Night.
Three modified cars tore through the streets of New York City.
"Hey, Klaus, you know the boss's got a younger brother?" In a tuned Toyota, a white guy chatted into his headset. Adolfson—Owen Shaw's hawk-eye and long-range man.
"Mate, I've been with the boss for years. First I've heard of it," rumbled Klaus, call sign Tank, from a modified Humvee—heavy gunner, heavier hands.
"Shut it and get to the target. If anything goes sideways, Owen won't let you live it down." In the Ferrari, Letty cut in, irritated. She'd joined Owen's crew a month back—driving skills still razor-sharp, memory still in pieces.
They quit talking and drove—hard and clean toward the mark.
At the same time, Cole received a text from Owen Shaw: Manpower's in position. He checked the clock. Plenty of time. Belford—The Plague—would still be at Ellingson.
"We've had a couple of mice on us since the café," Jason Tate said from behind the wheel, eyeing two cars that had tailed them nonstop. "Call?"
"Find us a quiet spot," Cole said, flat.
"Copy." Jason spun the wheel, angling for open ground beyond the city glow. The tails followed.
They rolled to a stop. The men in black who'd been shadowing them climbed out, confused—two kids and a van didn't look like trouble. Orders from The Plague were simple: kill them.
Six stepped forward.
Gunfire cracked. "Belford" leaned out the van window—Cole in the IMF mask—and stitched three clean kills with an automatic pistol. Before the rest could react—three more shots, three neat holes centred between three sets of brows. Bodies dropped, dead and puzzled.
"Drive," Cole said, and Jason punched them out of there.
Across from Cole's building, Gunnar Jensen lay prone on a rooftop. He set the last piece of his rifle, settled the scope, and watched the opposite apartments. No movement yet.
Below, the three cars made looping passes and finally parked. After a slow perimeter lap, teams dismounted and moved inside.
"Incoming sniper, "Adolfson said once they reached the lobby. His eyes had been trained to find the tell-tale kiss of light on glass; the flash was brief, but enough. Rooftop opposite. Target most likely: Cole.
Letty tapped out a fast message to Cole in the elevator.
Cole read it on approach and stepped out of his car early, splitting from the others per plan. The other three continued to the garage as scheduled.
He ghosted through the building to the thirty-third floor, worked a lock, pulled on his gecko gloves, and climbed out into cold night air. If there was a sniper hunting him, the odds were it was Jensen of the Expendables.
Glass to glass, he moved up the face of the tower until a rifle barrel came into view.
On the roof, Gunnar never saw the climb. He kept the scope on the apartment, waiting. Two men and a woman entered Cole's place. Team confirmed.
"Come on, kid," he murmured. "Step out."
A face filled his scope—wrong face, too close.
"Ah—" Gunnar's cry died in his throat as a Mad Dog Knife sheared through his gun wrist. The rifle clattered away. Cole's pistol barked twice, punching through both of Gunnar's feet and pinning him in pain.
"You lot keep poking my line," Cole said, calm as frost. "Expendables just don't quit, do they?"
Gunnar's bravado vanished. He had no idea how the man had gotten behind his gun. "Don't—don't kill me. I can give you whatever you want."
"Start with a timetable," Cole said. "When do you hit?"
"Three days," Gunnar gasped. He had no choice; his wrist nerves were cut and his feet were ruined. There was no fight left.
"Thanks." Cole pulled the trigger once more. Silence returned to the roof.
Ding—First A-level enemy killed: +100 skill points, +1 attribute point.
Cole's mouth twitched. So the system scaled payouts by target tier. Without the climb tech, Gunnar would've been a nightmare to approach straight on.
Inside the apartment across the way, Vader raised binoculars, scanned, and lowered them. "Sniper's gone."
"Hotshot's dead?" Klaus asked.
"Looks that way, "Adolfson said.
Letty and the rest exchanged a look, curiosity hardening into respect. Owen's kid brother wasn't theatre—he was the real thing.