New York.
The Continental Hotel.
Winston had returned to his suite.
From his pocket, his phone buzzed.
The old man slipped on his reading glasses, unlocked the screen, and glanced at the messages.
[Type: Open Contract]
Target: Anna Baryiadova
[Type: Open Contract]
Target: Alex Cross
Both carried a bounty of $2,000,000.
Winston exhaled, a long, thoughtful sigh.
"…What a madman. The future of New York is about to get very… turbulent."
Downstairs, Charon at the front desk stared at the same notification on his phone.
He said nothing.
But in his eyes, there was regret.
It was clear—he didn't believe Anna or Alex could possibly survive with [open contracts] set on their heads.
Not against every assassin in New York.
The same moment, across the city…
In alleys and avenues, under the night sky—
ordinary passersby's phones chimed.
And one by one, they bared their fangs.
The street performer silently packed up his props, reaching into his case for a pistol.
A busboy washing dishes in a noodle shop dropped his plates, took a drag from his cigarette, and pulled a submachine gun from under the counter.
Cabbies, night-shift security guards, homeless beggars…
Within minutes, nearly a hundred people had abandoned their disguises.
Faces lit with hunger, knuckles cracking, eyes gleaming.
All of them turned, almost in unison—
toward the Santos Club.
Rat-tat-tat!
Rat-tat-tat!
Inside the club, the firefight raged on.
The longer it dragged, the more the Camorra's numerical advantage began to show.
In the kitchen.
Wave after wave of killers pressed forward from the hotel's rear.
Climbing over the bodies of their own comrades, they carved out a foothold.
At the cost of twenty lives, they finally forced their way into the club's kitchen.
Of course—
the only reason they'd gotten that far was because Alex hadn't ordered his squads to hold to the death.
If he had, the position would still be impregnable, even if it meant sacrificing a handful of men.
But Alex didn't need to defend the club itself.
So why waste good soldiers?
His two kitchen squads pulled back to the front kitchen door, forming a second defensive line.
Casualties: none dead, just a few grazes.
At the basement stairwell.
The defense was almost effortless.
The Camorra had tried everything—flashbangs, stun grenades, smoke.
But the problem wasn't the squads at the stairs.
It was Duggan.
Every shot from the top-tier marksman was a kill, clean and precise.
Compared to the other fronts, these squads had it easy.
Sully Hotel.
Underground Parking Garage.
Thirty killers, divided into six squads.
Two squads held the parking entrance.
Two more locked down the elevators and stairwells.
The last two squads were with Anna, waiting behind the heavy door that led to the underground passage.
This passage connected directly to the Santos Club's basement—a training facility hidden between the two buildings.
Every killer waited in silence.
From beyond, gunfire rolled like thunder, announcing how fierce the fight was inside the club.
Anna checked her watch.
22:05.
Only five minutes since the operation began.
"Anna."
Suzy's voice crackled through the earpiece into everyone's comms.
"Second-floor resistance at the club has been wiped out. Fifth squad is heading for the hotel's main entrance… Expect your side to get hit in the next thirty seconds."
The killers tensed.
Time ticked.
Fifteen seconds gone.
From the stairwell—
Step. Step. Step.
A dozen footfalls, with low voices in between.
"…Be ready… that Anna woman's here, with a squad…"
"Kill them all…"
The steps drew closer.
Ding!
Elevator doors slid open at the same time.
Rat-tat-tat!
Rat-tat-tat!
Gunfire erupted.
Anna's squads opened up, pouring bullets without mercy.
Blood painted the stairwell and elevator lobbies.
Creeeak—!
The heavy underground passage door groaned open.
A burly Camorra soldier stepped through—
an RPG perched on his shoulder.
He aimed it at the two squads pouring fire.
Just as his finger tightened on the trigger—
CRACK!
A single round smashed through his skull.
Anna was already moving.
She snatched the RPG from his corpse, spun toward the passage, didn't even bother to aim—
WHOOSH!
BOOM!
The warhead detonated in the tunnel, shaking the walls with thunder.
Smoke and fire roared.
Anna led the charge, surging forward with two squads at her back.
Straight into the underground passage.