Chapter 155: THE RAID
AUTHORS POV
By the time the sun dipped below the horizon, the operations room beneath the Ashveil administrative headquarters had become the busiest place in the entire pack.
A team of analysts and cybersecurity specialists worked relentlessly behind rows of glowing monitors. The location Keisha had extracted from Orin had been entered into every database available to the pack.
Callum stood at the centre of the room with his arms folded, silently watching the stream of information appear across the screens. This time, there would be no assumptions. If they were going after the organization hiding behind all this, it had to be flawless.
"Alpha." One of the specialists looked up from his computer. "We’ve confirmed the coordinates."
Callum stepped closer.
The technician enlarged a satellite image of the abandoned quarry district north of Ashveil. At first glance, the buildings appeared no different from the dozens of abandoned industrial structures scattered throughout the region. Years of neglect had left cracked roofs, broken walls and collapsed storage facilities, but it was clear something was wrong.
"Thermal imaging picked up unusual heat signatures beneath the main warehouse," the technician explained, highlighting several sections of the building. "There are concealed basement levels not shown on any public records. We also intercepted short-range encrypted transmissions originating from the same location."
Another analyst continued the briefing. "Based on movement over the last forty-eight hours, we estimate between thirty and forty occupants. They’re heavily armed, operate in rotating patrols and have multiple escape routes prepared. They seem prepared for an attack."
Callum studied every route displayed before him. "The underground exit?"
"We found one leading toward the eastern forest."
"Collapse it."
The technician nodded immediately. "Already arranged. Engineering teams are moving into position."
Another map appeared. "This is their strongest defensive point," one of the military strategists said, indicating the central structure. "If we attack head-on, we’ll lose people before we ever reach the command area."
Callum remained silent for several moments. Then he reached forward and traced a different path with his finger. "We won’t attack from the front."
The officers gathered around him.
"We divide into four units. Two assault teams enter from the northern and western breaches simultaneously. A third secures every escape route before the first shot is fired. The final unit remains outside to intercept anyone attempting reinforcement."
One of the captains frowned. "What if they’ve planted explosives?"
"We adapt." Callum straightened.
"And let’s say their numbers exceed the estimate?"
"We still adapt."
Everyone in that room understood exactly what was at stake.
Ashveil. And tonight, they intended to end it.
*********
Military vehicles rolled silently through the forest under the cover of darkness while their headlights remained off.
By the time the convoy stopped several hundred metres from the quarry, every soldier had already checked their weapon twice.
Callum climbed from the lead vehicle and surveyed the abandoned landscape stretching before him. Massive stone cliffs surrounded the old quarry, their shadows covering almost everything below. The main warehouse stood near the centre, looking out of place.
He turned toward the soldiers assembled behind him. "There will be no unnecessary casualties," he said firmly. "Capture anyone willing to surrender. Anyone who resists with lethal force is to be neutralised immediately. Watch each other’s backs. Let’s get this done."
Dozens of heads nodded.
Within moments, the formation split apart, disappearing into the darkness exactly as planned.
The first sentry never saw them coming.
A soldier emerged silently behind him, covering his mouth before rendering him unconscious and lowering him to the ground without raising an alarm.
The second wasn’t as fortunate. He spotted movement only seconds before Callum closed the distance, knocking the rifle from his hands with a powerful strike before driving the hilt of his own blade into the man’s temple.
The alarm sounded anyway and a deafening siren shattered the silence.
"They’re here!"
Gunfire erupted from the upper windows and Callum threw himself behind a concrete barrier as bullets tore chunks from the wall above him.
Around him, Ashveil’s soldiers responded immediately, gun bursts forcing several attackers away from the windows while another unit breached the western entrance with controlled explosives.
The warehouse shook from the force as dust poured from the ceiling.
"Move!"
The command echoed through the building as soldiers surged inside.
The narrow corridors prevented either side from overwhelming the other with numbers, forcing brutal close-quarters combat. Gunfire echoed through the concrete passages, each shot almost deafening until it became impossible to tell where one battle ended and another began. Whenever rifles emptied at close range, blades took over and they slashed at each other.
A masked assassin lunged toward Callum from behind a support pillar, swinging twin knives in rapid succession. Callum caught the first strike on his forearm guard before sidestepping the second and driving a heavy kick into the assassin’s ribs. The force hurled the man into a wall, but before Callum could finish the encounter, another attacker charged from the opposite direction and he pivoted instinctively.
Their blades collided with a loud bang that rang through the hallway.
The assassin fought with astonishing speed, forcing Callum backwards through a barrage of relentless strikes aimed at his throat and abdomen.
Callum allowed the attacker to overextend by half a step before twisting beneath the next swing, trapping the assassin’s wrist and slamming his elbow into the man’s jaw.
Bone cracked and the assassin collapsed. No sooner had he fallen than another burst of gunfire erupted farther inside the building.
"Left corridor!"
"They’re flanking us!"
Callum sprinted toward the voices. Several Ashveil soldiers had become pinned behind overturned machinery while three masked assassins maintained relentless suppressing fire from an elevated platform above them.
Without slowing, Callum climbed the rusting conveyor supports bordering the room, ignoring the unstable footing beneath him. One assassin noticed the movement and swung his rifle upward, but Callum reached him first, grabbing the rifle before he could shoot and throwing it across the room.
They crashed together onto the platform, exchanging savage blows before Callum forced the man over the railing. The assassin struck the floor below with a sickening thud while the remaining two turned their weapons toward him.
Too late.
"PROTECT THE ALPHA!" A soldier yelled and Ashveil’s soldiers seized the opportunity, gunfire rang out from below, dropping both attackers before they could regain control.
The troops advanced, clearing out every room. Everywhere they advanced, they discovered more evidence that this had never been a temporary hideout. It had been a fully functioning operational base, capable of housing dozens of trained killers.
One by one, the surviving assassins were cornered, disarmed and forced onto their knees with their hands restrained behind their backs.
One of the captains approached Callum. "Alpha. The building is secure."
Callum nodded, wiping blood from his brow. "How many prisoners?"
"Twenty-three."
"Good."
Finally.
He walked toward the line of kneeling assassins and stopped before the nearest prisoner.
"Let’s cut to the chase. Who leads you?"
The masked figure remained silent.
Callum crouched slightly. "I’ll ask once."
No answer. Then, almost simultaneously, every prisoner began laughing, looking like they had accepted their fate.
What was going on?
Callum’s instincts flared and his eyes widened. "Stop them!"
But it was too late.
Each assassin bit down hard and hidden capsules shattered between their teeth.
Several immediately convulsed. Others produced tiny concealed blades from beneath their sleeves with quick movements and before the soldiers could restrain them, the metal slashed across their exposed throats.
Blood sprayed across the concrete and bodies collapsed one after another.
The place went silent.
Callum stared in disbelief. Every prisoner was dead. One captain lowered his weapon slowly. "They... killed themselves."
Callum clenched his fists.
After so much work. There was not a single soul left to question.
*******
Several kilometres away, hidden beneath the forest far beyond the quarry, a lone survivor stumbled through a steel door concealed beneath an abandoned farmhouse.
His breathing was ragged and blood stained his sleeve as he dropped to one knee. "My Lady..."
The spacious underground chamber fell silent. At the far end stood a woman dressed entirely in black, her back turned as she examined a map spread across a large table.
She didn’t speak and the survivor swallowed. "They found the quarry."
Still no response.
"They destroyed everything." His voice shook.
The woman slowly turned. "Explain."
"The Alpha led the attack himself."
"And?"
"The Creed..." His voice trembled. "The Creed is gone."
For the first time, emotion flickered across her face and she swept her arm violently across the table, crashing everything. "You lost... everything?"
"They overwhelmed us."
Her breathing became heavier. Years. Years spent building an invisible army was destroyed in a single night.
"What happened?" she demanded.
"We believe Orin exposed the location."
Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "He met Keisha today. Somehow she got information from him before the Alpha arrived."
The room became deathly still.
"So..." She spoke each word with frightening calm. "This happened because of her."
After several moments, she looked toward one of the guards stationed near the doorway.
"Prepare a message."
The guard bowed immediately. "To whom, my Lady?"
Her eyes darkened. "Osric."
The survivor looked up in confusion and the woman spoke without hesitation. "Tell him Keisha has become a problem." She paused. "And it’s time someone reminded her of her place."
******
By the time Callum returned to Ashveil, the news had already reached the pack.
Because word spread quickly — The Alpha had gone to war.
Keisha heard the commotion almost immediately.
She hurried from the mansion before anyone could stop her, weaving through guards and servants until she spotted Callum stepping from the lead vehicle.
He looked exhausted, blood staining his clothes.
Without caring who might be watching, she crossed the remaining distance and threw her arms around him.
Callum inhaled deeply and returned the embrace quietly.
"I’m glad you’re safe," she whispered.
"I’m back."
But no one knew... That unknowingly, Keisha had just made herself a new target from the leader of it all.