Malik's phone buzzed on the table.
The sound cut through the quiet warehouse like a knife.
Marcus looked up immediately.
Darius stopped mid-sentence.
Malik picked up the phone and stared at the screen.
A single message.
From Victor Salazar.
He read it once.
Then again.
His jaw tightened slightly.
Marcus noticed.
"What is it?"
Malik didn't answer right away.
Instead, he placed the phone slowly on the table.
"Reed changed his route."
Silence filled the warehouse.
Marcus blinked.
"What?"
Darius leaned forward.
"Changed it how?"
Malik tapped the map where the highway ambush had been planned.
"He's not using this road anymore."
Marcus shook his head.
"That doesn't make sense."
Darius frowned.
"It makes perfect sense."
Both men looked at him.
Darius continued,
"If Reed suspects anything... the first thing he'd do is change his movement pattern."
Marcus rubbed the back of his neck.
"So you're telling me he might already know?"
Malik shook his head.
"No."
Marcus raised an eyebrow.
"You sound pretty confident."
Malik picked up the phone again.
"If Reed knew for sure, he wouldn't change the route."
Darius narrowed his eyes.
"What would he do?"
Malik's voice turned colder.
"He'd come for us first."
Marcus slowly nodded.
That sounded exactly like Reed.
Marcus leaned over the table again.
"So where is he going now?"
Malik turned the phone toward them.
Salazar had sent a new location.
An industrial district on the edge of the city.
Old factories.
Empty shipping yards.
Dark streets with almost no cameras.
Marcus let out a low whistle.
"That's not a route change."
"What is it then?" Darius asked.
Marcus smirked slightly.
"That's Reed choosing the battlefield."
Malik nodded slowly.
"That's what worries me."
Darius crossed his arms.
"Maybe he's baiting someone."
Marcus looked at Malik.
"You think he's testing us?"
Malik didn't answer.
But the thought had already crossed his mind.
Reed wasn't stupid.
And he had survived this long because he trusted his instincts.
Marcus straightened up.
"So what now?"
Malik stared at the map again.
The original plan was useless now.
The highway ambush had been perfect.
A tight construction zone.
Slow traffic.
Limited escape routes.
But the industrial district...
That was Reed's territory.
Marcus noticed Malik's hesitation.
"You're thinking too hard."
Malik glanced at him.
"You're not thinking enough."
Marcus smirked.
"Reed's still one man."
Darius shook his head.
"Reed's never just one man."
The warehouse fell quiet again.
Rain began tapping against the roof outside.
Marcus grabbed one of the rifles from the table.
"Well, I'm not waiting another month."
Malik looked at him.
"Marcus-"
"If we keep waiting," Marcus interrupted, "Reed keeps expanding."
Darius nodded slowly.
"He's right about that."
Malik ran a hand through his hair.
This was the problem.
Time was not on their side.
Every week Reed gained more power.
More allies.
More territory.
Eventually he would become untouchable.
Marcus placed the rifle back down.
"So either we move now..."
He leaned forward slightly.
"Or we accept that Reed wins."
Malik stared at the map.
Then something clicked in his mind.
He slowly pointed to another part of the industrial district.
"This street."
Marcus leaned closer.
"What about it?"
Malik tapped the map.
"There's an abandoned rail crossing here."
Darius frowned.
"I remember that place."
Marcus nodded.
"Yeah... trains stopped using that line years ago."
Malik's eyes sharpened.
"Exactly."
Marcus's expression changed.
Understanding.
"You want to block the road."
Malik nodded.
"Two vehicles positioned here and here."
He marked two points.
"When Reed's convoy reaches the crossing..."
Darius finished the thought.
"They're trapped."
Marcus grinned.
"Now that sounds like a plan."
Malik looked at both of them.
"It's risky."
Marcus laughed quietly.
"So is breathing in this city."
Darius slowly stood up.
"When does Reed move?"
Malik checked the message again.
"Tomorrow night."
Marcus clapped his hands once.
"Perfect."
Darius stretched his shoulders.
"Guess we're doing this."
Malik folded the map carefully.
But inside, a small voice still whispered something was wrong.
Reed had changed the route.
Men like Reed didn't change things randomly.
Which meant he was either suspicious...
Or setting a trap of his own.
Across the city, Reed sat inside a black SUV moving slowly through downtown traffic.
Carter sat in the passenger seat.
Two more vehicles followed behind them.
Reed looked calm.
Relaxed.
But his mind was working.
"Did you send the message?" Reed asked.
Carter nodded.
"Yes."
"Good."
Reed stared out the window.
"If someone's watching our routes... they'll notice the change."
Carter turned slightly.
"You think someone is?"
Reed smiled faintly.
"I hope they are."
Carter raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
Reed's voice turned cold.
"Because if someone is planning something..."
He looked forward again.
"Tomorrow night we'll see who."
The convoy continued driving through the city lights.
And somewhere not far away...
Malik, Marcus, and Darius were preparing the trap they believed would end Reed's reign.
Neither side knew exactly what the other was planning.
But both sides knew one thing.
Tomorrow night...
Someone would fall.