STRANGULATE | Markicest

40 | HARDWIRED

Ethan cowered behind Konray, his pure-black eyes adjusting to the night.

His hands shook as he held a small satchel of daggers which were laced with his own poison; a back-up in case things went southwards.

"K-Kon, this is—I think we should—"

"Shush!" she hissed, waving a hand at him. She clutched the straps of her bag, staring ahead.

They were only feet away from the gate that protected Antinstine's mansion.

"Look—over at the front gates," said Konray, pointing. It was harder to see now that they were so close; the mansion's lights were too bright.

Ethan squinted, his eyes shifting clumsily between his night vision and normal vision.

"No guards," said Ethan, brows furrowing. "Well, that's more suspicious than there actually being guards—"

"It means the coast is clear. For now," muttered Konray. "Okay... remember the plan?"

Ethan gnawed at his bottom lip. "I-I'd rather stay with you—"

"You cover the left side—I cover the right," she said. She rummaged in her bag and handed Ethan another satchel, which was filled with little tabs.

They were going to tap Antinstine's mansion.

Ethan gulped. "And—y-you're sure these are the right—"

"I'm no idiot, Blank," she said. "I know Antinstine can sense electricity. I designed these specifically to go unnoticed by him."

Ethan sighed, too nervous to correct her. "Okay... o-okay."

He grabbed the string of the satchels and hung them around his neck like a necklace. He glanced over at Konray. Double-checked his ear piece, the tabs, the daggers.

"I-I'll meet you here in five," said Ethan.

Konray smirked, and her skin began to shudder like scales. They flipped and shivered, and suddenly, she blended in with the most dominant color of their surroundings—a deep, dark navy blue.

"Don't die," she laughed, and with that, she leaped over the towering gate.

Ethan cursed and clambered after her, and while Konray landed softly on her feet, he collided into the lawn. Konray giggled but said nothing, dashing towards the mansion and around it.

Ethan took a deep breath as he watched her figure sprint off, rolling into cover, then dashing towards her first target. One tap down.

He gulped.

You have five minutes, he told himself.

He kept to the shadows and avoided the bright mansion lights. His black eyes shifted to night vision, and he took a deep breath, blinking as he tried to steady himself.

In and out... in and out...

The grass rustled beneath his feet—too loud for his liking. The satchels thunked on his chest with each step.

He tapped the first target—near the front entrance. Then the second, the third... the sixth, seventh.

Ethan heaved for air, the anxiety and labor of the job wearing on him. He crouched near the hedges again, flanking the left side of the mansion. He neared the conservatory and placed a tap near it like a sticker, dashing back into the hedges.

In the distance, he spotted a light. He squinted, eyes shifting, and the laboratory came into clearer view.

Ethan's brows furrowed, and he dove into some bushes, eyeing the building. He pressed a button in his ear.