Chapter 51: We Hit the Pharmaceutical Company Before Sunrise

The alarm went off at four fifteen in the morning.

Adrián shut it off before the second ring.

He sat on the edge of the bed and spent a few seconds staring at the window, breathing slowly.

"Brother-in-law."

Ishtar was already standing beside the armchair.

Not a trace of sleep in her eyes.

She was already dressed for the operation—black flexible-fabric pants, short black boots, a cropped dark leather jacket with silver details. Her hair was tied back in a single low ponytail.

No lollipop.

No school uniform.

Nothing of the daytime Ishtar remained.

Adrián looked at her.

"..."

"Get dressed. Fast. We’re heading down in ten minutes."

"Okay."

Adrián put on the clothes they had left for him on a chair beside the bed the night before.

Pants similar to Ishtar’s.

A dark, long-sleeved thermal shirt.

A short jacket with internal pockets.

Boots.

And a single black glove for his left hand, with the palm exposed—Rhea had explained the night before that it was meant to absorb impact without interfering with his ability to generate energy.

Everything fit perfectly.

He ran his hands through his hair.

Washed his face with cold water.

Then stepped into the hallway.

Ishtar was waiting for him with two thermoses of coffee in her hands.

She handed him one.

"Brother-in-law."

"Yeah, Ishtar?"

"Two rules for the car. One: you don’t talk during the drive unless Kael talks to you first. Kael doesn’t talk during missions. Silence. Concentration. It’s his ritual. Two: don’t ask obvious questions like ’Are we almost there?’ every fifteen minutes. I’ll tell you when we arrive."

"Okay."

"Good."

They took the elevator down.

Two black SUVs were parked one behind the other in the underground garage.

Silvano was already inside the first one.

Glasses on.

A small leather briefcase resting on his lap.

An expression of absolute calm on his face.

Kael stood beside the second SUV.

Arms crossed.

Jaw tense.

The scar over his left eyebrow was clearly visible beneath the garage’s fluorescent lights.

He was dressed entirely in black as well.

And at his waist, on the right side, was an object wrapped in dark cloth that Adrián immediately identified as a weapon. The handle was short, and its shape suggested a single-edged sword—something like a katana, but shorter and broader.

Kael saw them approaching.

He nodded once.

Said nothing.

Ishtar walked over to him and gave him a quick hug.

Kael accepted it with one arm.

Adrián took note of the scene.

It was the first time he had seen Kael touch someone with anything other than hostility.

Ishtar was family.

Kael treated her like it.

"Ishtar," Kael said quietly.

"Kael."

"Keep him safe."

"Yes."

"Good."

Kael turned his head.

Looked at Adrián.

Held his gaze for exactly two seconds.

"Vega."

"Kael."

"On this mission, you’re not dead weight. You’re the primary asset. You do exactly what I tell you, exactly when I tell you. No arguing. No hesitation. No smart-ass comments. Understood?"

"Understood."

"Good. You ride with Silvano in the first SUV. Ishtar rides with me in the second. We’re splitting up because if someone follows us, I don’t want all four of us together until we reach the perimeter. Silvano handles navigation. I cover the rear."

"Okay."

"We move."

Adrián climbed into the first SUV.

Silvano was in the driver’s seat.

He handed Adrián another cup of coffee—already his second of the day—with the same calm gesture he might have used if they were going out to buy the morning paper instead of infiltrating a pharmaceutical company that was probably hiding five human women kidnapped by Fallen.

"Kid."

"Silvano."

"Good morning."

"Morning."

"Seat belt."

Adrián fastened it.

Silvano started the engine.

The SUV pulled out of the garage almost silently.

Adrián noticed immediately that the engine sounded different.

Quieter.

The vibration was different too.

Not normal combustion.

Not completely electric either.

Something else.

"Is the engine supernatural?" Adrián asked.

"Yes."

"...okay."

They pulled onto the street.

The city was still asleep.

Yellow streetlights along the main avenue illuminated the empty pavement.

A garbage truck passed in the opposite direction.

An old man in pajamas was walking a tiny dog.

Adrián stared out the window for a while.

Then he looked at Silvano.

"Silvano."

"Yes, kid?"

"I’m nervous."

Silvano didn’t turn his head.

He kept his eyes on the road.

"That’s normal."

"..."

"Kid. I’m nervous too."

"...you too?"

"Me too."

"After three hundred years?"

"Kid, nerves don’t disappear with age. You learn to manage them, but they never disappear. Any demon who tells you he doesn’t get nervous before a mission anymore is lying to you. Kael is nervous. Ishtar is nervous. Rhea, back at the building, is nervous right now too. Nerves are your body’s way of understanding that what you’re about to do matters. If I wasn’t nervous, that would be a bad sign."

"..."

"Focus on the coffee. Your breathing. The little things. You put nerves in order by focusing on the little things."

Adrián breathed.

He took a long sip of coffee.

Looked out the window.

The city was slowly disappearing behind them.

Silvano drove in silence for the next twenty minutes.

Every now and then, Adrián glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

The man drove with the same calm he brought to everything else—not relaxation exactly, but something closer to complete concentration.

As though every action in his life, no matter how small, needed to be performed with his full mental presence.

Adrián decided to try imitating him.

He settled into his seat.

Closed his eyes.

Breathed.

Okay. Focus.

Don’t think about Elena. Don’t think about Yuki. Don’t think about Sariel. Don’t think about Rhea. Don’t think about anything except the mission.

Focus on the car. The coffee. The seat. The sounds.

Listen.

He listened to the engine.

He listened to the air rushing past outside the window.

He listened to Silvano breathing.

And behind all of that, very far away—very faintly—he heard something else.

Something he shouldn’t have been able to hear.

Kael.

In the SUV behind them.

Talking quietly to Ishtar.

Extremely faint.

Almost inaudible.

But there.

"...that kid isn’t going to be able to control himself if he sees the sister."

"Kael, he promised."

"Ishtar, everyone promises. Then they see something that breaks the promise and instinct takes over. It’s human."

"He’s not human anymore."

"Almost. Nine days. He still has the instincts."

"Kael, if something happens to Adrián because he controls himself for Rhea’s sake instead of Elena’s, my sister is never going to forgive her."

"And if Vega acts because of Elena and blows the operation, Rhea isn’t going to forgive him either. We’re in a situation where there is no right answer."

"..."

"Ishtar. If the kid loses control, your priority isn’t the mission. It’s him. Get him out. Keep him alive. Rhea will kill me for letting the operation collapse, but she won’t kill me for bringing the kid back alive."

"Kael."

"Ishtar, I’m making this perfectly clear. You’re his direct escort. The mission comes second to him. If things go bad, you two get out. Silvano and I will cover you."

"...okay."

"Good."

Adrián opened his eyes.

Silvano glanced at him.

"...Did you hear something, kid?"

"...a little. Yeah."

"Enhanced senses work better in passive mode when your eyes are closed. You’ll learn to control it."

"..."

"And kid."

"Yeah?"

"Don’t repeat what you heard."

"...I wasn’t going to."

"Good."

Adrián ran a hand over his face.

Then looked back at the road.

Sometime between five fifteen and five forty, the city disappeared completely behind them.

The road narrowed.

The buildings vanished.

Industrial warehouses began appearing instead, along with empty lots and rusted chain-link fences.

Silvano slowed down.

"Kid. We’re here."

Adrián looked out the window.

In the distance, beyond an extremely tall fence, stood a large industrial complex.

Four rectangular two-story buildings arranged in a U-shape around a central courtyard.

Smokestacks.

Water towers.

And a large sign at the front, its blue lettering faded with age:

FERRERA CENTRAL PHARMACEUTICAL DISTRIBUTION

Adrián felt his stomach tighten.

Okay.

We’re here.