Part IV: Planning the Strike
The lair beneath the abandoned subway station was quiet, save for the low hum of servers and the occasional drip of water through the cracked ceiling. Screens flickered across the walls, displaying live feeds, maps, schematics, and threads of information harvested over weeks of surveillance. Argus stood in the center, cloak dripping, mask lenses glowing faintly red, surveying it all.
The Nightshade network pulsed on his displays: distribution routes, pickup points, guard rotations, delivery vans, even the schedule of the gang's night shifts. Every detail mattered. Every detail could mean the difference between success and death.
He moved from screen to screen, annotating routes, tracking escape points, and noting the building's vulnerabilities. The factory on Pier 19 was old — brick walls cracked with age, windows boarded over, a single main entrance guarded by three men at all times, and two patrolling gunmen with staggered rotations. A loading dock at the rear offered an alternate entrance, though exposed and riskier.
Argus leaned over the central display, tracing the movement of guards with his finger. Patrols overlap between 11:15 and 11:30. That's the window. He noted the nearest alley for an escape route, highlighted camera blind spots he could exploit, and calculated the weight and reach of the carbon blades and gauntlets he would bring.
The Plan:
Recon and Diversion: Use drones to trigger minor alarms along the periphery of the factory, drawing one or two guards away from the main entrance.
Entry: Argus would infiltrate through the rear loading dock, exploiting a blind spot masked by shadows and rain.
Neutralization: Non-lethal when possible — knock out sentries, disable surveillance, cut communications. But lethal force ready if guards resisted.
Destruction: Locate and destroy all Nightshade product and supply, burning it.
Data Capture: Secure all ledgers, manifests, and digital devices for evidence.
Exit: Retrace entry route, using secondary drones to create diversions if necessary.
He reviewed every step again, voice low beneath the mask: "Nothing left to chance. Nothing. Every movement calculated. Every angle covered. Every threat accounted for."
Hours passed. Rain outside continued to pound the streets above, masking the hum of Argus's servers and the subtle whir of drones he had in standby around the city. He simulated the mission multiple times, cycling through feeds, predicting every guard's potential response, visualizing every hallway, every crate, every shadow.
His training had prepared him for this moment — combat, stealth, surveillance, patience. But the planning made it more than skill. It made it inevitability.
Finally, he moved to his workbench and retrieved a photograph from a stack. It was a single image: the face of The Veil's boss. He hadn't met the man yet. He didn't know his voice, his mannerisms, or the reach of his cruelty. But Argus had cataloged the man's operations, traced his shipments, and learned his patterns. Tonight, the boss would pay for the suffering inflicted on countless innocents.
Argus pressed the photo to the table. He stared through the mask lenses, red light reflecting off the glossy surface. He took a blade from the gauntlet, long, thin, carbon-edged, and lethal.
Without hesitation, he stabbed it through the center of the photograph.
The sound was muted beneath the rain, but in the silence of the lair, it was absolute.
"Tonight," he whispered, voice metallic, low, cold, "you will answer for everything."
He left the photo pinned to the table, a quiet promise of what was to come. The factory, the guards, the drugs — all pieces on a chessboard he now controlled. And he was ready.
Argus stepped back, cloak flaring, scanning the lair one last time. Every drone, every camera, every networked sensor was active, synced, and waiting. Every angle, every contingency considered.
For the first time in weeks, he allowed himself a sliver of anticipation. Not excitement — anticipation. The city would soon see the Watcher in action again.
And when they did, there would be no question who was coming.