Rosaline

XII.

He joined our organization two years ago after the death of his wife and two children by a group of dirty cops. They were slain in front of their family home because they witnessed something at the wrong place and time. The police dismissed the case as unsolved and the men walked free.

We sought after John after hearing word about mysterious deaths of multiple officers. After hearing his story, we decided to help him track down the rest of the cops to bring justice and peace for John. John stayed on with us as one of our main strategists and a close friend.

I nodded in John's direction and he returned the gesture.

I also spotted Julian and Josh Anderson bickering with each other. I cursed, unsure what mood they were going to be in.

The Anderson twins came to Xavier when they were eighteen in order to ask for help in relocating their sister from a local drug lord. In return, they offered their services.

At first, we were skeptical. Both boys were lanky and seemed too goofy for their own good. Any doubt was erased after their first mission to stop an assassination attempt on a senator in Washington. Their love for knives and daggers have proven they were not to be underestimated. Coming from a rough upbringing, they had a lot of anger to let out. Five years later, they could be considered to be the best mercenaries in the world.

"Give me a report," I ordered Erik as he started typing something into his laptop with his long and slender fingers. Erik's dark wavy hair was everywhere from running his hands through it. While Erik wasn't the muscle of our group, his intelligence and hacking skills made up for it. If there was a third in command, Erik would take that title with pride.

"I had the men check on the perimeter. There are ten guards surrounding the compound and are heavily armed. After hacking the security cameras, I counted twenty more– ten moving the shipments and the others keeping watch. The leader seems to be on the sidelines ordering them," Erik turned his screen to show me the security tapes.

I watched as the Russians carted their cargo into one main crate, a taller man in a suit shouting and pointing. Erik gestured to one area on his screen.

"There are plenty of crates to cover us from any bullets, but the hard part will be getting to them."

"Leave that to me," John interjected as he moved towards us to look at the monitor. He seemed to analyze something before he nodded. "Give me ten minutes."

I nodded and frowned as I found what John was looking at. There were different explosives settled in the corners of the building. John wanted to get messy today. So did I, but we usually tried to have a low casualty count.

But under these circumstances and who we were dealing with, I wouldn't lose much sleep tonight if we took everyone out.

"Fire only on my signal. Worst-case scenario," I said and John put his intercom into his ear before disappearing down the dock, probably looking for higher ground.

I checked the time. Xavier was twenty minutes out and we needed to secure the area. "Erik, keep track of Xavier. Julian, take four of the men with you and silently take down the guards outside– but I want them alive. Only kill if necessary. The rest of us will go inside." I ordered.

The men nodded as they dispersed into groups. Julian stayed behind, pouting.

"You want them all alive?" Julian whined as he waved his dagger. I rolled my eyes at his childishness.

"I said 'alive', not 'uninjured'. As long as they can recover from the wounds."

His eyes gleamed with excitement at my clarification. He scurried away before I could tell him any other restrictions. I shook my head. There were times I really worried about him and his twin.