Chapter 29: Hunted
The view was breathtaking, snow-capped mountains, pristine water and the quiet hum of an untouched city. But inside the secure penthouse, the air was thick with something else. War was coming.
Silas Kane stood at the war table, watching as encrypted files unraveled across the holographic display. The data stolen from Project Dominion's Zurich facility was more than just financial records or covert operations.
It was a blueprint for a global coup. Jonas Wren leaned against the table, sipping a drink. "So, we just confirmed that Project Dominion isn't just controlling crime. They're controlling governments."
Bishop, typing furiously on his laptop, nodded grimly. "They've placed assets inside intelligence agencies, military command structures and financial institutions across the world. If their plan succeeds, they won't just own the underworld. They'll own everything."
Nikolai Volkov, standing near the window, exhaled smoke from his cigar. "They're turning the world into a chessboard and we're the only ones who know it." Kane smirked, lighting a cigarette of his own. "Then let's flip the damn board."
Veronica Steele sat in her reconstructed war room, her wounds from Kane's ambush still healing. A senior analyst placed a thick folder on the table, the contents glowing red with classified clearance levels. "We have a situation."
Steele opened it, her sharp blue eyes scanning the intelligence briefing. "Tell me." The analyst cleared his throat. "Kane and Volkov just hit Project Dominion's main intelligence hub in Zurich. They stole critical files and destroyed the facility." Silence.
Then Steele chuckled darkly. "They have no idea what they've just done." The analyst swallowed. "Ma'am, we're receiving a transmission from an unknown source. It's from Dominion."
Steele's smirk faded. "Put it through." The screen flickered, revealing a man in shadow, his face blurred and his voice disguised. "Director Steele. You have a problem."
Steele exhaled, leaning forward. "Kane." The figure nodded. "He just made himself our primary target. We will deal with him. But we need your agency to stay out of it." Steele's fingers tapped against the table. "And if I don't?"
The shadowed man's voice was calm. "Then Kane won't be the only one we eliminate." A long pause. Then Steele smirked. "Good luck finding him before I do." The screen cut to black.
Steele turned to her team. "Double the surveillance on Kane. I want him tracked. Every move, every ally and every hidden resource he still has. If Dominion wants him, it means he's dangerous." She exhaled. "And that means I want him first."
Jonas adjusted his sidearm, glancing at the decrypted intelligence files scrolling across the screen. "We just burned their network in Zurich. So why the hell do I feel like they're still ahead of us?"
Bishop sighed. "Because they are. Dominion has contingency plans for everything. They're going to retaliate." Volkov, still calm, set his cigar down. "Let them come. We will crush them."
Kane smirked, but his eyes remained sharp. "We're not waiting for them to move first. We're taking the fight to them." He tapped the screen, zooming in on three key locations. A hidden military base in Eastern Europe – suspected Dominion training ground for assassins. A financial stronghold in Dubai – where Dominion launders billions through shell companies. A secret black site in South America – where high-ranking Dominion operatives meet in secrecy.
Kane exhaled. "We hit all three, hard and fast." Jonas whistled. "You want to attack three global locations at once? That's not just suicide, that's overkill." Kane's smirk widened. "Then let's make it hurt."
The abandoned Soviet base was a fortress, its walls lined with watchtowers and snipers hidden in the treeline. Inside, elite assassins trained for war, men who had no names but only numbers. They were Dominion's ghosts. And Kane was about to send them to hell.
His strike team moved in silently, using the stormy night as cover. Jonas crouched near the fence, whispering. "Security's tight. If we go in loud…" BOOM! An explosion ripped through the east perimeter, sending flaming debris into the air.
Volkov smirked, lowering his detonator. "No more silence." The battle erupted instantly. Kane moved like a phantom, taking out guards with precise headshots. Jonas cleared the control room, disabling the base's security systems. Volkov engaged the elite assassins in brutal and close-quarters combat with his blade flashing in the darkness.
In less than ten minutes, the facility was reduced to ashes. Kane stepped over the bodies of Dominion's finest killers, exhaling smoke from his cigarette. "One down."
Inside a luxurious penthouse overlooking the Dubai skyline, Dominion's financial masterminds sat in a private meeting, unaware that death was about to walk through the door.
Kane and his team breached the room in seconds, silenced pistols executing every high-level banker before they could react.
Jonas plugged into their financial mainframe, rerouting billions of Dominion's black-budget funds into offshore accounts controlled by Kane. Bishop's voice came through. "We just stole over $2 billion from their war chest."
Kane exhaled. "Then let's make sure they know who did it." He activated a message on every Dominion server worldwide. "Silas Kane says hello." Then, they set the building on fire. Two down.
A Dominion black site sat deep in the Amazon rainforest, hidden from satellites, buried in shadows. Inside, six of Dominion's highest-ranking officers gathered in a private war room, planning their next move. Then the lights cut out. One by one, they began disappearing into the darkness.
Kane, Volkov and Jonas moved like wraiths, eliminating each target without a single wasted bullet. By the time the lights flickered back on, every Dominion operative was dead. Volkov grinned. "That was almost too easy." Kane smirked, checking his watch. "Three down."
Back aboard his warship, Kane leaned against the railing and watched the waves roll beneath him. Jonas joined him, pouring a drink. "We just burned half of their global network. They're going to come at us hard." Kane smirked. "Let them."
Bishop rushed into the room, eyes wide. "You need to see this." A live feed appeared on the screen, an encrypted message from Project Dominion. A man sat in the shadows, his voice cold as steel. "You've declared war on us, Kane. And we accept." The screen cut to a live camera feed.
Jonas' face went pale. It was Bishop's personal safehouse in London. And it was burning. Bishop's voice shook. "They just wiped out my entire team." Kane exhaled, his smirk fading for the first time in years.
Then he crushed his cigarette under his boot. "We end this. Now."