Episode 14: The Price of War

Season 1: Rise of the Villain

Episode 14: The Price of War

The flames from the docks still burned in Damien's mind as he sat in the underground bunker, watching the city's news reports. Massive Drug Shipment Destroyed in Dock Explosion. Unknown Assailants Suspected.

Unknown?

No. Salazar knew exactly who was behind it.

Damien had crippled his enemy's supply chain, cutting deep into his profits. But Salazar wasn't the kind of man to lick his wounds and hide.

He was the kind of man to burn everything down in retaliation.

The morning after the attack, the city woke to another gruesome scene.

Bodies.

Seven of Damien's men, strung up on a bridge in the middle of Blackhaven. Their corpses twisted, their faces unrecognizable. A message painted in blood on the concrete below them:

YOU STARTED THIS, CROSS. I'LL FINISH IT.

Nikolai clenched his fists, his knuckles white. "That son of a bitch."

Vega shook his head. "Salazar's not just hitting back. He's making an example out of them."

Damien stared at the bodies for a long moment, his face unreadable. His men had trusted him. Followed him. Died for him.

And this war was far from over.

But Damien didn't believe in grief.

He believed in vengeance.

Salazar had been careful up until now, operating from the shadows, sending his soldiers to do his dirty work. But Damien knew something Salazar didn't—he had found a weakness.

Through his informants, Damien had learned about Salazar's second-in-command: Victor Alonso, a man who handled all of Salazar's high-profile deals.

If Salazar was the brain, Victor was the hands.

And Damien was about to cut those hands off.

Victor was scheduled to meet with an international buyer at The Mirage, an elite club in Blackhaven known for its exclusivity and corrupt clientele. Security would be tight. No weapons inside. No easy way to take Victor out.

So Damien had to be smart.

He had Vega pose as a fake buyer, setting up a private meeting with Victor inside one of the VIP lounges. Meanwhile, Nikolai and Damien would infiltrate from the service entrance, taking out security one by one.

It had to be clean. No full-on war. Not yet.

The night of the operation, The Mirage was packed. Damien and Nikolai, dressed in staff uniforms, slipped through the kitchen, moving toward the private lounges.

Vega was already inside, sitting across from Victor, playing his role.

Victor, a sharp-dressed man in his 50s, smirked as he poured himself a drink. "Salazar told me to expect new business. You don't look like much."

Vega chuckled, keeping his hands relaxed. "Looks can be deceiving."

Victor leaned forward. "And what exactly do you have to offer?"

That was when Damien and Nikolai made their move.

Silently, they took down the guards outside the lounge. A swift blade to the throat. A silencer to the skull. No alarms. No screams.

Then Damien stepped inside, gun raised.

Victor's eyes widened. "You—"

Before he could react, Nikolai was on him, slamming him against the table, breaking a glass. Victor struggled, but Damien pressed the barrel of his gun to his forehead.

"No bodyguards this time?" Damien whispered. "Bad luck."

Victor gritted his teeth. "You think killing me will stop him?"

Damien smirked. "No. But it'll hurt him."

A single shot.

Victor's body hit the floor, blood pooling beneath him.

Salazar had just lost his right-hand man.

By the time they slipped out of The Mirage, the city was already reacting. News spread fast in the underworld. Salazar had lost Reyes. Now he had lost Victor.

Damien wasn't just waging war.

He was tearing Salazar's empire apart.

But as Damien lit a cigarette, exhaling into the cold night air, he couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.

Salazar had been quiet. Too quiet.

And then his phone buzzed. A message. No name, just words.

You took something from me. Now I take something from you.

Damien's blood ran cold.

He knew what was coming.

Salazar wasn't going to kill just soldiers anymore.

He was going after someone personal.

To be continued...