Page 154 of Mercy Written in Blood

"Or Haruki," Reina replied.

Daisuke moved towards the door.

"We need to leave."

Haruki did not move. His attention remained on the photograph. The threat was simple enough. He should not have survived the tunnels. They knew he had. They knew where he went afterwards. They knew who treated him. Something inside him tightened. Not at the threat against himself. At Renji's face beside him.

"Boss," Ken said.

Haruki looked up.

"We leave now."

A sound came from the warehouse. Metal striking concrete. Once. Then rolling. Everyone froze.

Daisuke extinguished his torch. Reina moved towards the office wall. Ken pulled Haruki behind the desk. The fluorescent lightcontinued flickering above them, turning the room bright, dark, bright again.

Daisuke raised one hand. Silence. Haruki listened. Nothing.

Then footsteps crossed the warehouse floor. Slow. Unhurried. Not trying to remain hidden. One. Two. Three. They stopped outside the office.

Reina aimed at the doorway. Daisuke stood beside her. Ken kept one hand against Haruki's chest, holding him low.

The fluorescent light flickered. The doorway remained empty. A small object rolled into the office. Daisuke kicked it back before it stopped. The object struck the outer wall.

A flash of white filled the warehouse. Haruki turned away. Sound exploded. The concussion struck his ribs and drove the air from his lungs. Ken dragged him behind the desk as Reina fired through the doorway.

Three shots. Then two more. Daisuke moved out. Haruki heard his boots cross the concrete. Reina followed. Ken remained.

"Stay down."

Haruki blinked against the afterimage burning across his vision. His ears rang.

"Go."

"No."

"They need—"

"They need me to keep you alive."

Haruki pushed himself upright. Pain tore through the scar at his side. Not damage. Memory. He reached for the desk. The fluorescent light had shattered. Darkness filled the office. Outside, shots echoed from the warehouse floor. Then silence. Too sudden.

Haruki felt Ken shift beside him. A voice called from beyond the doorway.

"Daisuke."

Accord. Haruki recognised the woman who travelled with Kael. Ken waited.

"Clear," she called.

He did not trust her. Neither did Haruki.

They left the office together. Emergency lights moved through the warehouse as Accord officers entered from the front and side doors. Six of them. Weapons drawn.

Daisuke stood near the centre of the floor, unharmed. Reina searched behind one of the support columns. No attacker. No body. No blood. Nothing.

"What happened?" Haruki asked.