Beep. Beep. Beep.
Isaac stared at the alarm clock for a moment before shutting it off with an irritated sigh. The pale light of the morning sun was already creeping through the curtains, bathing Noctis' room in a washed-out gray. The night was over. Even if Isaac could hardly claim he had slept at all.
Slowly, he sat up. His eyes burned with exhaustion. How could he have found any rest?
The evening before, Noctis had left together with the others to finally take down the boss and support the police from the sidelines. Since then, there had been nothing but silence. Isaac reached for his glasses and put them on before immediately unlocking his phone. Messages. Missed calls. Any sign of life.
Nothing.
His jaw tightened. Not even a short "Everything's fine."
With a frustrated exhale, he lowered the phone and finally got to his feet. Brooding wouldn't help. Maybe at least something official had been released by now. News outlets were often faster than direct answers.
He hastily threw on some clothes and headed into the kitchen.
The past few days had drained him completely. Not only had he spent several sleepless nights with Ashe preparing all the documents for the police, but Vincent had also firmly forbidden him from taking part in the mission.
So instead of sleeping, he had tossed and turned in bed, worrying.
While the others were out there risking their lives, Isaac had been lying in bed staring at the ceiling, imagining scenarios he would rather never have thought about.
He knew the plan in every detail. He knew who was positioned where, who was backing up whom, and which risks had been accounted for. But knowledge did nothing against fear. Nothing against the constant question of whether everything had really gone according to plan.
Whether someone had gotten hurt—and above all, whether they had caught the boss.
With tired movements, he poured himself a cup of black coffee. The bitter smell filled the kitchen while he opened a livestream of the news. As expected, every station was already reporting on the operation.
Isaac clicked on the broadcast and leaned against the kitchen counter.
The news anchor spoke of a large-scale strike against organized human trafficking. Meanwhile, blurry footage played across the screen: emergency vehicles, blocked-off streets, and people wrapped in blankets being treated by paramedics. Their faces had been blurred beyond recognition.
Isaac felt a small part of the tension in his chest ease.
At least they had managed to rescue the victims.
"Good morning, Isaac," Ashe mumbled sleepily behind him, suppressing a yawn. "Oh… you're already watching the news?"
Isaac only nodded, not taking his eyes off the screen. With a brief gesture, he pointed toward the coffee machine.
"There's still coffee left if you want some," he said absently.
"Thanks," Ashe replied with relief as she poured herself a cup. Then she stepped up beside him. "So? How does it look?"
"They raided the brothel," Isaac answered quietly. "The people there were freed."
Ashe let out an audible breath. "Thank God." She ran a tired hand through her hair and set down her cup. "Are they okay?"
"Physically, apparently yes," Isaac said. "At least that's what the first reports are saying."
Ashe grimaced in disgust as more footage of the operation appeared on the television.
"Thank goodness. That side business was what worried me the most," she said irritably. "How can anyone sink so low and sell human beings? You'd think we'd reached an era where human dignity was supposed to be inviolable."
Isaac grimaced faintly. Deep down, he was grateful that the boss had only decided to kill him instead of selling him off like those poor people for the personal pleasure of others. He did not even want to imagine what might have happened to him as merchandise.
Or what he might have had to do just to survive…
Without realizing it, Isaac tightened his grip around his coffee cup.
The thought alone made his stomach twist painfully.
Ashe switched on the television, prompting Isaac to end the stream on his phone. Together, they sat down at the small kitchen table while the live coverage continued. For a moment, the soft clinking of their cups was the only thing breaking the tense silence.
"Have you heard anything from the others?" Isaac finally asked.
Ashe shook her head. "No. There hasn't been any message, and Vincent hasn't sent an SOS either," she replied. She studied him briefly. "Couldn't sleep either?"
Isaac shook his head.
"Not for a single second."
Ashe pulled her legs closer to herself and leaned lightly against him. Despite her calm voice, she seemed tense.
"I hope everyone's okay," she said quietly. "Do you think he escaped?"
"No idea," Isaac replied tensely. "But they're all there, so they'll have the situation under control."
At least, that was what he kept telling himself.
In truth, he hated this waiting. He wished he had been there. Just sitting around and waiting was not in his nature. He could have disguised himself and helped. He understood why Vincent had forbidden him from taking part, but he still could not shake the feeling that he could have done more.
"You're right," Ashe said confidently. "Besides, we prepared everything perfectly. The police just have to follow the plan we laid out."
"Mhm."
Isaac took a sip of coffee without really paying attention to the taste.
Silently, they followed the next reports. One by one, more of the boss's illegal operations were uncovered and dismantled. Warehouses were searched, accounts frozen, several known meeting points raided.
Then the broadcast suddenly switched to the boss's villa.
Flashing police lights bathed the entire estate in frantic red and blue. Armed officers moved between vehicles in cover while muffled gunshots echoed through the live footage.
Ashe immediately straightened up.
"Shit…"
Isaac felt his shoulders tense.
After everything they had seen so far, every cop in the city—and even outside the city—must have been mobilized. The documents alone had already revealed the kind of firepower backing the boss.
That was also Vincent's main reason for positioning his people in a way that allowed them to support the police from the shadows. At least no one had reported that the assassins had been discovered yet.
Beside him, Ashe nervously scrolled through various news sites and social media feeds.
"Can you find any more information anywhere?"
"Unfortunately not." She shook her head in frustration. "Everywhere basically just repeats what they're showing on TV."
Isaac sat up straighter as several officers finally stormed the villa's main building.
The camera zoomed in frantically before the reporters hurriedly backed away.
"Fuck, the cops really aren't holding back," Ashe cursed quietly. "I just hope they never find us here."
Isaac did not answer immediately. His eyes remained fixed on the footage while his thumb slowly tapped against his coffee mug.
"Maybe you should find a safe job and leave the underworld behind," Isaac murmured while tensely following the live broadcast.
"And that's coming from you of all people?" Ashe muttered in surprise.
The news anchor was still waiting outside the estate. He could offer little more than vague speculation. Gunshots, dull impacts, and occasional panicked screams continued to echo from inside the villa.
Isaac sat motionless at the table.
By now, he was gripping his coffee cup so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. A small part of him was already wondering why the porcelain had not cracked under the pressure yet.
Beside him, Ashe let out a tense snort.
"It's not that easy for me to get out anymore," she muttered bitterly. "I'm already in way too deep."
Isaac did not reply. At that moment, the boss appeared on screen. Flanked by two officers escorting him away in handcuffs and three more securing the area around them. Isaac recognized one of them as Benedict.
Isaac grimaced faintly. He still could hardly believe that this overly correct, justice-obsessed asshole had agreed to work together with criminals of all people.
At least after this mission, he would finally be rid of him.
Well, assuming he and Vincent did not decide to turn whatever bizarre friends-with-benefits situation they had into something more.
Beside him, Ashe abruptly jumped to her feet. Her coffee mug tipped over, spilling dark liquid across the table, but she barely noticed. In the next moment, she had already wrapped Isaac in a hug.
"They got him!" she shouted in relief. "It actually worked!"
Isaac barely reacted. As if hypnotized, he stared at the screen.
He could not believe the boss had actually been captured. His gaze was fixed on the face of the man he had considered his father for so many years. That man had been a fucking god to him.
It had worked.
Vincent's plan had succeeded.
Which meant he no longer had to wait to finally take revenge on that man. The man who had not only stolen his parents and his childhood from him, but had repeatedly put him in danger. Hell, Isaac had always been ready to die for that bastard, and he would have done it gladly if it meant the boss survived.
Soon…
A cold smile played across his lips.
But before the boss could be shoved into the police car, a loud gunshot rang out, and the boss immediately collapsed.
Chaos erupted.
The camera jerked violently, police officers shouted over one another, several officers dove for cover and aimed their weapons in every direction. Someone screamed orders that were swallowed by the noise. Moments later, the broadcast cut out.
Suddenly, a ghostly silence settled over the kitchen.
Ashe was still clinging to him, but neither of them said a word anymore. Both stared at the screen in disbelief.
No, that cannot have seriously just happened…
"What the hell was that just now…?" Ashe finally murmured numbly. "Please tell me that didn't actually happen…"
Suddenly, she let go of him and jumped to her feet.
"Wait here. I'm getting my laptop."
Before Isaac could even react, she had already rushed out of the kitchen.
A few moments later, she returned, sat down beside him, and silently flipped the laptop open. Her fingers immediately began flying over the keyboard.
"Damn it," she cursed quietly. "I can't get into the traffic surveillance system."
She paused briefly, thinking frantically, then switched tactics.
"Okay… then we'll do this another way."
A few seconds later, she was already working her way through multiple security barriers of the police database.
"There aren't any reports yet," she muttered in frustration. "No operation logs. Nothing."
Isaac barely listened to her.
His stomach felt as though a black hole had opened inside it.
The boss was probably dead, and with that, his revenge no longer existed. If someone else had killed him, then there was nothing Isaac could do anymore to truly bring the matter to a close.
The frozen image disappeared, and the first reporter from the studio reappeared on screen.
Isaac blinked slowly as the man spoke in a professionally controlled voice.
"We apologize for the interruption. Further information will be provided at a later time."
With that, the broadcast ended.