Sepia Blue- Nameless: A Sepia Blue Novel- Book 4 Orlando Sanchez (good books for high schoolers txt) 📖

you, old friend. I’ve already set my plan in motion; I have the best in place.”

“I want your word,” Gan said. “No matter what happens to me, you—not Regional, you—will find her and help her. Say it.”

“No matter what happens, I give you my word I will find and help her.”

A team of nurses began entering the room.

“Do you even have an idea of where she may be?” Gan asked. “Or Velos?”

“Velos has gone to ground, but he will resurface,” Rafael answered. “Sepia has gone totally off the grid, but we will try the Keep first.”

“Be careful at the Keep,” Gan said as they started prepping him. “If she’s there, the Unholy will be there, too.”

“I’ve sent one of the best to investigate.”

“You sent one person, alone to the Park?” Gan asked incredulous. “Are you trying to have this person killed?”

“I’m not worried about her,” Rafael said as he walked beside Gan’s bed, which was being wheeled away. “I’m more concerned about how much of the Park will be left after she’s done.”

“Who did you send?” Gan asked. “Tell me you left the Order out of this.”

“Pira,” Rafael said. “She will get me the information I need.”

“Pira?” Gan asked, looking up from the bed. “You sent Black Pira, the Shadow?”

“She doesn’t go by that name any longer,” Rafael said. “These days she prefers just Pira.”

“Renaming a viper doesn’t make it any less lethal,” Gan said. “What were you thinking? Tell me you sent her in with backup—not that she needs it. Did you send her in alone?”

“Of course not,” Rafael said. “Do you think I’m that unfeeling? She has her second.”

“You’re joking,” Gan said. “Are you trying to depopulate the Park? Those two are nearly unstoppable.”

“I’m thinking this is deeper than we are aware, and I need actionable information,” Rafael told him. “Pira will provide that information.”

Gan shook his head.

“Are you sure you weren’t the one who was mindswiped? She’ll tear the Park and the Unholy apart, and he’ll clean up the mess.”

“I told you, I have the best in place,” Rafael answered. “Let me do what I need to do…you let the recall team do their work. Once they’re done, we will deal with that which can’t be named.”

Gan stared at Rafael and nodded.

“Find her.”

“I will, old friend,” Rafael said as Gan was wheeled away.

ELEVEN

Pira stood at the southernmost entrance to the Park.

Behind her, Columbus Circle was empty of pedestrians and vehicles. This happened every night, all of the properties surrounding the Park emptied as the sun set, creating a small pocket of emptiness in a vast city teeming with life.

No one wanted to be too close to the Park at night. Even with the wards, the Unholy were known to disappear the unwary or those too foolish to heed the warnings.

Beside her, crouched and working with a small pack, was Destin. He was the opposite of Pira: short where she was tall, stocky where she was thin, and dark where she was fair. The one thing they did share made them one of the most feared assassin teams in all of the Order.

They both wore warded combat armor with several blades situated strategically along their thighs and forearms. It would stop most of the Unholy attacks with the exception of a direct strike from some of the stronger inhabitants of the Park.

Individually, each of them were dangerous Regional assets, tasked with the elimination of the enemies of the Order.

Together, Pira and Destin—who were known as Task Force Reaper—shared an incredible propensity for lethality. Even though Pira operated as an Assistant Director in her present capacity, Rafael made sure she and Destin received regular dark operations to keep their skills honed. Officially, Task Force Reaper had been retired years ago; unofficially, they operated regularly in the shadow of Regional activities.

Those dark operations, however, never included excursions into the Park…at night.

“Minimal footprint, Des,” Pira said as she looked into the park. “This is strictly a recon assignment.”

“Roger that,” Destin answered, still rifling through the bag. “A recon mission into the Park at night when the Unholy are nice and awake. Perfect for a minimal footprint assignment. I think I forgot my tactical nuke—damn.”

“Too difficult?” Pira asked with a slight smile. “Let me know if you’re getting too old for this kind of work. I’m sure I can get you reassigned to a desk somewhere boring and safe.”

“I don’t do desks, boring or safe,” Destin replied before closing the pack and slinging it onto his back. “You know that. You get me a desk job, may as well shoot me now.”

“Target is a Hunter by the name of Sepia Blue,” Pira said, still looking into the Park. “She may be exhibiting extranormal abilities.”

“I thought all Hunters exhibited extranormal abilities?” Destin asked. “What are we facing here? What the hell kind of name is Sepia Blue?”

“She wields a dark blade which may or may not possess additional defensive attributes,” Pira answered. “May possess the ability to transform.”

“Transform? Transform into what?” Destin asked. “I thought Hunters wield light blades. What happened? Someone gave her the wrong blade?”

“Doesn’t matter. We aren’t here to confront her, just to find out if she’s here.”

“She sounds like she’s more Unholy than Hunter,” Destin said. “You sure about this?”

“Absolutely. We are eyes and ears only,” Pira said, advancing into the park with Destin behind her. “We are not to engage, just report on location.”

“What about the Unholy that will be between us from here to the Keep?”

Pira smiled.

“Up to our discretion. You still know how to be subtle?”

“Subtle? Hell, subtle is my middle name.”

“I seem to recall your middle name being death and destruction.”

“Those are my other middle names,” Destin said with a smile. “My first middle name is definitely subtle.”

“Right,” Pira said. “We encounter Unholy, it’s case by case. If we can avoid conflict—”

“With the Unholy? Sure. I keep forgetting how friendly they are, right before ripping out your intestines.”

“If we can avoid conflict,” Pira repeated, “then we will do so. If not, we take whatever