Liam, Steve, and Natasha exchanged a quiet look, and although none of them spoke, the meaning was understood between them. It was time to move.
With the pistols held loosely in their hands, the three of them walked toward the warehouse door. Behind them, the Black Ridge leader raised his hand suddenly and gave a sharp command in Sokovian.
"Spread out. Cover the exit."
Six of his men moved immediately, their heavy boots thudding against the ground as they positioned themselves around the building. The way they moved showed complete confidence. They were not cautious or nervous. They were simply preparing to corner and kill anyone inside.
The two traitor lookouts at the entrance did not show any surprise at all. One of them gave a stiff and nervous smile and stepped aside a little too fast, almost as if he was afraid to delay them. The other kept glancing between Liam and the Black Ridge group, looking like a man terrified of choosing the wrong side.
Liam ignored both of them and stepped inside the warehouse along with Natasha and Steve.
The air inside was cold and dim, almost like a temporary gathering place rather than a proper meeting hall. Around fifteen Dawn Watch members were sitting on old chairs and crates that were arranged in messy rows. Four people stood or sat in the front, speaking to the group like instructors.
One of them was a young woman with long brown hair. Her voice was calm but strong as she spoke to the room.
It was Wanda Maximoff.
"The rally will show the government that we are not afraid, and that we stand together to demand they fix the shortages, the power cuts, and the disappearances. If we stay quiet and do nothing, nothing will ever change. We must…"
The sound of the door creaking open stopped her immediately.
Every person in the warehouse turned toward the door.
And the atmosphere shifted in a single moment.
Three strangers were standing inside.
Three pistols were visible.
It looked exactly like the beginning of a Black Ridge attack.
Pietro reacted first. His chair scraped loudly across the floor as he jumped to his feet and pulled out a pistol, holding it with shaking but determined hands.
"Stop! Do not move!" he shouted. His voice sounded stronger than he felt.
Wanda straightened and looked sharply at the new arrivals. The other two Dawn Watch leaders also pointed their pistols up, and several civilians screamed or stumbled backward. Others grabbed metal pipes, pieces of wood, or broken chair legs to defend themselves.
Liam did not say anything. He simply walked forward.
That made the fear in the room grow even worse.
The old male leader raised his shaking pistol and shouted, "Stay where you are!"
Chairs toppled over as people scrambled. A woman pulled her child behind her. Someone cried out in fear. A young man with a metal crowbar stepped in front of an older woman to protect her.
Pietro's hands trembled violently, but his aim stayed locked on Liam. While Wanda reached under her coat, pulled out a hidden knife, and held it tight with white knuckles.
The other leaders looked like they were trying to decide whether to shoot.
Still, Liam continued to walk forward. He lifted his gun slightly, not to aim but to show it. His hands were raised just enough to look like surrender and non threatening.
Meanwhile Natasha and Steve stayed by the wall, keeping their pistols pointed down and their bodies still. They clearly wanted to look harmless, but no one in the warehouse believed anything harmless was happening.
Liam stopped directly in front of Wanda.
She did not move back. Her shoulders were stiff, and her eyes were sharp with fear and suspicion. She looked at him closely, trying to understand why a stranger with a gun was walking toward her without any fear.
"What do you want?" she asked quietly. Her voice was steady, but her eyes showed how tense she was inside.
Liam did not answer her question. Instead, he reached out slowly and took her free wrist, the one not holding the knife.
The entire warehouse exploded in panic.
People shouted for him to let her go.
Pietro almost pulled the trigger, his finger tightening so hard it looked painful.
The two older leaders raised their pistols higher.
Some civilians rushed a step forward, then backed away again, afraid of getting shot.
Wanda stayed still, shocked, but she did not pull back.
Liam then placed something into her hand.
It was his pistol.
Wanda froze, staring at the weapon as if she could not understand why he would hand it to her.
Pietro's anger dropped for a moment, replaced by pure confusion.
The leaders did not speak, and the civilians stared in disbelief. The tension in the room shifted, and fear mixed with uncertainty.
Wanda looked up at Liam with wide eyes.
"Why?" she whispered.
Liam let go of her wrist and slowly turned toward the leaders.
"You all are terrible at this," he said with a tired voice. "Honestly, someone should have shot me in the leg or at least screamed louder."
The leaders stared at him in shock.
The civilians looked unsure whether to be offended or confused.
Liam continued speaking as he looked around the room at their shaking stances and clumsy grips.
"You are not fighters. You are ordinary people who picked up weapons because no one else would protect you."
Before the room could respond, Liam nodded to Steve and Natasha.
The two of them bent down and pushed their pistols across the floor. The sound echoed loudly as the guns slid across the concrete and stopped in the middle of the warehouse.
Everyone gasped.
Some civilians lowered their makeshift weapons.
Others kept holding them tight, unsure how to react.
The old leader blinked over and over again, having trouble processing what was happening. The woman beside him swallowed hard, her pistol shaking slightly as she tried to steady her hand.
Wanda stared at the guns on the floor and then at Liam, completely unsure of what he was doing or why.
Finally, Liam spoke again, his tone calm.
"Each gun has only one bullet. Mine had two. Black Ridge ordered us to kill the four leaders of Dawn Watch. It was supposed to be a test."
Instant anger filled the room. People cursed, shouted, and expressed fear and hate in their voices. It was clear that Dawn Watch had suffered a lot because of Black Ridge.
Liam waited a moment for the noise to settle and then continued speaking.
"We were told to kill all four of you. Then we were supposed to stay alive in here for ten minutes. After the ten minutes, their men would enter and kill anyone who was still alive."
He pointed at the entrance.
"They have blocked every exit outside. And your lookouts at the door are traitors. They let us walk inside without any issue."
Pietro stepped closer, still aiming at Liam, although his aim was beginning to wobble.
"Why should we believe you?" he asked loudly.
"You do not have to believe me," Liam said softly. "You only have to wait ten minutes. You will see everything for yourselves."
He pointed at Wanda.
"I gave her the only weapon that could stop me. If we wanted to kill you, we would have done it the moment we walked in. Or my companions would have shot you all from behind. You were sitting down. You were distracted. You were all holding your weapons badly. If we wanted to hurt you, you would already be lying on the ground."
Pietro lowered his pistol just a little.
Wanda's fingers tightened around the gun he had given her.
The leaders looked conflicted and scared.
Liam lifted his chin.
"If you do not trust my words, then check for yourselves. Look through the windows."
Wanda hesitated, still tense, watching him with sharp, searching eyes. Then she nodded to the braver civilians, who quickly moved to check the windows. The windows were small and positioned high on the warehouse walls, so they had to drag over chairs just to reach them and peek outside.
As they peeked outside heir faces turned pale almost instantly. They quickly ran back to their leaders to tell them what they had seen.
"There are men standing near the entrance and exit. They are waiting outside like hunters waiting for prey," one whispered. "And Marek and Jovan are gone. They are not at the entrance anymore. They have disappeared."
Fear washed through the warehouse like a cold wave.
The old leader's pistol shook uncontrollably, but he still did not lower it.
Wanda looked between Liam, Pietro, and her frightened people. Her breath was uneven, and she looked torn between fear and the growing understanding of what was happening.
Liam stepped closer, not in a threatening way but with quiet seriousness.
"You must make a choice," he said gently. "Because if you do not, Black Ridge will make it for you."
The warehouse fell into complete silence.
***
For 5+ advance chapters visit my patreon.
patreon.com/narrative_ninja007
***