00:30
The white lamp illuminated Leah's face as she telekinetically held the microscrewdriver on a screw inside what looked like an antique pocket watch.
"Co on, you stubborn little bastard," she muttered as a glyphed copper filant slid between two micro crystal quartz in the device. The filant pushed against the wall of the watch, and it audibly clicked in place. An etheric hum sharply sang before dying down as the pocket watch's circuitry pulsed blue once.
Her phone buzzed against the tal workbench.
Caller ID: Gerard.
She picked it up, tucking the phone between her ear and shoulder while continuing to adjust the device. "What's up G-man?"
"Miss Park," Gerard said, carrying a hint of firmness that signalled only one thing. "You have thirty minutes to gather your troops. Hire rcenaries if necessary. The Blue Witches might want in on this action."
Leah's hand froze, hovering above the device. "Whoa, back up. What's happening? Why the sudden battle stations?"
"War has started." Gerard paused. "The young lady has been taken out by the Silver Lions."
The screwdriver slipped from Leah's telekinetic fingers. "They took out… Rachel?"
The control lost, and the pocket watch fell down onto the tal workbench bouncing off to the floor. Its inner core flashed blue once, then exploded with a sharp air distortion. The temporal blast knocked tools across the room and shattered the three monitors above the workbench.
Leah didn't even blink at the destruction. "When? How?"
"Unknown. Her signature disappeared from our systems approximately forty-five minutes ago," Gerard said. "Details have been sent to your secure channel. You'll be in charge of the Montreal to Quebec City theatre. All points of attack are within the docunt. Operation Kill the Cat comnces in T-minus twenty-two hours."
Leah grabbed her tablet, swiping through incoming files marked with red borders. Maps. Nas. Locations. Target profiles.
"I'll go to Esther's office when I'm ready," she said and ended the call without waiting for a response. Her fingers flew across the screen, pulling up a contact. Marine Laurent.
The call connected after two rings. "Leah? It's the middle of the night. What's-"
"How many Blue Witches available and how soon can they be combat ready?" Leah interrupted, already opening the closet beside the workbench and stuffing a duffle bag full of pocket watches and other seemingly safe nick nacks.
"What's happening? Is this about the energy spike we detected?"
"Just give an answer," Leah snapped.
A beat of silence. When Marine spoke again, her voice shifted away from the sleepiness and into a more professional stance. "Combat ready in seven hours. Six witches in Toronto, two in Montreal, plus . Full tactical loadout."
"Good. One squad's enough. You'll form a company with three other squads from the Ann family."
"Leah," Marine said. "Is a war coming?"
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Leah paused, lifting up the duffle bag. "The young miss is gone. Be at Billy Bishop in seven hours with your squad. You're flying to Montreal."
She ended the call.
The lab now felt too quiet. Leah moved to a large display panel on the east wall. The screen turned on with a single thought, showing a map of Toronto overlaid with hundreds of glowing green, red, and blue dots.
Green for ally, red for hostile, blue for neutral.
She touched a filter icon and searched 'R.A' callsign. All dots disappeared, no green, blue, nor red anywhere on the map.
Nothing.
She zood out, expanding the map to all of Ontario. Nothing. All of Canada. Nothing.
"No, no, no." She grabbed her phone again and called Rachel's number.
One ring. Two. Voicemail.
She called again. Voicemail.
Again. Voicemail.
By the eighth call, Leah slamd her fist into the wall beside the display. The tal dented under the impact.
Leah pulled up her secure communication app and opened the ergency channel.
[Ergency Signature Alpha - Montreal Theatre Operations]
[Imdiate deploynt required. Two combat squads needed for extended engagent. Duration: Unknown. Risk Level: Maximum. Reply within 60 seconds if available.]
Her phone vibrated twice.
[Squad Lego - Awaiting orders.]
[Squad Tesla - Ready for imdiate deploynt.]
Leah typed back.
[Billy Bishop Airport. Private jet hangar 7. Prep aircraft for Montreal departure. Blue Witches will board with you. Establish War Room at location ID: Dwarf Hub, Old Montreal. Move now.]
[Squad Lego - Understood.]
[Squad Tesla - Understood.]
Leah closed the zipped up the duffle bag and grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair. The lab door sealed behind her with a soft hiss as she stepped into the corridor. Her boots clicked against the polished floor as she headed for the elevator bank.
The elevator doors opened imdiately. She pressed the button for the main floor and leaned against the wall as the car began its ascent. The display counted upward: B44, B43, B42…
Gerard had said forty-five minutes. Before midnight. That put Rachel's disappearance at around 11:45 PM. That was too fast when she just saw her a couple of hours ago. Maybe the Silver Lions had been planning this for weeks, maybe months. They'd waited for the perfect mont when Rachel was separated from her usual protection detail.
Leah's hands balled into fists. The elevator wall reflected the anger on her face. She had helped Rachel rebuild her life after everything that happened in the Red Death Incident. Gave her the support she needed and let her cry on her shoulders almost every goddamn night after she ca back. Now those bastards took her one and only niece.
The elevator chid softly as it reached the main floor.
Revenge. That was the only word that mattered now.
Leah stepped out into the mansion's main corridor. Her footsteps carried her past the grand staircase, through the cloudstone flooring. The north wing stretched ahead of her, a long hallway lined with doors leading to various offices and eting rooms.
The sll of smoke ca from up ahead as she reached Esther's office. The heavy oak door hung open.
The normally pristine room looked like a war zone. Charred book spines littered the floor around the massive built-in shelves. Black scorch marks climbed the walls where flas had licked at centuries-old volus. The air tasted of ash and burned paper.
Esther stood at the far end of the room beside a large conference table that dominated the space. The table's surface had been replaced with a massive interactive monitor displaying a detailed map of North Arica. Four locations pulsed with red markers: Vancouver Island on the west coast, Montreal and Quebec City forming a cluster in the east, Greater Sudbury positioned like a strategic waypoint, and Boston Massachusetts at the southeastern edge.
Gerard stood to Esther's left, his usually perfect butler's uniform showing traces of soot on the sleeves. His face carried none of its typical composed neutrality. In those very eyes were fury Leah hasn't seen before from the man since she joined the main family.
Nathaniel occupied the space near the windows, arms crossed over his broad chest. The forr Path intelligence officer had traded his usual business attire for tactical gear.
"Have you gathered your squads?" Esther asked, not bothering to look up as her finger traced a line between the Montreal and Quebec markers.
Leah nodded. One thing for sure though, this whole thing was ready far too quickly.
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