Chapter 44
Briar chuckled, her eyes curving into crescents. Then you’re pretty pathetic, getting mauled in this extent.”
It sounded like a light tease on the surface mail one noticed how the bit off each word, grinding out every syllable like she was chewing nails.
To her surprise, Cyrus nodded in full agreement.
Briar lowered her head, jaw tightening as she gritted her teeth slowly.
With a mouth and attitude like his, it’s a miracle he’s only in a wheelchair, she thought coldly.
Meanwhile, Imani picked at her tray and pushed the food around with obvious dainterest. The cafeteria’s bland fare wasn’t to her taste. After a few forced bites, she set her fork down with a quiet sigh.
“Imani. look over there: Tiana whispered, leaning closer. “Briar seems to know those two guys.
Imani didn’t look immediately, but her expression flickered briefly before she replied.
She’s been abroad this whole time,” she said, casually stirring her soup. “Cane back right before school started. No idea why, but she always seems to have friends who pop out of nowhere.
Her words bore no direct accusation, yet felt laced with implication. The others didn’t say a word. Their gazes sharpened, cold and judgmental as they turned toward Brian
That afternoon, just as Briar predicted, training involved crawling through a deep trench of sludge and muck.
The boys had it easier, but many girls broke down, dragging themselves through the mire with tear–streaked faces. A few collapsed halfway. trembling from exhaustion.
Mac gave Briar a silent thumbs–up
Briar smirked. I’m guessing tomorrow’s
“Goddess, no, Mae cut in, panicked. “Don’t guess. Let me keep the illusion we’ll survive
She already had a bad feeling that tomorrow would be worse
Briar skipped dinner and returned to the dorm, Jogging into Senirzes intrathi
Under her codename, she fired off a private message: [Black Mamba When’s the aperation?
Tise reply came almost immediately. Fox: What operation!]
Briar stared at the screen, rubbed her temple, and then ryped a single ellipsis. Black Manba:__
‘Unbelievable, she thought. They had actually assigned this mission to her? Was the headquarters out of its mind, or just desperate”
Another message popped up. [Fox You mean the Wikato Prison mission‘ It’s tonight)
Briar didn’t bother with pleasantries. [Black Mamba: Postpone is]
[For Why?]
[Black Mamba: Supervision Division personnel are currently stationed in Wikato Prison
There was a pause. Then [Fox: What now? The headquarters had a hard deadline. If it doesn’t happen tonight, I’m screwed!]
Briar massaged her temple, the ache pulsing harder with every second. The deadline’s tomorrow, and you’re only acting now?” she muttered
Then another message came through. Fox: Snake, please. You’ve got to help me.]
Black Mamba What took you so long!]
Briar didn’t bother asking for mission details, but she knew most Strucze operations didn’t even come with deadlines.
Previously, when she’d lost an encrypted file on duty once, the only instruction was to recover it before someone broke the encryption code. The outcome mattered more than the process.
13
Chapter 44
But a mission with a fixed deadline could only mean one thing–this wasn’t just urgent. It was likely classified above $-level.
Then came Fox’s following message. Fox: I was in Ladulas and kind of forgot the time
Briar stared blankly at the screen. Her expression darkened.
A second later, the phone rang Cynthia’s voice poured out, panicked but dramatic “Snake, save me. You’ve got to help me
“Shut up,” Briar muttered, voice low. “The Supervision Division has my biological records. I can’t afford to be seen. We’ll proceed with the mission tonight, but I’ll stay outside and cover for you”
Cymha brightened immediately. “Snake, you’re the best. I’m seriously going to cry”
Briar let out a soft snort. “I’ll say this once. It’s a mission, not a bloodbath.”
“No killing. Got it. Cynthia’s tone turned serious. “I promise.”
After hanging up, Briar’s gaze sharpened. She hadn’t warned Cynthia out of sentiment towards Cyrus. Instead, it was to keep Cynthia safe and alive.
Cordanland was not like other countries. Here, official agencies put their personnel above everything.
An escaped prisoner could be caught again. A stolen item could be written of.
But if someone killed one of theirs? No matter where you ran, they would come for you, and Briar wasn’t about to gamble their lives over one
massion.
After Lights out, Briar clunged into her camouflage uniform and slipped out of the training base in the darkness.
Wikato Prison stood just beyond the perimeter fence.
Cynthia was already waiting in the shadows, dressed entirely in black. Her long hair was hidden beneath a cap, and a dark mask covered the lower half of her face. Only her sharp, alert eyes were visible.
“Black Snake, you’re here
“Keep your voice down,” Briar said cartly. “The Supervision Department is still inside. You don’t have much time.”
“No worries” Cynthia gave a quick wink. “I’m counting on you to handle the alarms”
“You’ll have five minutes. No more,” Briar reminded.
“Got it“Without another word, Cynthia slipped into the trees and disappeared from view.
Briar watched her go briefly before climbing a nearby tree with practiced eale. From her packet, she retrieved a device disguised as a phone. She flipped it open, revealing a compact keyboard and embedded hacking interface. Her fingers flew across the keys in silence.
At that very moment, inside Wikato Prison, Cyrus sat in a dim room, eyes narrowed at thee in his hands.
Enzo leaned back with a yawn. “Still stuck on that girl? Her file looks dean to me”
“Clean“” Cyrus looked up, eyes gleaming “You call this clean?”
Even with their team combing through her history, there were still inevitable gaps, typical for someone raised overseas. However, it was the missing pieces that made her files truly unsettling
From the tiles, Cyrus learned that Briar was raised by two known organ traffickers who died in a fire when she was six
He couldn’t help but wonder how a six–year–old girl managed to survive alone in Estoriam. More importantly, he wanted to uncover what she had endured over the years that was not recorded anywhere.
“She sure had in rough” Enzo exhaled. “You already let her into the Supervision Division. Why start doubting her now?”
Chrus closed the file calmly and looked at him. “Black Mamba hasn’t resurfaced”
Enzo blinked. “The Strueze always operated under the radar. Black Mamba might not even be in Limond City”
Then his face changed “Wan–are you saying Briar is Black Mamba?”
Cyrus nodded slowly. “The timelines match,” he said at last.
Enzo let out a short, uneasy laugh. “Ie serious. Black Mamba’s been causing chaos in the Struere region for years. That girl’s barely twenty
4:08 PM d
Chapter 44
To him, mercenaries were shadows in the dark–cold, calculating, and untouchable. Briar might be sharp, headstrong, and unyielding, but she hardly seemed cut out for that world.
E
