Jamie Lancaster sat in the dimly lit operations room, her fingers tapping rhythmically against the table. A secure line crackled with encrypted transmissions as Vikram Rathore paced behind her. Across from her, Solomon Kane leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, eyes cold with calculation.
A message had arrived—one that changed everything.
Vikram placed a file on the table. "This came through a very tangled chain—RAW heard it from Mossad, who got it from MI6, who intercepted a Russian-Chinese communication."
Jamie picked it up and scanned the contents. A knot tightened in her chest.
"Project Specter’s next move," she murmured.
The file detailed an orchestrated mass shooting planned during a protest. The plan was diabolical: Specter’s operatives would infiltrate a crowd, open fire, and frame Jamie for the massacre. The ensuing chaos would cement her as an international terrorist. Governments still wavering on their stance would be forced to act against her. The final nail in the coffin.
Solomon exhaled sharply. "They're escalating. Fast."
Vikram nodded. "They want you permanently erased. This isn’t just discrediting you anymore—this is an execution disguised as justice."
Jamie clenched her jaw. "Where’s the attack supposed to happen?"
Vikram opened a map, pointing to a major anti-government protest in Berlin.Thousands of civilians would be there.
"If they pull this off, it won’t just be you they destroy, Jamie. It’ll trigger a geopolitical nightmare," Vikram said grimly. "Germany’s already divided over how to handle you. If chaos erupts there, the EU might fracture entirely. Russia and China would step in as ‘peacekeepers,’ exploiting the crisis."
Jamie’s eyes burned with fury. "Then we stop it."
Time was against them. The protest was only eight hours away.
Jamie’s team mobilized, tapping into every resource at their disposal. With India’s intelligence network discreetly feeding them information, they pinpointed possible Specter operatives who had entered Berlin in the last week.
Vikram used his military contacts to discreetly track unusual weapon shipments. Solomon hacked into traffic surveillance, mapping out potential sniper nests and escape routes.
But they needed someone on the ground.
“I can deploy my men,” Vikram offered. “Unofficially. But if we get caught, India will be forced to disavow us.”
“I’ll go,” Solomon said.
Jamie looked at him, searching his face. “You sure?”
Solomon’s smirk was predatory. “Mass shootings are for cowards. I want to personally remove these bastards before they can pull the trigger.”
Vikram sighed but nodded. "I'll arrange covert insertion."
The protest was already swelling by the time Solomon landed in Berlin under a false identity. Thousands of civilians filled the streets, waving banners and chanting slogans. The tension was palpable—police in riot gear lined the streets, their presence only adding to the unease.
Solomon moved through the crowd, earpiece buzzing with updates from Jamie and Vikram.
“Our first target is near Brandenburg Gate,” Jamie relayed. “We believe he’s the lead coordinator.”
Solomon’s eyes scanned the area, locking onto a man in an oversized jacket. Too warm for the weather. Bulky, hiding something.
He tailed him, subtly maneuvering through the crowd. Then, the man reached for his phone. Chapters fırst released on novel⸺fire.net
“He’s signaling someone,” Jamie warned.
Solomon didn’t wait. He lunged forward, grabbing the man’s arm and twisting it behind his back.
The man snarled in Russian—"Who the hell—"
Solomon slammed him against a pillar. “Wrong move, comrade.”
Before the man could cry out, Solomon discreetly pressed a knife against his ribs. "Tell me where the others are. Now."
The man’s eyes flickered with fear. Solomon twisted the knife slightly—not enough to stab, but enough to send a message.
“Four shooters. Two snipers. The others are moving toward the stage.”
Jamie’s voice was sharp in Solomon’s ear. “Confirmed. We’ve got intercepts matching his confession. The attack is imminent.”
Solomon didn’t hesitate. He knocked the man out cold and vanished back into the crowd.
Jamie’s team moved swiftly. With the sniper locations identified, Vikram’s covert operatives neutralized them before they could take position.
Solomon hunted the remaining gunmen.
He spotted one moving toward the center of the rally, hand gripping something under his jacket. A concealed rifle.
“Target sighted,” Solomon murmured.
Jamie’s voice came through. “Take him out. No witnesses.”
Solomon approached calmly, then struck like lightning. He grabbed the man’s gun arm, twisted it upward, and slammed a brutal elbow into his throat. The would-be shooter choked, staggering. Solomon disarmed him in seconds and shoved a blade into his ribs.
The attacker gasped, eyes wide with shock, before crumpling to the ground.
Another gunman was trying to reach the main stage. If he opened fire there, the crowd would turn into a stampede of chaos.
Solomon sprinted forward. The moment the gunman raised his weapon—
A single, silenced shot.
Solomon’s bullet pierced the attacker’s skull, dropping him instantly. The crowd remained oblivious.
“Final shooter is on the move,” Jamie warned. “He knows something’s wrong.”
Solomon spotted him—a man moving erratically, panicking.
But just as Solomon closed in—
The attacker suddenly drew a grenade.
"Shit!" Solomon cursed.
The crowd was right next to him. If he detonated it, hundreds would die.
Solomon lunged forward, gripping the man’s wrist. They struggled—seconds stretched into eternity.
Solomon wrenched the grenade free and smashed his elbow into the attacker’s skull.
The man collapsed. Solomon tossed the grenade into a nearby security trench, where it exploded harmlessly.
The danger was over. The attack had been stopped.
Jamie watched from the secure command post as live feeds showed the protest continuing peacefully. The attack had been silently erased before it could happen.
"Specter just lost their big play," Vikram muttered.
Jamie exhaled. "And now we push back harder."
Solomon’s voice crackled in. “We won this round. But they’ll come back stronger.”
Jamie’s eyes hardened. “So will we.”
The war for the truth had begun. And Jamie Lancaster was no longer just defending herself—she was going on the offensive.