"You can’t just say no," the woman snapped. "This is a community."

"You mean your group," Sera said. "We aren’t in it."

"You won’t last long if you burn bridges," the woman said, voice sharp now. "The General has a long memory and he hates people who don’t respect his rules."

Sera’s mouth curved as she looked at the slightly taller woman. "So do I."

Lachlan didn’t bother to hold back his laugher while Alexei’s eyes stayed cold. Elias watched Zubair’s hands and relaxed when they didn’t move. Luci’s ears flicked just slightly like he was proving that he was awake, even if he was bored out of his mind.

"You picked your two, not it is time to settle the score," the bat man said. "We don’t want trouble."

"You don’t want a lesson," Lachlan corrected him. "I’m pretty sure that you live one trouble."

The glossy woman planted her palm on the pillar and dropped her voice. "Just so we’re clear, you’re not untouchable. I don’t care how many men you brought or how big the dog is. You either cooperate, or you don’t. But those who don’t tend to disappear in places like this."

"Or feed the zombies," chuckled one of the other men. "Imma thinking they’re getting hungry right about now."

Zubair stepped closer until her hand had nowhere to go but off the pillar. "Enough."

She held his stare for a second too long and then broke it with a laugh she didn’t feel. "Sensitive much. I don’t know why. She isn’t worth all that much."

"Protective," he countered with a bone chilling smile. He didn’t raise his voice, but he didn’t have to.

Sera didn’t spare the woman another look.

She turned down the hall and cut across the main court toward the thrift store with the hand-painted sign. The gate there had been lifted up, and a broom handle kept it from sliding back down.

The interior was a mix of clothes, boots, tool bins, and random houseware. Exactly the kind of place that hid good finds under a mess.

"This would be the third store," Lachlan said, cheerful. "You’re going to make her pop a vein."

"She already did," Sera answered, not bothering to lower her voice.

Not caring about the others or the general, Sera and her men entered their third store.

Zubair angled to the door and set himself to face both aisles. Elias drifted to a rack of jackets and put his shoulder to the frame so it wouldn’t tip if shoved.

Alexei moved toward a crate labeled "workwear" and flicked through with fast hands.

Luci padded to the back wall and parked himself where he could see Sera and the door.

The glossy woman didn’t follow them in.

She stopped at the threshold and gestured to her men. The bat man and the pipe man took the left and right aisles.

Another slid along the back, trying to look like a browser and failing.

The quiet girl lingered just outside, eyes on Sera, not the boys. The glossy woman kept her smile on and raised her voice for the hallway. Audience locked.

"Two stores," she announced again. "This is your last warning."

Sera’s hand was already on a row of boots. She pulled three pairs that would fit Lachlan and dropped them in a pile by his feet. He lit up. "Marry me."

"Eat your chocolate," she said, rolling her eyes and giving him one of the truffles from the other store.

Alexei found a heavy coat with a collar that wouldn’t choke a rifle strap and lifted it without comment.

Zubair grunted approval.

Elias sorted a bin of tools, pocketed a compact multitool, and set aside a folding saw, two water filters, and a roll of duct tape that hadn’t fused to itself.

The pipe man edged closer. "You can’t take—"

Zubair looked at him, and the man stopped talking.

The glossy woman tried a new tack. "Here’s how this goes. You pick two stores, we walk you out, then we settle the score. You push, we push back. The General’s people run this building. That means me."

"No," Sera said against with a shake of her head.

The woman blinked. "What?"

"No," Sera repeated. "That’s the end of that line."

The bat man stepped left and put a foot on Sera’s pile. He pressed down. It wasn’t much. It didn’t need to be. It was a message.

Lachlan’s hand went to the man’s wrist before anyone else could move. The man yanked. Lachlan didn’t let go. The sunglasses slid down his nose. The blue rode up under his skin. He smiled without humor.

"Move your foot."

The bat man tried to act brave. "Make me."

Lightning seemed to crawl across Lachlan’s palm in a thin line, the kind that promised a worse one. It popped once, sharp and clean, and kissed the head of the bat.

The man flinched like he’d swallowed a battery and jerked his foot off the pile without planning to.

"Good choice," Lachlan said. "Who said that you were too stupid to live?" The blue faded back down his throat, and he pushed the sunglasses back up, casual again.

"Enough," the glossy woman snapped, voice too loud now. She clapped her hands. "We’re done here. My people and I are claiming this floor. You do not have permission to take—"

Sera cut her off. "I didn’t ask."

The woman started forward. Alexei stepped into her path before she reached Sera. He didn’t touch her. He simply stood where she wanted to stand. His eyes were dead cold.

"You don’t want this," he told her, his accent stronger now. "You won’t enjoy the end."

She held his stare and found nothing in it she could move. Her jaw set. "You’re going to regret this. The General doesn’t accept anyone who breaks his rules. We now have full permission to kill you and take everything that you have. You are thieves, and you are not welcome in the General’s territory."

"No," Elias said, still sorting the tool bin. "We’re efficient."

"Same thing," she shot back.

"Not for long," he said.

Sera kept working. She lifted a canvas duffel from behind the counter, checked the zipper, and started stacking what she wanted.

Gloves. Socks. A roll of paracord. Two headlamps. A box of long screws. She set a battered leather satchel next to Zubair’s boot without looking. He hooked it with his toe and drew it behind his ankle.

The quiet girl spoke for the first time. "You won’t stop her," she told the glossy woman under her breath. "You’re only making it worse."

"Whose side are you on?" the glossy woman hissed.

"Survival," the girl said, eyes on Sera. "I pick what will keep me alive."

The glossy woman went still. A crack formed behind her eyes.

Sera closed the duffel. "We’re done here," she said. "Next store."

Lachlan slung the bag over his shoulder and bounced once on his heels. "Fashion, tools, and dessert. Not a bad day."

Elias smirked. "Add filters and a saw. Now it’s a plan."

Alexei tipped a coat to Zubair. "Wear it."

Zubair put it on. It fit.

The glossy woman stepped into the doorway again, blocking part of the exit with her body. "You walk past me with that bag, and we will have a problem."

Zubair moved first this time. He stepped into her space and kept walking until she had to choose between contact and pride. She chose pride and pivoted out of his way. He didn’t touch her. He didn’t need to.

Sera walked out last. She didn’t speed up. She didn’t slow down and Luci naturally fell in at her side.

The bat man muttered something he shouldn’t have.

Lachlan heard it and smiled in a way that promised a bill later.

They hit the hall. The glossy woman’s breath hitched, soft enough that only those close heard it.

An entire rack that had been full when they entered was empty now. So were two endcaps. So was a display behind the register. No noise. No clatter. Just gone.

Her men looked from the bare spots to Sera and back again, trying to do math they didn’t have numbers for.

"Where did it go?" the bat man asked, stupid and honest.

"Inventory error," Elias said, dry.

Sera adjusted her jacket and headed for the next wing. "Keep up," she told the men she was beginning to feel incomplete without. She didn’t bother speaking to anyone else.

The glossy woman stood in the doorway, hands clenched, smile finally gone. She watched Sera walk toward a new problem and realized she had just lost this floor and didn’t know how.

The quiet girl clutched her binder and followed Sera with her eyes until Sera turned the corner.

Zubair checked the angles again. "Left," he said.

Sera went left. The thrift store fell behind them. The glossy woman didn’t move. The bat man didn’t breathe for a full count.

On the far wall, a clothing banner rattled in the air that didn’t exist.

Sera stepped through the next entrance without breaking stride.