Page 23 of Forged

Cash grins. “You Marchettis and your fucking talking.”

I ignore him. “Once the scout’s down, the truck slows. They won’t push through until they understand the threat. That buys us time.”

“How much?” Hale asks.

“A couple of minutes, depending on if they panic.”

He whistles. “Generous.”

“Four of your soldiers flank the truck,” I continue. “Pin it. Rear SUV goes last. They’ll panic, break formation, and make mistakes.”

Cash nods. “Keep going.”

“We need shooters on the embankment here,” I add. “Rifles. Keep the pressure so no one bails.”

“And after?” Hale asks.

“We'll take the weapons,” I say. “Leave the bodies. We just need to be sure to keep at least one alive.”

Cash’s grin widens. “To talk.”

“To scream,” I correct. “Falco’s sniffing around. Someone will break eventually.”

Silence settles over the group.

Cash lets out a sharp laugh. “Enzo sent the right man.”

Hale caps his marker. “Looks like we’ve got ourselves a plan.”

Cash steps closer. “We roll at sundown. Are you ready?”

“Of course.”

Hale glances up, with a glint in his eyes. “My guy said you’ve been to a couple of games. Said you made a new friend in Austin.”

I glare at him.

Cash chuckles. “Hale’s just giving you grief because he’d lose his life savings at a table like that.”

“Nothing wrong with having a little fun,” I say.

Cash’s expression hardens. “Be careful.”

“Noted.”

“Good,” he says. “Because if Falco’s watching closely enough to hunt Sera, he’ll take an interest in anyone close to you.”

The warning lands heavy.

“He won’t touch her,” I say.

Hale meets my gaze. “Then be ready. Whether we want it to or not, this war is coming.”

When we pullout of the compound thirty minutes before dark, the sun is already bleeding into the horizon, turning the Texas sky the color of dried blood. Cash leads the convoy south—two trucks, three bikes—toward land empty enough for bodies to disappear.

Maravilla’s operation is predictable. Product moves north from the Valley through Laredo, hidden in refrigerated trucks, false compartments, even church vans. Everything funnels to Luling before creeping up through Austin and splitting toward smaller stash houses.

If the intel is right, tonight’s run is high value.