Chapter 25

“You cannot kill us, Hayes!” the mercenary choked out, spitting blood onto the stone floor. “Victor has a dead man’s switch! If we don’t report back, he will detonate the explosives planted under the grandstands!”

“Will he detonate them?” Alexander asked, tilting his head with dangerous curiosity. The loose strands of dark hair fell over his forehead, contrasting violently with his cold, unblinking eyes. “Or will he realize that my cyber division intercepted his encrypted detonator codes the moment you stepped onto this property?”

The mercenary froze, his fair, rosy skin paling to a sickly white. “What?”

“Did you assume I would bring my family to an unsecured location?” Alexander explained smoothly, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt with impeccable precision. “I already possess his location. The explosives are disabled. You are entirely bankrupt of leverage.”

The mercenary let out a ragged, humiliated sob. He had tried to exploit a perceived weakness and had been systematically dismantled by an intellect vastly superior to his own.

“You have two choices,” Alexander stated, stepping closer. “You give me the exact coordinates of Victor’s safe house. Or my men will carry you out of this room in pieces.”

Faced with absolute, unavoidable destruction, the mercenary frantically agreed to the terms. He gave up the rogue cousin without hesitation, completely stripped of his loyalty and dignity in less than three minutes. Alexander had secured the target without a single casualty.

>>Chapter 26