Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Seven
The warehouses stood like gutted beasts by the ti Demir arrived.
tal doors hung crooked on their hinges, locks snapped clean through. Inside, the air slled wrong. Yet, the rooms were too clean, and too empty. Items that once brimd with contraband lay overturned, their contents vanished without so much as a scuff mark to hint at direction. No footprints were left as well as no shell casings.
Only dead bodies and blood soaked into concrete, dark and sticky, carrying a tallic stench that clung to the back of Demir’s throat.
He knew very soon that if they didn’t clear this ss the police would be there soon.
Demir paced the length of the warehouse, jaw clenched so tight it ached. His n fanned out, lifting tarps, prying open false panels, checking ceilings and drains, anything that might whisper a clue. They found nothing. Not even another brand of a careless cigarette butt.
"Sir," one of them finally said, voice low, apologetic. "It’s like they were never here."
Demir exhaled sharply, the sound clipped and impatient. He hated that sentence because it was the sa thing he heard at the next warehouse.
By the ti they returned to Marco, the sun was already sinking, casting long shadows across the villa’s marble floors. Demir stood before his uncle’s desk, shoulders squared, spine straight, refusing to show the frustration boiling in his chest.
"There were no leads," Demir said. "They left no evidence. Whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing. They left no fingerprints or even boot prints."
Marco leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled, eyes cold. "And what exactly do you expect to do with that information?"
The question landed like a slap.
Demir blinked. "Uncle..."
"What good is a report that tells nothing?" Marco cut in, his voice sharpening. "I sent you to retrieve answers, not excuses. You can’t tell those people are better than you are! Do you know what I have lost? Do you know how much harm they have done to this organization?"
Sothing twisted in Demir’s chest. "These people are also professionals. Not re troublemakers or thieves. They wiped everything and left just the bodies. I could only ask our n to clean up before the scent drove the police there."
"Enough." Marco stood abruptly. "For once in your life, Demir, you are proving yourself utterly incompetent."
The word rang in the room.
Incompetent.
Demir felt it echo through his bones. In all his years, every mission executed, every enemy crushed, he never once had Marco say that word to him. His hands curled into fists at his sides, nails biting into his palms.
"I will find them," Demir said, voice shaking with restrained fury. "Whoever is behind this, I will drag them to you myself. I swear it. You will have their heads."
Marco waved him off, already turning away. "See that you do."
Demir turned without another word.
His footsteps were asured as he crossed the study, but sothing violent coiled tight in his chest, pulling with every step. His jaw locked, teeth grinding until his temples throbbed. By the ti he reached the door, his hands were clenched so hard his knuckles had gone white, skin stretched thin as if it might split.
He didn’t look back.
The door closed behind him with a quiet, deliberate click yet controlled, and restrained but the promise sat heavy in his breathing, sharp and wicked.
Soone would pay for this. That or he’d make soone else take the fall.
*********
Aht woke to a dull, persistent throb behind his eyes, his body heavy as if it had been filled with lead. Every limb protested the mont he tried to move, pain blooming beneath his skin in slow, aching waves. The room slled sterile, antiseptic, clean sheets, and the faint trace of dried blood. He had pushed through the pain, and refused to rest, refused to stop... until his body had finally betrayed him.
Now he was waking from an enforced sleep, dragged under by an injection he knew Markus had ordered when his stubbornness nearly cost him.
"You look like shit," Markus said cheerfully from the armchair by the window.
Aht groaned and rolled onto his side. "If you don’t shut up..."
"Oh, co on." Markus grinned. "Don’t you feel better now that you’ve rested? See? Sleep fixes everything."
Aht ignored him, staring at the wall as Markus continued his comntary like a man determined to be punched.
"Honestly, you should thank . I watched over you. Made sure you didn’t choke on your own pride."
"Yet, you couldn’t wipe the blood? Not even change my clothes?" Aht shot.
"Hey, I don’t do n." Markus joked, covering his own body.
"You rascal!"
A phone buzzed imdiately.
Markus glanced at the screen, his grin fading totally. He turned it so Aht could see the caller ID.
Marco.
Aht gave a small nod.
Markus answered. "Yes?"
"Co to my office. Right this instant," Marco snapped before hanging up.
Markus sighed. "Well, my fake life Duty calls."
When Markus arrived at the villa, Marco wasted no ti.
"Soone is ssing with my warehouses," Marco said, pacing. "They hit clean, take everything, and leave no witnesses. Not even traces."
Markus lifted an eyebrow, face carefully blank. "Who the hell is that?"
Marco shot him a sharp look before launching into a brief narration about the raids, missing goods, and even Demir’s failure. "I want whoever did this found," he concluded. "Revisit the warehouses. I want clues."
Markus nodded dutifully, already planning a very different route.
He left, did not go anywhere near the warehouses, and instead returned ho.
Aht was toweling his hair when Markus walked in.
"Finally, soone decided to take a proper bath!" Markus closed the door with his joke
"So?" However, Aht ignored him.
"It’s ti," Markus said simply. "Marco swallowed the bait."
Aht leaned against the doorfra, his eyes darkening. "I think it’s ti he knows you were never a spy."
Markus let out a low laugh. "Are you sure? Oh goodness, finally. I would love to see his face when he finds out."
"Communicate the next warehouse we’re invading to him," Aht said.
Markus hesitated. "Wait. Are you sure?"
"Yes." Aht’s voice hardened. "It’s high ti he knew who was after him. Let’s fight him face to face."
Markus studied him. "Sure. But... what about Asli?"
Aht’s jaw tightened instantly. "I don’t give a fck about her. Stop asking about her."
Markus raised both hands. "Copy that. Calm down, geez. Soone would think ants are biting your ass."
Aht exhaled slowly. "Let’s hit him with more than one surprise. Tell him we’re going after the warehouse near the beach. Let’s see what he’s hiding there."
Markus nodded. "I’ll tell him I got a lead. We’ll need more n on board this ti around. He’ll definitely do the sa."
Aht nodded once, then turned toward the bathroom. "I need a bath. I reek."
******
Markus returned to Marco’s villa and walked straight into his study.
"Markus," Marco said, half-smiling. "You’re back so soon. Tell , you ca with good news."
Markus nodded, his expression serious. "I asked around. Found a hut nearby. A farr said so n ca through and paid him to keep quiet. Told him if anyone asked, he should say they fought among themselves and killed each other."
Marco scoffed. "What kind of bullshit is that? Even I don’t believe it."
"That’s exactly what he said," Markus replied smoothly. "But he also ntioned hearing them say they were heading toward the beach next."
That did it.
Marco’s eyes lit up, excitent slicing through his irritation. He grabbed his phone and dialed imdiately.
"Demir," he barked. "Get here. Now. We have a lead. You’re going to redeem yourself."
When he hung up, Markus tilted his head as if waiting for him to call Asli as well but that never ca. "Why haven’t you called Asli yet?"
Marco’s expression darkened. "Why, are you questioning ?"
"I just thought," Markus said carefully, "she’d be the best person for this. She’s your strongest soldier."
Marco’s jaw tightened. "Don’t remind of your incompetence. I know Asli is my best but this isn’t a mission for her. She doesn’t know this side of the business. Besides, she’s out of the country on another assignnt. I made sure of that."
The words hit Markus like a revelation.
Asli knew nothing about Marco’s shady businesses.
Marco dismissed him monts later, already barking orders into his phone. Markus stepped outside and discreetly dialed Aht’s number instinctively but the call went unanswered. It didn’t even go through.
He typed quickly instead.
’Asli knows nothing about the shady side of her father’s business.’
He stared at the screen for a mont before slipping the phone back into his pocket, hoping, perhaps foolishly, that Aht would finally understand.
If Asli was not his accomplice, then she was a victim too. ’What plan does Marco have for her?’
Markus asked inwardly.
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