28.The Storm Brewing

Leah moved fast.

The private transport bay was already prepped when she arrived, the guards barely acknowledging her as she strode past. Her comms flickered, showing a direct link to dock security, but she ignored it.

Voss wasn't answering.

Which meant she needed to see for herself.

The armored vehicle slid through the compond, the towering structures giving way to the sprawling, industrial chaos of Docks —Sector 3—a massive loading hub, its air thick with fuel, metal, and cold ocean wind.

The closer she got, the more wrong it felt.

Leah's eyes narrowed.

Security was heavier than usual—more armed guards, more military presence than a standard shipment check required.

And then—

She saw him.

Standing right in the center of it all.

His broad frame was rigid, his silver eyes locked onto something just out of her view, his coat dust-streaked and open, sleeves pushed to his forearms, exposing the faint glow of his active circuits beneath his skin.

A man on edge.

Leah threw the door open before the vehicle fully stopped, stepping out into the cold night air.

Voss's head snapped toward her instantly—sharp, assessing, but unreadable.

Leah strode forward, boots hitting the metal platform hard, her voice cutting through the heavy air:

"You were supposed to be back hours ago."

Voss didn't blink.

"I wasn't finished."

Leah's temper flared, her heart hammering against her ribs.

"What the hell is so important that you're standing in the middle of the docks like you're waiting for something?"

A tense pause.

Then—finally, he spoke.

"Because I am."

Leah stilled, her breath coming sharp and measured.

"Waiting for what, Voss?"

His silver eyes locked onto hers, unreadable but burning.

"A message."

Leah's stomach turned to ice.

Before she could respond—

A sharp comm interruption crackled through their channels.

Ava's voice cut in, urgent and clipped:

"Leah, we've got a problem."

Leah's spine straightened.

"What kind of problem?"

Ava's voice dropped lower, serious now.

"The kind that means you and Voss need to get the hell out of there. Now."

Voss's jaw tightened, but his voice remained low, cold, and absolute:

"Too late."

And then—

The first explosion rocked the docks. Two more explosion followed ripped through the air—fire and steel colliding, sending a shockwave through the docks.

Leah instinctively dropped low, eyes scanning the darkened industrial sprawl, already tracking threat vectors.

Voss didn't flinch.

Didn't move.

Because he had expected this.

His silver eyes cut through the smoke, sharp and cold as he turned to Leah, his voice low and absolute:

"Stay with Ross."

Leah's head snapped toward him, disbelief flashing in her gaze.

"Excuse me?"

Voss was already moving, checking his sidearm, his circuits glowing faintly beneath his skin, heat coiling off him like a storm about to break.

"I need you to watch the supply lines."

Leah's brows snapped together.

"Voss—"

"Your biometrics are in the command system," he cut her off, his voice razor-sharp, leaving no room for argument. "If something happens, the override falls to you."

Leah's jaw tightened.

"You think I'm just going to—"

"Leah."

Her stomach clenched.

Because this wasn't a request.

Voss's silver gaze locked onto hers, steady and unrelenting.

"This isn't about you. It's about the mission."

Leah's fingers curled into fists, her pulse hammering against her ribs, but she knew.

She knew he was right.

Ross's voice cut in from behind, cool and unreadable:

"I've got her."

Leah gritted her teeth, her frustration curling in her chest like hot wire.

"You better come back in one piece, Voss."

Voss's lips curled into the barest hint of something—not quite amusement, not quite reassurance.

"I always do."

Then—he tapped his comm, voice dropping into calculated control mode:

"James. Eyes on the ground. Now."

A beat, then James's voice filtered through, sharp and wired for war:

"Already watching, General. You've got incoming—three squads, tactical dispersal. They're not here for negotiations."

Voss's silver eyes darkened, his circuits flaring hotter beneath his skin.

"Good."

Then, without another word—

He moved.

Fast.

Controlled.

Like a predator stepping into the kill zone.

Leah watched him disappear into the chaos, her pulse thrumming like a war drum.

Voss had vanished into the chaos, and the docks roared with noise—alarms blaring, security scrambling, the air thick with smoke and the scent of burning fuel.

Ross was already on the move, his posture relaxed but his eyes cold, calculating, scanning every shadow for threats.

"We need to secure the supply lines," he said, voice steady.

Leah's pulse hammered, her instincts screaming to follow Voss—to fight. But she wasn't an idiot.

Voss had given her an order.

And more importantly—

He had given her control.

She tapped into the command system, feeling the biometric recognition confirm her access, bringing up the supply manifest on the dock's control panel.

Her voice, clipped and absolute:

"I need a full status report on all incoming shipments—now."

A sharp beep—then the comm crackled, a dock officer responding.

"Containers 19 through 47 are in position. No reported damage—yet. Security on-site is holding, but we've got unknown hostiles engaging in the lower sectors."

Leah's jaw tightened.

"Pull all non-combat personnel back. Lock down the secondary gates."

A flicker on the holo-display—the systems registering the override as Leah's command processed through.

Ross was already adjusting their perimeter, his voice smooth and unreadable:

"Ava, what's the chatter?"

Ava's voice cut through, her usual playfulness replaced with hard-edged focus:

"Military comms are lit up right now. No official deployment—yet—but that's not gonna last. Someone's covering this up, and I really don't like not knowing who."

Leah's fingers flew across the controls, locking in overrides, rerouting security feeds—if this was a cover-up, they weren't about to be the casualties.

"Find out. I want every detail in the next five minutes."

Ava clicked her tongue.

"Bossy. I like it."

Leah ignored her, turning to Ross, who was already watching her closely.

"If this goes bad, how fast can we move the shipments?"

Ross didn't hesitate.

"Two minutes, if we cut the verification protocols."

Leah's eyes flicked to the nearest security screen, tracking the movement in the lower docks—and the blurry heat signatures moving toward their position.

They had less than two minutes.

She exhaled sharply, shoving down the tension crawling under her skin.

"Then get ready."

Because Voss might be fighting his war in the shadows—

But here?

She was about to hold the line.