An Understated Dominance by Marina Vittori

“Damn it!” Warrick cursed. “I was just getting started.”

He was covered in blood. His eyes burned with a wild, excited gleam.

Warrick lived for the fight. After two days in hiding, he was itching to let loose-and now that he had, he wasn’t ready to stop.

“Sir Prescott, think about the bigger picture. If we don’t leave now, it’ll be too late,” Mulder urged, grabbing his arm.

At the far end of the street, dark figures were already visible in the distance, rushing toward them. Though Warrick still seemed reluctant, he quickly calmed down.

“Fall back!” he shouted.

With that, he and Mulder charged past the checkpoint and led a handful of battered soldiers into the outer city.

Unlike the inner city, the outer city had much weaker defenses. The sheer size of the area made it impossible to secure every corner, so only the main thoroughfares had a strong military presence.

Mulder had already mapped out their escape route and prepared the gear.

According to the original plan-if they hadn’t drawn any unwanted attention they’d leave the inner city by car and make a clean getaway.

But if they couldn’t make it out of the city or if their cover was blown, they’d have to use the backup plan-the secret tunnels.

dug several underground tunnels in the outer

invaluable, and the Hall of Gods rarely used them under normal circumstances. If war broke out, these tunnels could

the Hall of Gods, Mulder hadn’t planned

he had no choice. At

through the dark streets. Half an hour later, they finally reached an unremarkable house. They slipped inside, wiped away the bloodstains, and changed into fresh

Mulder signaled for them to move. They slipped out quietly and headed into the Central

tightly together, with narrow alleys and winding streets that

clearly been here before. He wove through the maze of

to lose his patience, Mulder suddenly

followed, copying

the living room and peeled back the rug beneath the coffee table, revealing a

a dark passage leading underground. Standing at the tunnel

after you.” Mulder gestured

the darkness. It was pitch-black,

a faint smile. Without hesitation,

might be

man, but recklessness did. Warrick wasn’t going to entrust his life to someone he barely

scouring the area to track down Warrick

rushed to the scene with his elite troops as soon as he received the news. He