We all laugh as Sin shrugs. “Hey, brother, I said nothing about that. Butyoujust did.”
“Oh, man!” Deek groans.
I smile, loving how Defiance comes together. Even in the worst of times, we are united. “Well, when this is all done, you’re all fucking welcome here. It’s on me. Except for Deek. We have too many animals here, and he sounds like a flight risk.”
Everyone bursts out laughing as Deek rolls his eyes. “Fuck off!”
I lean back, feeling the weight of what we’re asking these men and women to do. “Each target represents years of Javier’splanning. The warehouse in Chicago feeds their distribution network. Houston’s financial operation bankrolls everything. New Orleans’ trafficking facility supplies its human cargo. Tampa’s weapons cache arms its soldiers. Vegas’ lab creates the drugs that keep victims compliant. And here in LA…” I pause, thinking about how killing Rico Rojas, which I thought would end this, only accelerated Javier’s timeline. “We finish what started when I cut off Rico’s head.”
Haven appears at my shoulder, her voice steady but carrying an edge that tells me she’s thinking like the tactical genius she is. “We have eyes on security rotations, guard changes, and civilian proximity. Nighthawk’s intel on the tunnel systems checked out. Montana and the Martinez twins have confirmed every detail.”
Montana speaks from his position against the wall. “The prison layout is burned into my memory. Every guard station, every camera angle, every weak point in their security. When we go in for my mother and the other birds, we’ll know exactly where we’re going. And we’ll be extracting Warden Garver too. That bitch Rhonda has been setting him up to take the fall for Javier’s operations.”
Hurricane leans forward, his presence commanding. “Now, I got a question for y’all. What happens if one of our operations goes sideways? If Chicago gets hit harder than expected, or if Tampa runs into complications?”
I meet his eyes, then look at each screen in turn. “We don’t abort. We can’t. The moment one operation fails, Javier’s people start moving assets, changing protocols, disappearing witnesses. It’s all or nothing, brothers. We hit simultaneously, or we fail completely. If Javier gets word that one of his targets is being hit, he will start his action protocols. It all has to be done at the same time. He can’t know what fucking hit him.”
“Andifwe fail?” Sin asks, his question carrying the weight we’re all feeling.
“Then we record messages for our families and pray they forgive us for what we tried to do.” The words taste bitter, but they need to be said. “Because if Javier’s network survives this, if he gets control of those prison systems, gets control of our government, there won’t be anywhere left to hide. Not for us, not for our old ladies, not for our kids.”
Haven steps forward. “The thing is, this isn’t just about the Cartel. Yes, the Cartel is the main piece, but they have the government helping them. If we let the Cartel’s operations continue, with government backing, we have absolutely no hope of bringing this down. We put Governor Marshall behind bars, but Senator Wilson is still in play and trying to pull strings that are helping the Cartel. Wecan’tlet it continue. Wehaveto cut off every head of this slithering medusa.”
“Exactly… Medusa’s myth is a warning to mortals.Don’t believe yourself to be equal to the gods.The Cartel is comparing itself to gods. But they’re not. And we’re gonna bring them back down to earth. We have encrypted communication protocols in place,” I continue, pulling us back to operational details. “Code words only. No names over the airwaves. When your target is neutralized, you check in with ‘Package delivered.’ If you’re compromised, ‘Weather’s turning.’”
Torque nods. “What about backup? If someone needs reinforcement?”
“There is no backup,” I say firmly. “Each chapter is on its own… that’s the unfortunate reality of simultaneous operations across this many cities. You succeed with the brothers you have, or you don’t succeed at all.”
Hurricane’s voice cuts through the tension again, “Alpha, you want us to record messages for our families. You tellin’ us this is a suicide mission?”
I turn, my eyes meeting his beside me, and I rest my hand on his shoulder. “I’m thinking this is war.Real war.The kindwhere good men die and families get torn apart. I want everyone going into this with their eyes wide open. If you make it through, you get to delete the message and go home to your Old Lady. If you don’t…” I let the words hang in the air, like a noxious gas suffocating our lungs as it steals our breath.
The weight of silence fills the room as each president processes what we’re asking of their chapters.
“Anyone wants to back out, now’s the time,” I continue. “No judgment, no questions asked. But once we start this thing, there’s no turning back.”
Torque is the first to speak, “Chicago’s in.”
“Houston’s ready,” Six declares.
“All right, let’s fuckin’ do this,” Hurricane declares.
“Tampa’s locked and loaded,” Nycto states.
Sin leans forward, looking right down the screen as if he’s staring right at me. “Vegas doesn’t back down.” Then a slow smile crosses his face.
I nod, feeling a surge of pride and terror in equal measure. “Then it’s decided.Operation Darkfirelaunches in seventy-two hours. That gives Hurricane and Bayou time to get back to New Orleans and gives all chapters time for final preparations. It also allows for a window to adjust if new intelligence comes in.” I pause, meeting each president’s eyes through their screens. “Get your brothers ready, get your gear checked, and get your heads right. When this is over, when we have wiped their existence off the map, then we celebrate. Not a moment before. We will check in again, but for now, go get ready and hold those you love tight.We are Defiance!”
“We are Defiance!” they all reply, then the screens start going dark.
Hurricane and Bayou remain in their seats. The weight of what we’re about to do settles over the chapel like a shroud.
I look over my brothers and nod. “You guys ready for this?”
Loki, Maverick, and Strings all nod, Ink grunts, Rip grins like a madman, Dutch dips his head at me, and Montana lets out what looks like an exhausted sigh.
This shit has got to be hard on him.
