far.
At the rendezvous, a figure stepped out from the shadows. He was striking—white hair streaked with red that caught the faint glow of the airstrip lights, eyes black and unguarded but sharp all the same. He looked Kai over once, expression unreadable, then gestured toward the crate.
Kai slid it forward without a word. The man handed him a small pouch. The weight and faint metallic clink inside told him what it was before he even looked: blood coins. Useful, dangerous currency. He pocketed them without asking questions.
The man didn't explain, and Kai didn't pry. Business was business.
By the time he returned to the Black Omen strip, Matt was waiting by the Mist Clan's shipment, a faint grin on his face.
"Wanna help me haul this?" Matt asked.
Kai smirked back. "Sure. Always wanted to see their guardians."
The words hung between them, half challenge, half curiosity. Zone Alpha wasn't safe ground, but the Mist Clan? That was a world unto itself.