Page 57 of Charged By the Razorbacks

And in its place—two lines appeared.

Primary Targets-Acquisition Required.

Engagement Protocol-Controlled Capture.

Chapter Ten

The air always felt different before a fight.

Like the world had pulled itself tight, waiting for the first move to break it open.

Tamsin stood at the edge of the loading bay, the night stretched out beyond it, dark and still in a way that didn’t fool her for a second. The vehicles were already lined up, engines idling low, lights cut to minimum. Around her, the E.S.E. moved with practiced precision, no wasted motion, no hesitation.

Victor stepped forward at the center of it all, his presence anchoring the space without needing to raise his voice. When he spoke, everyone heard him.

“This is it,” he said.

No unnecessary weight. Just truth.

“We intercept the deployment team at the corridor,” he continued. “We shut it down before activation.”

Caleb nodded once, the Lions already shifting, ready, their focus locked in. “We take the front, break them before they get close.”

Rafe and Dorian moved in beside them, the Wolves already tracking, already mapping movement patterns in real time.

“We’ll keep them blind,” Rafe said. “They won’t see us coming.”

Sienna stepped forward, her gaze sweeping the room, calculating, sharp. “We don’t let them regroup,” she added. “We hit hard, and we don’t give them space to recover.”

Elara’s voice cut in, quieter but no less steady. “Once the device is secured, we isolate it. No one touches it until we understand what they’ve changed.”

Tamsin took that in, every word settling into place, every piece aligning with what she already knew needed to happen.

Then Victor’s gaze shifted.

To her. To the Razorbacks, and to the Gorillas.

“You move with her,” he said.

Claire didn’t look up from her tablet, her fingers already moving. “Tamsin, you’ll have a window,” she said. “But it won’t be a big one. Don’t miss it.”

Jarek stepped in closer at her side, his shoulder brushing hers briefly, grounding, steady. Aleksy moved to her other side, quieter, but no less present.

“We get her in,” Jarek said. “We get her out.”

The Gorillas stepped forward then, massive, immovable, their presence shifting the energy in the room all on its own.

“We clear the path,” one of them said.

Tamsin exhaled slowly, rolling her shoulders once as she let the weight of it settle.

Two fronts. Two objectives.

One outcome.

Victor’s voice cut through again. “We move in five.”

The teams broke cleanly, each unit moving to their designated vehicles, the rhythm of it seamless, practiced.