Alpha Strike: [An Interstellar Weapons Platform’s Guide to Organized Crime] (Book 3 title)

Antchaser leaped from the Banshee ant just as a swirling wave of slicing Will carved it apart, reducing the creature to ribbons of chitin and ichor.

The surge of Will didn't stop — it pressed on, crossing the distance to Bert in the blink of an eye.

His eyes widened. [Megaton]'s downward swing turned into a desperate block. Sparks exploded from the impact, and the shriek of straining metal rang out as the cutting force slammed into the deepmetal hammer, driving Bert back nearly a meter.

That was all Magnus needed.

Still on his knees, the dwarf thrust out a trembling hand, and a crushing gravity wave blasted from his palm. It hit Bert squarely before he could regain his footing, sending the larger man tumbling across the ground. Only a brutal slam of [Megaton] into the earth arrested his momentum, carving a trench as he came to a halt.

Magnus gagged, then spat up a wet mouthful of blood. He tried to rise on unsteady legs but collapsed again, the strain too much. A flicker of motion shimmered beside him, and a figure appeared.

Bert's brow creased. "So. Finally decided to make your move, have you?" he said coolly.

Robert didn't answer right away. His gaze flicked from Magnus to Bert, then toward the wall, where the rest of the expedition watched in shocked silence. Garrelt looked ready to jump down, held back only by Boarslayer's grip.

"Sir," Antchaser said quietly through comms, "what are your orders?"

"Hold," Alpha replied calmly. "Everything's proceeding as planned."

On the field, Robert spoke, his voice quiet but clear in the silence. "It wasn't supposed to be like this…"

Bert straightened, resting [Megaton] across his broad shoulders. "Oh?" he said with a sneer.

Robert exhaled through his nose. "You were supposed to surrender once it was clear you were outmatched. Then, I'd rescue what I could, and we'd retreat. Icefinger gets the first pick of the cavern, and the adventurers survive to come back later for the scraps. Everybody wins."

Bert gave a sharp, humorless laugh. "Everyone except the goblins."

Robert's expression twisted into something venomous. "Who cares about the goblins, fool!" he barked, arms thrown wide. "Do you have any idea what this cavern represents? This could be the seed of a new High Clan!"

"ENOUGH!" a rough voice barked, followed by a ragged cough. "You always did talk too much, nephew." Magnus turned to Bert, blood painting his beard. "This isn't over, Galefist. Icefinger's roots run deeper than you know. We'll be back. This cavern will be ours."

Robert stared down at him, face blank. "You know what, Uncle? I think you're right. It is time we finished this."

Shing!

Splash!

Magnus howled as the blade plunged into his chest. He clutched at it weakly, blood pouring from the wound.

"B-boy! What are y—" Another coughing fit interrupted him, spraying blood across Robert's armor. "What... are you doing?!"

Robert tilted his head slightly. "Why, only what you taught me. Seize the opportunities before you." He twisted the blade. Magnus screamed, collapsing further, his strength ebbing.

"But don't worry. I'll make sure the world believes the great Magnus Ironheart died a hero — sacrificing himself to let his men escape. While I… lead them home."

The blade rose and came down again, slicing through Magnus' torso and out his shoulder in one clean arc. The dwarf collapsed, nearly bisected, his blood pooling like spilled wine as he reached feebly toward his betrayer.

"I'm sure Icefinger will appreciate the samples and secrets I've collected," Robert said, a slow smirk spreading across his lips. "Word is, he's in need of a new head enforcer."

Short, sputtering pulses of gravity tugged at Robert's armor — final, feeble echoes of Magnus' Will. Each wave was weaker than the last. The dwarf's eyes fixed on Robert's, wide and unblinking, rage flickering like a dying flame.

His mouth moved, but the words drowned in a flood of blood. His arm fell. The light in his eyes faded to nothing.

Robert knelt and gently closed the dwarf's eyes — eyes that had clung to him even in death. He wiped his blade clean on Magnus' bloodied tunic, then slid it back into its sheath with mechanical precision.

Rising slowly, he turned to face Bert, who had watched in silence throughout.

"Well then," Robert said, voice cool and casual. "I suppose this is where we part ways. I'd say it's been fun, Bert… but you know how it is."

He turned toward the treeline.

A flicker of instinct made him tilt his head — and a crackling bolt of lightning tore past, exploding into the ground with a deafening boom. A javelin, still humming with residual energy, quivered where it had embedded itself inches from his path.

Robert casually turned to see a snarling Garrelt charging him from the wall, another sparking javelin clutched in his good hand. Some distance behind him, Boarslayer, Maggy, and Dr. Maria rushed to catch up.

"Ah, might as well deal with one more pest before I go…" Robert sneered and drew his blade.

There was a blur of motion and Bert appeared between them in a flash, his hand snapping out to catch Garrelt's wrist mid-throw.

"Bert? What the hell?!" Garrelt snarled, straining against the grip. But Bert's eyes never left Robert.

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Robert paused, blade half-raised… then sighed and slid it back into its sheath. "Tch. Disappointing. Well, there's always next time." He turned and slipped into the trees. "Until then!"

Only when Robert vanished into the forest shadows did Bert finally release Garrelt's arm.

Garrelt jerked away, shoving a finger into Bert's chest. "Why the hell did you let that traitorous bastard go?!"

By then, the others had reached them, Maggy, Boarslayer, and Maria skidding to a stop. Antchaser joined them moments later, silent but alert.

Bert kept staring into the woods for a breath longer before finally turning to Garrelt.

"If you've forgotten," he said evenly, "that man still has a Greater Realm and two lesser Steps on you. What exactly were you planning to do?"

He let the question hang, then added, "And as for why I didn't stop him—"

"I asked him not to," a voice said crisply from his shoulder.

A shimmer in the air revealed a [Wasp] drone de-cloaking, its glossy carapace catching the light.

"Mr. Alpha?! What's going on?" Maggy asked. She looked back and forth between the drone, Bert, and the forest, as if still processing recent events.

Garrelt's fists tightened at his sides. "Bert's been working with the Dungeon Core…" he growled through clenched teeth. "You knew about the ants too, didn't you?"

"Wait — what?!" Maggy's eyes shot wide. She'd always suspected the goblins had a more… personal connection with the core — it was hard not to at this point — but this was the first time she'd heard about Bert having his own arrangement. "Since when?!"

Bert sighed. "Yes, I have. And yes, I did," he replied evenly, answering Garrelt first. Then he turned to Maggy with a sheepish grin. "Since not long after you lot came back from the dungeon dive. The core reached out to me directly… after it caught me sending a report to my people."

"Your people?" Maggy echoed, brow furrowed.

With a flick of his wrist, Bert produced a small jade tablet.

Both Maggy and Garrelt stiffened.

"You're a Guild Inspector?!" they shouted in unison.

Bert chuckled and flicked the tablet away. It vanished back into his ring.

Garrelt scowled. "And when, exactly, were you planning to tell us this?"

It was Alpha who answered, voice coming crisply through the hovering [Wasp] drone. "In a perfect world? Never. Only Bert and Dr. Maria were fully in the loop. Not even these two — " the drone gestured at Boarslayer and Antchaser " — knew everything."

Maggy turned a questioning look on Boarslayer.

She shrugged. "What? My job's to hit whatever they point me at. I don't need to know the details."

Maggy's shoulders slumped, and she gave the burly goblin a baffled stare.

Garrelt turned back to Bert, his scowl softened but not gone. "That still doesn't explain why you let Robert go."

Bert and Alpha exchanged a brief glance. Then Bert nodded, and Alpha continued.

"We've had suspicions about Robert for some time," Alpha said. "But nothing concrete."

Bert picked up from there. "The Guild's flagged him before. A few too many 'lucky breaks' for Icefinger's team over the years. But we never had proof."

Maggy's eyes narrowed. "You think it's true, then? Robert really was Magnus' nephew?"

Bert shrugged. "Whatever their connection, this expedition was our shot at exposing them. One way or another, we've got what we came for." He looked toward the fallen dwarf's body, his tone darkening. "And maybe more still."

Garrelt thrust a hand toward the forest. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go get him before he escapes!"

Bert held up both hands. "We will. Just waiting on someone."

Maggy looked around, puzzled. "Waiting on who? Isn't this everyone?"

Bert grinned. "You didn't think Icefinger was the only one with spies, did you?"

Maggy's eyes widened. "The Guild has people in Icefinger's crew?!"

"Gasp! Shocking, I know!" said a voice at her side.

Maggy shrieked and jumped back as a grinning figure suddenly appeared beside her.

Bert and the stranger burst into laughter while Maggy shot them both a murderous glare.

Garrelt folded his arms. "I take it you're the other Guild Inspector?"

The newcomer, dressed in fine robes that shimmered faintly in the fading light, raised a jade-smooth hand and laughed. "Oh, no, no. Mr. Galefist here is the only Inspector on this job. I'm just a humble field agent, running errands." He gave a theatrical bow, his long black hair spilling over his shoulder.

Bert chuckled and clapped the man on the back. "Nonsense! It's agents like you who make our jobs possible," he said with a grin.

Garrelt let out an exasperated sigh and threw up his hands. "Well, now that your friend's here, can we go after Robert? I don't want that snake getting away."

"I second that," Antchaser said, his voice quiet but firm — the first time he'd spoken since the battle ended.

"Yeah! Let's go teach that smug bastard a lesson!" Boarslayer whooped, pumping a fist.

Even Maggy gripped her staff with grim resolve and gave a tight nod.

"Ah! One moment," the agent said, raising a finger and cutting through the momentum. "I do need something from you before you all go gallivanting off into the woods."

Bert raised an eyebrow. "What's that? Did we mis—"

Slash!

Only Boarslayer's suit-augmented reflexes saved Bert's life — yanking him back just in time. Even so, the blade extending from the agent's sleeve carved cleanly across the side of Bert's neck, slicing through steel-hard muscle like paper. Blood sprayed in a crimson arc.

Maggy screamed.

Dr. Maria was at Bert's side in an instant, her hands glowing with golden light as Boarslayer gently lowered the wounded man to the ground.

"You bastard!" Garrelt and Antchaser charged.

"Careful! The blade's poisoned!" Dr. Maria called, eyes locked on the wound.

The warning came just in time — Antchaser jerked back, narrowly avoiding a follow-up strike that screeched off his energy shield in a flare of sparks.

Then the agent vanished.

He reappeared behind Maggy, blade pressed against her throat.

In one smooth motion, he leaped backward several paces, dragging her with him.

"Careful now," he said with a sharp-toothed grin. "We wouldn't want anything to happen to Miss Greenwood, would we?"

Garrelt ground his teeth. "What the hell? Why is the Guild attacking us now?!"

The so-called agent raised his brows and smiled brightly. "Ah! That's right! I should probably clean out my ring. Thanks for the reminder!"

With a casual flick of his free hand, a body appeared and flopped to the ground with a sickening thud. It wore robes nearly identical to the ones the black-haired man now wore, the same sleek hair, the same build… only this one was missing its ring.

The imposter reached into his robe, pulled out a golden tablet stained with dried blood, and tossed it onto the corpse.

"I won't be needing these anymore. You can have them back," he said with a laugh.

A split-second later, a brilliant flash lit up the wall — and the man's head vanished in a blast of force and sizzling light.

"Take that, you bastard!" Boarslayer whooped and surged forward.

"BOARSLAYER, HOLD!" Antchaser barked.

The massive goblin skidded to a halt, eyes narrowing as she picked up on something… wrong.

The man's head was gone, obliterated — yet his body remained upright. The blade was still pressed to Maggy's throat. And then she noticed. There was no blood.

The ruined flesh beneath the robe began to ripple and shift. Then, before their eyes, a new head rose from the bubbling mass. This one didn't match the one before. Slitted eyes gleamed like cut obsidian, and a wide, grin split a mouth lined with sharp teeth, ruining an otherwise handsome, but different, face. A shock of black and white hair, cut to shoulder length replaced the previous black.

Alpha's drone went still. Then its voice came low and tense.

"Tuguslar…"

Recognition hit like a blow. The facial match was confirmed a moment later by Alpha's internal records.

Why is Tuguslar here?

Did he track me down for revenge? No... that's impossible. Only a few people in the Radiant Sea even know my real name.

No. This reeks of something else entirely.

Tuguslar rolled his shoulders and tilted his head, amusement dancing in his too-wide grin. "That was quite the artifact. Very impressive. Unfortunately for you… it doesn't work on me."

His grin widened — somehow — nearly splitting his face in two.

"Now then…" He turned his gaze to Maggy, who froze under the weight of his stare. "Miss Greenwood. My Benefactor is very interested in that little artifact of yours."

The blade pressed tighter.

"Would you be so kind as to hand it over?"