Liam and Lana both rushed to the computer at the same time.

The sound had barely finished echoing in the room before they were already leaning over the screen. The progress bar sat at one hundred percent just as expected. The number was bold and clear, glowing quietly at the bottom of the display.

But nothing else was there.

No alerts.

No highlighted matches.

No flashing warnings.

Just the clean, simple 100.

Lana’s eyes scanned the screen once, then twice. Her shoulders slowly dropped. She had expected something. Even a small trace. A blurry image. A coded mention. Anything.

Instead there was silence.

She let out a slow breath and pulled her chair back slightly before sitting down. The disappointment on her face was obvious. Not dramatic. Just quiet and heavy.

"All that for nothing," she muttered under her breath.

Liam stood behind her, his eyes still fixed on the monitor. He did not look convinced. The system she built was not weak. It would not return empty without a reason.

He leaned slightly closer.

"Look up," he said suddenly.

Lana frowned.

"What?"

"Look up."

She lifted her gaze back to the screen.

At first nothing changed.

Then a flicker.

The blank space above the percentage shifted. A thin line of text appeared, then vanished, then another replaced it. Suddenly the screen refreshed and pages began flipping rapidly across the display like a deck of cards being shuffled at insane speed.

Her eyes widened.

"What the hell..."

Windows opened on top of each other. Encrypted forum logs. Hidden database snapshots. Archived files. Private network directories. The system had not failed. It had simply been processing a massive data dump and now it was pouring everything out at once.

Information streamed in relentlessly.

IP addresses.

Usernames. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Transaction logs.

Images that were too blurred to understand at first glance.

She leaned forward immediately, fingers flying over the keyboard as she began isolating sections.

"This will take a while," she said quickly without looking back at him. "There’s too much data. I need to filter useful and useless apart or it will be a mess."

The pages kept flipping. Lines scrolled endlessly.

Liam nodded.

She was right.

There were hundreds of entries. Maybe thousands. Even with her speed this would not be a quick job. It could take hours. Maybe a full day.

He placed a hand gently on her shoulder, squeezing once in quiet support.

"Take your time," he said.

She gave a small nod but did not break focus.

He bent slightly and kissed her on the cheek. It was quick, warm, grounding. She allowed it but her eyes never left the screen.

Then he straightened up and walked toward the door.

He opened it and stepped outside.

The hallway felt cooler than the room he had just left. There was a faint echo of voices from downstairs and the smell of food drifting somewhere in the distance. He had no clear direction in mind. He just needed to move.

He slipped his hands into his pockets and started walking.

Then his phone rang.

The sound cut through the quiet corridor.

He stopped and pulled it out.

Unknown number.

He stared at the screen for a few seconds. Something about it felt familiar. Then his memory clicked.

The station.

Vera.

The woman he had given his number to.

He could almost picture her face again.

It had to be her.

The phone kept ringing.

Instead of answering, he exhaled lightly and slid the phone back into his pocket. He switched it to silent without hesitation.

Now was not the time.

He continued walking down the hallway, passing a few pack members along the way. Some nodded respectfully. Others were busy talking among themselves. The atmosphere inside the mansion had shifted over the past few days. There was tension under the surface, but also purpose.

As he turned a corner, he saw Sergei.

The man’s head kept turning left and right as if he was searching for someone. The moment his eyes landed on Liam, his entire expression changed.

"Alpha needs you!" Sergei called out immediately.

There was urgency in his voice.

He did not wait for a response. He simply turned and started moving fast toward the stairs.

Liam did not waste time asking questions. He followed right behind him.

They moved downstairs quickly, footsteps echoing against the wooden steps. As they reached the lower level, the noise grew louder.

Voices.

Murmurs.

A crowd.

When Liam stepped fully into the main hall, he saw that almost the entire pack had gathered around something at the center of the room.

They stood in a tight circle, blocking his view.

Confused, he slowed his steps.

"What’s going on?" he asked Sergei quietly.

Sergei only gestured forward.

Liam moved closer and tried to peek over shoulders but he could not see the center. The crowd was thick.

He had no choice but to push through.

"Move," he said calmly but firmly.

A few members stepped aside immediately. Others took a second before realizing who it was and quickly made space. The circle slowly opened for him.

As he reached the center, he finally saw what had gathered everyone’s attention.

Irina was bent down on one knee on the floor.

In front of her lay a large map spread wide across a low table. It was detailed, marked with borders and terrain lines. Several colored pins had already been inserted into different locations.

Red.

Blue.

Black.

Some clustered together.

Others placed far apart.

Her finger hovered over one section as she studied it.

Irina looked up the moment she noticed Liam stepping through the circle.

"Good," she said immediately. "Come over here."

Her voice carried authority but also urgency. This was not casual planning. This was movement.

Liam stepped closer and moved behind her, standing just slightly to her right so he could see the map clearly. From that angle he noticed more details. The map was not just marked randomly. There were circles drawn around certain areas, notes scribbled at the edges, times written next to some of the pins.

Irina pointed to a cluster of markings near the industrial district.

Liam crossed his arms loosely.

"What’s up with it?" he asked.

Irina did not waste time.

"We just received new information," she said. "There are four possible warehouses with explosives."

Liam’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

"Explosives?"

"Yes."

Her tone was flat and certain.

"My source told me there are at least five warehouses storing explosives," she continued. "But the problem is he gave us twenty five different warehouse locations. He wasn’t sure which ones were real and which ones were decoys. So now we separate ourselves into teams and we check them all."

A quiet murmur ran through the pack members around them. This was not a simple scouting mission. This was large scale.

Irina tapped the map again.

"I have scanners on the way. Each team will have one. They are calibrated to detect chemical signatures linked to industrial grade explosives. If you find explosives in any of these warehouses..."

She paused just long enough for everyone to fully focus.

"Set them off."

The words landed heavy.

There was no hesitation in her voice. No debate. No room for negotiation.

This was not a recovery mission.

This was not a mission to capture and question.

It was destruction.

If explosives were confirmed, they were to be detonated immediately. No transporting. No securing. Burn it all.

And if they encountered resistance, the implication was clear.

Kill.

Some of the pack members straightened slightly at that. Others exchanged serious looks. Nobody objected.

Irina slowly stood up from her kneeling position and dusted her hands lightly against her pants before turning fully to Liam.

"I have something different for you," she said.

He tilted his head slightly.

"Hmmm."

His eyes remained on hers, waiting.

She stepped closer to the map again and pointed at a specific location near the edge of the port district. This area had more markings than the others. Red circles layered over blue pins. A thick black line drawn around the entire block.

"This one," she said.

Liam leaned forward slightly.

"What about it?"

"It’s crawling with insane security," Irina replied. "Double perimeter guards. Rotating patrol shifts. Surveillance cameras covering every angle. Heavy trucks going in and out at odd hours."

She tapped the location again.

"I want you to take five strong teams."

There was no doubt in her eyes.

"I suggest that is where one of them is."

The room fell even quieter.

Liam studied the map carefully. The position made sense. Close enough to the port for transport. Industrial enough to avoid suspicion. Security layered thick to discourage casual intrusion.

It felt right.

"How many men?" he asked calmly.

"Five teams," she repeated. "Your best fighters. People who won’t hesitate."

He gave a small nod.

"And if it’s not explosives?"

Irina’s eyes hardened slightly.

"Then we extract whatever they are protecting and burn the place anyway."

Direct.

Final.

Liam looked around at the gathered pack members. They were waiting for direction now. Energy was building. Anticipation. The kind that comes before a storm.

"When do we move?" he asked.

"Scanners arrive in two hours," Irina said. "Teams leave immediately after."

He exhaled slowly through his nose.

Two hours to prepare.

Two hours to gather the right people, weapons, transport routes, contingency plans.

He nodded once.

"I’ll pick the teams."

Irina held his gaze for a second longer, measuring him.

"This won’t be clean," she said quietly so only he could hear. "If they are storing explosives there, they won’t let it go easily."

He gave a faint smile that did not reach his eyes.

"They never do."

Behind them, the pack began to move, already discussing assignments, checking weapons, making calls. The energy in the mansion shifted from tense planning to active preparation.