Chapter 97: Failed Extraction.

Logan sat in the chair, spinning it slowly from side to side. The leather groaned under his weight, mimicking the state of his mind. It was disturbed, but at least the day hadn’t been a total dumpster fire. Some good news had trickled in, but first, he needed to verify the biggest piece of the puzzle, was Zyra actually alive? If this Ocean Belfast fellow had lied to him, he would personally ensure the man paid for it bitterly. No one crossed the mayor and kept all their teeth.

The door didn’t just open, it flew inside...the strong hinges saved it from breaking. Angus didn’t enter the office, he rushed in like his pants were on fire, chest heaving, eyes wide enough to swallow his face.

"Sir! Have you heard?!" Angus wheezed, clutching his knees. "It’s... it’s bad!"

Logan sat straight, his swinging chair coming to an abrupt halt. "Breathe, Angus. Is this about my shell accounts? I just sent out some 70,000 low grade stones. I am sure the transaction did not raise any flags. Wait, has another riot broken out? What happened? Has Malia come of hiding to start from where she stopped?" He groaned, tilting his head back. "Someone should just out a bullet through her head and save me the trouble."

Out of the blue, he laughed boisterously and leaned forward. "You know what, don’t touch Malia. Let her give Trinity and her hound Julia something to do while I locate Zyra and get this map."

"Sir, it’s not any of those things. This is about your sister’s home!" Angus gasped out. "The Mystic sanctum guards... they’re already whisking them out of their residence! They have lost everything!"

Logan stared at him for a second. Then, he let out a long, slow, utterly bored sigh.

Angus froze, his jaw dropping. He looked at Logan as if the mayor had suddenly grown a second head. "Sir? Did you hear me? Your sister’s family is being kicked onto the streets!"

Logan didn’t answer with words. He just flicked his fingers toward the door, a dismissive gesture usually reserved for annoying houseflies. "Shoo, Angus shoo."

"But...." Angus argued.

"Get the hell out!" Logan barked.

Confounded and deeply uncomfortable, Angus bowed awkwardly and scrambled out of the office, shutting the door quietly this time.

Logan rose and walked over to his liquor cabinet. He poured himself a generous glass of Mushroom brandy, a rare spirit distilled from mutated fungi grown in the Trekbeast caves. It smelled strong and went down smoothly, the right thing to calm his nerves.

"And here I thought something actually worse had happened," He muttered into the glass, swirling the light brown liquid. "They are just facing the consequences of their own stupid actions. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes."

At least Ritah was alive, this could have been way worse. And what he really cared about was getting his hands on Ava because she.... he could use. Luckily, the Cold Blood Guild, had assured him they could bust her out of the Island.

Suddenly, a sharp, mechanical chime shattered the silence. His phone was ringing.

Logan glanced at the caller ID and his expression hardened. Speak of the devil. It was Garon Borne, the leader of the Cold Blood Guild. Garon was the kind of man who ate razor blades for breakfast and handled Logan’s absolute dirtiest laundry.

Logan picked up. "Tell me you have the girl, Garon. I’m in no mood for delays."

"We have a problem, your honor," Garon’s voice crackled through the receiver, gravelly and completely devoid of apology. "The rescue operation at the Main 7 Island is dead in the water. One of my best operatives got made by Julia. She didn’t just capture her, sir. She fed her to the sea creatures. She’s dead."

Logan’s grip tightened on his glass. "That stupid bitch! You’re the premier assassin guild in the capital, Garon. Figure it out."

"Can’t. Not right now," Garon grunted. "My inside source says the Island is locked down tight. Plus, your niece is leading a team beyond the veil tomorrow morning. Julia is not taking her eyes off the girl for a single second."

"Dammit!" Logan cursed, slamming his free hand onto the desk. The paperwork rattled. He took a breath, forcing his anger down, and decided to pivot. "Fine. New priority. There is a man named Ocean Belfast, from the Greenwich. He came to me claiming that Zyra is still alive."

There was a long pause on the other end. "Zyra Scorpion? Your honor...the girl could not have survived the Wild lands on her own! That windstorm should have torn her to pieces if falling down from such a height did not. Not to talk of the high-level beasts we found in the area."

"She didn’t die; she had help. Him." Logan said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "Ocean is waiting for you at the usual hotel in Greenwich where we conduct business sometimes. Same room. Investigate this man and his claims. Find out if he’s telling the truth or just extorting money from me. If he’s lying to me, I want him dead before dusk tomorrow. Understood?"

"Consider it done," Garon said, and the line went dead.

Logan rubbed his temples. Ritah, Ava, Zyra....everybody was a headache today. He looked at his phone, hesitated, and then dialed his sister, Ritah.

The phone rang three times before she picked up. Her voice sounded exhausted, stripped of all its usual high-society arrogance. "Logan....did you save Ava?"

"Sister," Logan said, keeping his tone clipped and professional. "I’m calling to tell you I tried; the divine soul maiden turned me down despite my pleas. I set up an extraction team, but the security on the Main 7 Island is too tight. I failed to save Ava. She is going beyond the Veil tomorrow morning."

He braced himself for the screaming, the crying, the standard theatrical melting down his sister was famous for.

Instead, there was just silence. A heavy, suffocating silence.

"Ritah? Are you there?"

"I see," Ritah said softly. She sounded weirdly calm, which terrified Logan far more than any tantrum. "Then I am left with no choice. If my daughter goes beyond the Veil, I am going with her."

Logan’s heart skipped a beat. Going beyond the Veil was a one-way ticket to death. "Ritah! Don’t be an idiot, the place is practically the apocalypse reloaded but worse. you will die."

The line went completely dead. Logan stared at his phone in disbelief, the dial tone buzzing in his ear like a very angry mosquito.

"Fucking hell!" He tossed the phone on the ground.