The Old Port of Tangier was a graveyard of ships and rusted containers at night. The storm had returned, the rain lashing at the Mediterranean, churning the water into a black froth.
Adam stood atop the skeletal framework of an abandoned crane, overlooking Warehouse 4.
This was where it had started. Sort of. Not this specific warehouse, but this life. The life of shadows, contraband, and blood.
He checked his gear. He had scavenged what he could from a hunting store he had broken into hours ago. He had explosives now. Primitive, but effective. Pipe bombs filled with nails and ball bearings.
He was in pain. His leg throbbed with a dull, persistent heat. His ribs were wrapped in duct tape and gauze stolen from a pharmacy. Every breath was an effort.
But his mind was clear.
He had sent the message. He had hacked into the police frequency and broadcast a simple phrase: I am here. Come and get me.
He wanted them here. He wanted to draw the wolves away from the city, away from Fatima, away from Leila.
Below him, the darkness shifted.
A convoy of black SUVs rolled silently through the puddles, their headlights off. They parked in a semi-circle around the warehouse.
Doors opened. Men poured out. Not just the local thugs, but professionals. Mercenaries. Armed with assault rifles, night vision goggles, and body armor.
There were at least thirty of them.
And standing in the center of the group, looking up at the crane with a pair of binoculars, was Vargo.
Adam smiled, a grim, humorless expression. He picked up the detonator.
He pressed the button.
The explosives he had planted on the main support pillars of the surrounding warehouses detonated in a thunderous roar. The shockwave shattered windows and sent debris flying.
Two of the SUVs were flipped over by the blast.
Chaos erupted. The mercenaries opened fire into the smoke, blindly shooting at ghosts.
Adam didn't wait. He leaped from the crane, firing a zip-line to a lower catwalk. He zipped down into the confusion, landing behind a stack of shipping containers.
He drew his pistols.
It was time to hunt.