THE DEVIL'S VESSEL

An inaudible clanking of the machinery echoed from the dockyard as forklifts trundled purposefully through crates under the delicate light of dawn. High above in the air, seagulls screamed, oblivious to the melodrama their path. Luca stayed behind drums piled high in a row of his eyes pinioned on the box with the security lock at the top. All of him wailed that Raphael was inside. Too convenient, too easy… yet too kind to be overlooked. Bianca was already gone, having dissolved a few moments before to creep the outer perimeter and take out the guards moving stealthily, one by one. Her movement would be silent, silky, ghostly. Luca trusted her more than anyone—more than he trusted himself these days. He breathed in slowly, calming the storm within him. Focus. No errors. A subdued buzzing hummed in the pocket of his jacket. It was the burner phone Enzo had given him. Luca pulled it out, still crouched. Text message: From Enzo: Adraine just placed another call. Same encrypted line. She said "the bait is working." Get Raphael and get out. Now. Luca's jaw flexed. The bait is working. He pushed the phone into his pocket and slammed his earpiece. "Bianca. Come in." Her voice cracked through. "I'm in position. Disabled two guards on the north side. What's the situation?" Adraine is providing them with intel. More sinister than betrayal—collusion. We have to act faster. "" "Copy. Joining you at the target in ninety seconds. I'll cover your six.". Luca ran out from behind cover, the crates in front of him as a shield. One of the guards came into view ahead of him around the corner, but Luca was quicker. He dove, clamped his hand over the man's mouth, and hit the man on the temple with his elbow. The body thudded onto the ground. He arrived at the rusty crate just as Bianca arrived at him, her knife with a thin red line along its edge. "Clear?" she said. Luca nodded. "Yeah. Do it." Bianca took out a thin device from her bag and plugged it into the padlock. It clicked open with the smooth action of a machine. She drew out her gun. "On three." "ONE…" Luca loaded his gun. "Two…" They tensed themselves tight. "THREE!" Bianca kicked open the doors and they crept in. Darkness. Stale air. And then— "Raphael," Luca breathed. His brother sat tied into a metal chair, his chest bruised and shirtless, his eyes slit. His lips were bruised and dry, bruises mapping over his jaw and chest. Chains held his arms to the ground. "Luca." Raphael gasped. "You arrived." Luca pushed them away and knelt next to him, feeling for a pulse. "I got you, Raph. Stay with me." Bianca took a moment to scan the room. "No trap. No camera. Too smooth." "I know," Luca snarled. He withdrew bolt cutters from his pack and set to work on the chains. "That's what scares me." Raphael hacked. "It was Adraine… she arranged it. Spiked my drink. Sold me to some Serpent thug. Told me it was for the family. Some sick plot." Luca's eyes darkened. "The family? Priceless." With the final chain snapping, Bianca tensed. "We have visitors." Footsteps sounded outside— heavy and rapid. And voices. "There! They're in the container!" Shots rang out as bullets shattered the metal sides. Luca shoved Raphael to the ground and pinned him. Bianca returned fire and dispatched two enemies who tried to peer behind the crates. "They brought reinforcements!" she shouted. "Figures," Luca growled. "They were never gonna let us go free.". He slung Raphael's arm across his shoulder. "We go forward on my command. Bianca, left cover fire. We go forward south down the corridor." "Right!" Luca started counting backwards—"Three, two, one!"—before he went flying with Raphael limping behind him. Bianca let off a loud burst of fire, her shots being well-placed, and the attackers fell back for the time being. They ran through crates, bullets flying around them as they leaped over obstacles in their way. One of the guards tried to circle around behind them, but Bianca cut him off, her boot in his face before he could even raise his gun. Luca was panting by the time they made it to the end of the dock. "Where's the getaway car?" Bianca jerked her chin in a nod. "There—there, old truck on the wall of the fish market. It's old, but it's running. Enzo worked on it last night." Luca pushed Raphael into the passenger side and Bianca climbed into the driver's side. "Hold on," she said, cranking. The truck roared to life and careened out of the alleyway, rolling over barrels and squealing onto the road. The rumble of engines behind them announced a chase. Black sedans with darkened windows skidded from the piers. "We've got a tail," Bianca growled, looking over her shoulder. Luca readied his ammunition. "Take the road to the east. There's a cut-through to the quarry I know." Bianca jerked the wheel around, and the truck swung around a curve. The sedans struggled to follow on the uneven terrain. Dirt flew everywhere as the truck bounced along a dirt path toward the quarry cliffs. Bullets ricocheted off the truck bed. Raphael yelled in pain, clutching at his ribs. 'Hold on, Raph," Luca urged. 'We're almost out." But one of the sedans came up behind them, the driver with his head out the window and a rifle in his hand. Bianca ground her teeth. "Ready to fire." Luca nodded and half had his head out the window, leaning against the pickup roof. He aimed— And fired. The windshield of the car that had been pursuing them disintegrated. The driver of the car lost control, swerved off course, and smashed against a boulder. On the horizon, the explosion illuminated the sky. "Good shot!" Bianca yelled. The last sedan lagged behind as they switched onto a turned canyon road. Bianca activated a button on the dashboard—one of Enzo's favorites—& a blast charge dropped down behind them, closing the exit in a skid of rocks. There was strained silence, the only sound their harsh breathing. The truck pulled up behind a cave at the end of the quarry face. Luca took Raphael in and settled him gently down on a bedroll. The cave was cool and dark, far from satellite and drone sight. Bianca stood guard at the cave entrance, eyes scanning side to side as she attempted to see movement. Luca fell to the ground next to his brother, brushing hair from his bruised forehead. "You're safe now." Raphael's eyelids closed and then opened. "They made me talk. They made me say something. Something about. our father's ledger. They think I know where it is." Luca's frame tensed. "Ledger?" Raphael nodded hesitantly. "Dad kept records, apparently. Blackmail, business, names. A lot of power brokers. They think it's in there somewhere. Adraine. she's playing the game with them to get it." Luca stood slowly, his mind reeling. "This isn't betrayal any longer. This is a power struggle. She's attempting to use our father's secrets in order to get ahead." Bianca was staring at the door. "Then we burn her ladder." Luca looked at her. "What are you saying?" Bianca's jaw hardened. "We give up some of the book ourselves. Create some enemies to be feared. Enough to revolt against her. Let them eat one another alive while we push in." Luca thought. "Rash." "Effective," she said. He glanced over his shoulder at Raphael, already snoring, drained from the ordeal. Luca's fists tightened. Adraine had violated a rule that nobody ever violated. Family was not blood—it was tradition, loyalty, the battle scars you bore. And she'd defiled them all for power. "She wants to play games?" Luca snarled. "Then we'll play. But by our rules." Bianca's eyes glinted. "And we never lose." A new war was fought in silence in the leaping silhouettes of the torches in the cave. And this time, Luca would fight not only to survive. He'd fight for justice. He'd fight for revenge. He'd fight to end the evil that had consumed his family. And Adraine… She would not even realize it.