The plan was simple in theory, reckless in execution: break into the Prague vault—or at least appear to. Force the Circle's hidden members to respond. Force Crownless to move.
Two days later, Isabella stood on a rooftop across from the bank's unmarked facade, a cold wind whipping her coat as she adjusted her earpiece. Below, Elias worked his magic from a nearby surveillance van, eyes on multiple feeds. Alexander crouched beside her, checking their timing.
"Security's on a skeleton crew tonight," Elias's voice crackled through. "But even a whisper in the wrong hallway will bring backup in minutes."
"Good," Isabella replied. "Let them come."
They moved in silence through alleyways and shadows, entering through a maintenance tunnel Elias had unlocked remotely. Inside the vault's lower level, the tension was suffocating. Alexander planted a forged access card on the door—one embedded with a virus Elias created to trip the internal alarms without breaching anything valuable.
As the red light turned green and sirens began to wail, Isabella stepped back.
"Now we wait."
The Response
Minutes later, security forces swarmed the building. Not just guards—mercenaries. Silent, armed, and dressed in black. Alexander observed from a hidden alcove, murmuring, "Too polished. These aren't local."
"They're Circle," Isabella said.
A black SUV screeched to a stop outside the bank. From it emerged a tall man in a grey coat, sunglasses despite the night, and a comms earpiece blinking in time with his pulse.
Elias's voice came in sharp. "Running facial recognition… Got him. Lucien Voss. Former MI6. Went dark five years ago. Now he's ghost-listed under the codename—"
"Crownless," Isabella finished coldly.
Voss entered the vault alone, a sign of arrogance—or absolute control.
"Do we move?" Alexander asked, jaw tight.
"No," Isabella whispered. "We follow."
They melted into the shadows behind him, unaware that Voss had paused halfway through the vault corridor. Smiling.
He already knew they were there.