The Undercroft was not an area where heroes would want to be.

Seraph and Draven followed the old gang leader through confusing, wet tunnels and shaky metal bridges, with their faces hidden by their hoods. The man's name was Rook, and he walked as confidently as a king would in his own territory, even though it was rusty and broken.

Rook led them through an abandoned railway station. It was a huge, open space where the rusted remains of old trains sat on the tracks. In the center of the main platform was a large chair. It was a massive structure, welded together from scrap metal and old train seats. This was Rook's place of command.

He slowly sat down in his chair with a heavy sigh, and the metal groaned under his weight. He waved a hand at both of them, a gesture that completely showed off his arrogance. "So," he began, his voice loud and clear in the empty station. "The great Academy Knights have come begging to my territory. Tell me, what could you possibly want from a simple businessman like me?"

Seraph stepped forward, letting her military training take control. She was used to being in command. "We need a base of operations," she said, her voice sharp and clear. "Secure and out of sight. We also need access to the people you use to get information."

Rook stared at her for a long moment, then he threw his head back and laughed out loud.

"You need?" he repeated, his laughter turning into a sneer. "You come into my home, with my men surrounding you, and you have the nerve to tell me what you need?"

He leaned closer in his throne. His small, dark eyes were shining in the weak light of the station. "Your authority means nothing at all down here, Knigh. The only law is profit and survival. That fancy, shiny silver bird on your collar? Down here, it's just a target."

He picked up a piece of scrap metal from a table beside his throne, turning it over in his hands. "Julian Sterling's occupation is bad for business," he said, his voice a low growl. "His metal soldiers are cracking down on my supply lines. They are disrupting the natural order of things." He looked up at them, his eyes cold. "That makes him my enemy. But that doesn't make you my friend."

"We have a common enemy," Seraph argued, trying not to sound frustrated. "It makes sense for us to work together."

"Sense?" Rook chuckled. "Sense is for the Uppersiders, the people who live in the city above us. Down here, we don't have sense. We have deals. "He dropped the piece of metal, which made a loud noise. "You want my help? You want a safe place to hide your pretty, wanted faces, and you want my eyes and ears on all the streets of this city? Fine. You can have it. But you won't get it for free."

Draven, who had been silent until now, stepped forward. "Name your price," he said, his voice a low rumble.

Rook's smile got bigger. He looked like a wolf who had just trapped two expensive sheep. He typed a command into a dirty control panel on his chair's arm. A holographic image appeared in the space between them. It was security footage, showing the guarded entrance of a warehouse.

"That," Rook said, pointing a finger at the image, "is the local headquarters for Sterling's military unit. And that," he continued, making the image bigger to focus on a man by the entrance, "is the man in charge."

The person shown in the image was a man, or what used to be one. Half of his face was covered with shiny metal, with one of is eye glowing red. His arms were made of machine parts, ending in sharp claws.

"Commander Valerius," Rook said with a sneer on his face. "That man is a nasty piece of work. He thinks because he's half machine, he can't be dealt with. He has been a big problem for my business, stopping my black market shipments, making my customers run away. He's costing me a lot of money."

He looked from the hologram to Seraph.

"You want to show you are helpful?" he said. "You want to earn the right to stay in my Undercroft? The deal is simple. You get rid of him for me."

Draven's lips curved into a fierce smile. This, he understood. A direct fight against a clear enemy. It was something he was very good at. "It's a deal," he said right away, his voice a low, tough sound that showed he was ready for a fight.

"Wait," Seraph said, holding up her hand. She stared at Rook. Her eyes were just as cold and thoughtful as his. She fully understood the dangerous game he was playing.

This was not just a simple test. Rook was a crime lord. He didn't care at all about their secret war with Julian Sterling. He was using them. He was using two of the most powerful and most skilled warriors in the nation as his own personal, disposable assassins to solve a local gangland problem. If they succeeded, his rival was gone, and his business would be safe. If they failed and died, it was no loss to him at all. He won either way.

But what choice did they have? They were alone, hunted, with nowhere else to go. They needed this base. They needed his network. They needed to get back in the fight.

Seraph locked her eyes with Rook's with her face hard and unreadable. She knew she was making a deal with someone dangerous. But to fight a monster like Sterling, she had no choice than to cooperate with him.

She gave a single, sharp nod to rook.

"We'll take care of your officer," she said, her voice flat and emotionless.

Then, she leaned forward, her voice dropping to a low whisper that was meant only for him.

"And then, you and I will have a new arrangement."

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