Despite knowing that the mission was inevitable, they all slept like babies. By morning, no one complained—they got ready as if they were heading off on a family vacation. Before departure, Nakane gave them her blessing along with final instructions. Then, one by one, at irregular intervals, each of them climbed into an inconspicuous vehicle and was driven off to the meeting point designated by Busterrix.

As the gray streets of the Third District slid past the car window, Kelly wondered whether they’d be shot in the head right away—or after the welcome tea. Did Ace really suspect nothing? Then again, what would he suspect? Her team, despite the week they’d spent together, still felt like strangers—no real ties between them. Had he truly recruited only them? Callean swore other applications would never make it through; their Bureau’s IT genius had taken care of that.

The next big question: why would Busterrix invest in rookies when he already had a gang of seasoned criminals? Why hand such an important job over to complete outsiders?

Her head spun with questions as she stepped out of the car into a random spot that reeked of exhaust fumes. She stood there alone, breathing in the sour air, surrounded by the desolate sprawl of the Third District’s industrial zone—mostly shuttered for the weekend. It was quiet, still, and bleak. The perfect place for a secret meeting with a shady middleman.

She pulled out her phone—her “work” phone, since the Bureau had confiscated their personal ones—and opened the message with her rendezvous instructions. Each team member had been given a different location and setup to meet one of Ace’s people. They assumed Busterrix’s scouts would assess them first before bringing them to the boss himself. A smart move—minimize the risk.

She started walking from the phone booth, dragging her feet along the empty street. The adrenaline was pounding in her ears, her breathing short and jumpy. She scolded herself for constantly glancing around; nothing said suspicious like acting suspicious. She was supposed to look like she knew exactly what she was doing. Obviously, she had ten years of experience in child abduction.

After fifteen minutes, she arrived at a charmingly shady tenement near some factories. The whole area felt wrong—she’d passed maybe two people on the way, both pretending they hadn’t seen her, and she had done the same. The building looked abandoned. It screamed wrong side of town.

She stepped inside and climbed the creaking stairs to the third floor. Apartment eleven—that was where she was supposed to meet her contact. She wondered who it would be. Grom? The guy was basically Montgomery, doubled in size and muscle. Or maybe Szczypior—probably Busterrix’s girlfriend, at least that’s what Kelly suspected.

Whatever the case, when she opened the door, she was greeted by nothing but silence.
Then came a sharp sting to her neck, followed by a creeping warmth…and then darkness.

Déjà vu hit her like a train.

~•••~

A soft voice was trying to force its way into her consciousness, but her brain kept slamming the door in its face. Her eyelids were too heavy to lift, her senses too dull to make out words or surroundings. Reality slowly began to creep in, as if she were surfacing from deep underwater. The gentle voice grew increasingly irritating, and a sharp burst of light stabbed at her pupils.

When her vision finally adjusted, she found an unfamiliar face leaning over her. She screamed and instinctively tried to jump to her feet—only to land a solid knee to the stranger’s jaw.

This time, her mind clicked into gear quickly, snapping into focus. She was seated in a soft leather chair in a small, windowless room with a single closed door. Her heart jumped into her throat as her gaze swept the unfamiliar faces around her. None of them belonged to her Trouble Crew or Busterrix’s gang. Panic began to rise.

Then her eyes settled on the guy now groaning on the floor, and she recognized Walker. Scanning the rest of the room again, she spotted the rest of her team, seated in a separate group—apparently unaware or unbothered.

Relief washed over her. She leaned down and offered Ben a hand.

“Never wake a sleeping woman,” she muttered, pulling him up.

“Lesson learned,” he replied with a crooked smile, rubbing his sore jaw. In the brief exchange, their eyes said what neither dared voice aloud.

They weren’t alone.

Aside from them, there were five completely random people in the room—strangers they’d never seen before. Perfect. The Bureau had already screwed up, right at the start. Busterrix had recruited others. She hadn’t expected things to go sideways this fast.

She had barely adjusted in her chair when the door opposite her swung open. All eyes turned as a tall guy with pale blond hair tied in a messy ponytail appeared in the doorway. He placed his hands on his hips and smiled—far too cheerfully.

“Great to see everyone made it here in one piece!” he announced with enthusiasm, clapping his hands as he stepped into the room. His eyes scanned the group, looking for someone who might mirror his joy. No one did. Still, he didn’t drop the cheery tone. He had the energy of a summer camp counselor.

“My name’s Urs. Nice to meet you all.” He gave a deep, exaggerated bow. “For the next while, I’ll be supervising your assimilation period as new recruits. Ahead of us lies a wonderful time together, during which I hope to get to know each and every one of you from scratch. Or…”

He paused dramatically, lips twisting into a little duck face as his pale gray eyes zeroed in on the only girl in the group.

“…maybe even refresh some old friendships. Hey, Kelly. Long time no see, huh?”