Lagos, Nigeria
.
The warehouse stood silent beneath the night sky.
Inside, Blue Devil checked his reflection in the dark window of his vehicle before stepping out.
Two SUVs were parked behind him.
Four men followed.
None carried their weapons openly.
They didn't need to.
Blue had survived this long because he never assumed a meeting was safe.
.
The building ahead belonged to an abandoned industrial company.
No active businesses.
No workers.
No reason for anyone to be there at this hour.
Perfect.
.
His phone vibrated.
A message.
"They're inside."
Blue looked toward the building.
"Good."
.
He entered.
The interior was almost completely empty.
A single table occupied the centre of the warehouse.
Two men sat on the opposite side.
They looked like businessmen.
Expensive suits.
No visible weapons.
One stood.
"Blue Devil."
Blue smiled faintly.
"You already know who I am."
"We know enough."
.
He took the seat opposite them.
His men remained several metres behind.
The doors stayed open.
For now.
.
One of the men placed a small case on the table.
He opened it.
Inside was the same blue powder Blue had received in the message.
Blue stared at it.
Real.
He had spent years around the substance.
He knew immediately.
"You have a source."
The man smiled.
"Everyone has a source."
"How much?"
"Enough."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one you're getting."
.
Blue leaned back.
"So you want into my market."
"No."
The man closed the case.
"We're offering you a choice."
"Buy from us."
"Or compete with us."
.
Blue studied him.
"You came here threatening me?"
"Not threatening."
The man leaned forward.
"Business."
.
Blue laughed quietly.
"Then let's talk numbers."
.
"The price."
Blue Devil leaned back in his chair.
"Thirty million naira per gram."
The man across from him remained silent.
"One gram can be diluted and processed for different purposes," Blue continued. "You can sell it to another buyer, use it yourself, or turn it into several different products."
The man nodded.
"We'll sell it to you for twenty-five million."
Blue raised an eyebrow.
"Five million below my current price?"
"We're interested in a long-term arrangement."
Blue studied him.
"And what do you want?"
"We want into your pills business."
Blue's expression remained unchanged.
"We'll supply our own material. You manufacture and distribute it through your existing network. You keep your customers. We get our products into the market."
Blue leaned back.
"Why not simply enter the market yourselves?"
The man smiled.
"If we did that, we'd have a war."
Blue said nothing.
"Men would die. Businesses would be destroyed. Customers would be stolen."
He shrugged.
"And eventually, after all that bloodshed, we'd probably end up having this same conversation."
His smile disappeared.
"I don't like my men dying."
Blue stared at him for a moment.
Then he nodded.
"Fair enough."
They continued discussing distribution.
Territories.
Quantities.
Delivery schedules.
Payment methods.
By the time the conversation ended, the foundations of a partnership had already been laid.
Nothing important enough to expose the true source.
Blue carefully avoided giving away his own.
The men across from him did the same.
.
But the DIA had already learned what it needed.
His voice.
His mannerisms.
His knowledge of the products.
His understanding of the market.
Everything matched the profile they had spent years constructing.
There was no longer any doubt.
The man sitting across from them was the Blue Devil.
.
Blue finally stood.
"I'll think about your offer."
He turned toward the exit.
.
"Mr. Adewale."
Blue stopped.
The name froze him.
He slowly turned around.
The man across the table reached inside his jacket.
Blue's security immediately moved forward.
Weapons appeared.
But before anyone could fire...
The warehouse doors slammed shut.
.
Lights suddenly flooded the building.
More armed officers emerged from the darkness.
Behind machinery.
Above the metal walkways.
From rooms Blue hadn't even noticed.
Every weapon was pointed directly at him and his men.
.
"Defence Intelligence Agency!"
"Drop your weapons!"
.
Blue's men froze.
One slowly lowered his weapon.
Another looked toward the sealed doors.
There was nowhere to run.
.
Blue stared across the room.
The realization finally settled in.
The meeting.
The mysterious competitors.
The blue powder.
The entire conversation.
.
It had never been a negotiation.
.
It had been an arrest.
.
He slowly raised his hands.
A pair of officers approached and placed restraints around his wrists.
Blue remained strangely calm.
"You spent a lot of time setting this up."
The officer standing before him said nothing.
.
Blue looked toward the small case still sitting on the table.
Then at the officers surrounding him.
His empire had survived for years.
Warehouses.
Distributors.
Customers.
Money.
Everything had seemed untouchable.
Until tonight.
.
As he was escorted from the building, one thought remained in his mind.
They had caught him.
But they still didn't know where the dust came from.
Seraphs Headquarters
.
Years had passed since the Seraphs had last engaged the Sanctum directly.
They had remained in the shadows, carrying out only the missions necessary to maintain their operations while avoiding anything that might expose their existence.
For a long time, it had worked.
But now...
The situation was changing.
.
The Seraphs sat around the briefing table as Philip stood at the front of the room.
A map of Nigeria covered the screen behind him.
Several locations were marked across it.
.
"The DIA is getting close."
The room became quiet.
.
Seraphina leaned forward.
"How close?"
.
"Close enough that I don't think we can keep pretending they aren't a problem."
Philip changed the display.
Several photographs appeared.
Reports.
Surveillance images.
Locations.
Names.
.
"They've been investigating the same network for years."
"They've connected enough incidents to know something much larger is operating in the country."
.
Malak crossed his arms.
"And they still don't know about us."
.
Philip looked at him.
"Not yet."
.
He changed the display again.
A photograph of Blue Devil appeared.
.
"They've captured one of the distributors."
Rafael studied the image.
"So?"
"They're going to start pulling at everything he knows."
Philip paused.
"And eventually, they'll reach the Sanctum."
.
The room remained silent.
.
Seraphina looked toward the others.
"Then we move."
.
Philip shook his head.
"Not yet."
.
He folded his arms.
"The DIA doesn't know what they're getting themselves into."
"They've spent years investigating disappearances, assassinations and unexplained incidents."
"But they have never fought a Saint."
.
Malak leaned back.
"And you think they'll attack the Sanctum?"
"I think they'll eventually find it."
Philip looked around the table.
"And when they do, they may come prepared for a conventional operation."
.
He let the silence settle.
.
"We need information."
Rafael frowned.
"From the Sanctum?"
.
"From the DIA."
.
Seraphina's expression changed slightly.
"You want to contact them?"
.
Philip nodded.
"They've been investigating the Sanctum."
"They know things we don't."
"And we know things they don't."
.
Malak gave a faint smile.
"So we're finally going to talk to the government."
.
Philip ignored the comment.
"This may be the best opportunity we'll ever get."
"If the DIA is preparing to confront the Sanctum, they'll need assistance."
"And so will we."
.
Seraphina looked at the map.
"We've never fought the Saints directly since the last confrontation."
.
Philip nodded.
"Exactly."
"We know what Hana is capable of."
"But we don't know what the other Saints have become."
.
He looked around the room.
"We've spent years improving ourselves."
"So have they."
.
Nobody spoke.
.
Philip shut off the display.
"We need to know what we're walking into. And if the DIA is about to walk into the same fight..."
He paused.
"...we may as well walk together."