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I poured three cups of coffee, black as midnight. Set them at the head of the table and the two seats flanking it. Duke's position, Thor to his right, me standing to present. Protocol mattered, even here. Especially here.

"Morning, brother." Duke's voice carried through the doorway. "You're here early."

"Couldn't sleep." True enough.

They entered together, filling the room with their presence. Duke's eyes swept the table, cataloging the spread of materials in one glance. His expression didn't change, but I caught the slight tension in his shoulders. He knew this wasn't a social call.

Thor was less subtle. "Fuck me, that's a lot of paper. We declaring war on trees now?"

"Have a seat." I kept my voice level, professional. "Coffee's fresh."

They settled into their chairs, leather creaking under their weight. Duke picked up his mug, eyes never leaving the photos.Thor sprawled back, trying to look casual, but I could see his focus sharpening as he recognized faces in the images.

"Talk to us, Ty." Duke's tone was neutral, giving nothing away. "What are we looking at?"

I took a breath, felt the weight of the moment. Everything depended on the next few minutes. Make them see. Make them understand. Make them believe.

"The Serpents are planning a coordinated strike." The words dropped into silence like stones into still water. "And I can prove it."

Time to begin.

Istoodbecausesittingfeltwrong. Old habits from briefing rooms where bad news traveled better from someone on their feet. The laser pointer felt familiar in my hand, a small piece of control in a room about to explode.

"Pattern analysis indicates a three-phase operation." I kept my voice steady, clicking the pointer toward the first set of photos. "Phase one: intelligence gathering. Currently active for six weeks."

The red dot circled a timestamp. "This is the Riverside Warehouse, two miles from our eastern territory line. Dead for three years until six weeks ago." Click. New image. "Now we have Serpents meeting with unfamiliar players three times a week, always after midnight."

Duke leaned forward, coffee forgotten. That was good—I had his attention. Thor stayed sprawled, but his eyes tracked every movement of the pointer.

"These aren't local muscle." Next image, enhanced zoom on neck tattoos. "Las Cruces Cartel."

"Cartel?" Thor's casual pose evaporated.

"Former military, current cartel soldiers." I moved to the next board. "Which brings us to phase two: resource acquisition."

The photos told their own story. Delivery trucks at the warehouse, crates being unloaded, inventory sheets I'd pulled from a source I wouldn't name. "Bulk ammunition purchases through shell companies. Three thousand rounds of 5.56, fifteen hundred of 9mm, five hundred 12-gauge shells. Either they're planning for World War Three or they're supplying an army."

Duke's frown deepened with each image. Good. Let him see what I'd seen, feel what I'd felt watching our enemies arm themselves.

"Personnel acquisition." New photos. "Fifteen confirmed Las Cruces soldiers rotating through town, staying in three separate safe houses." I'd marked the locations on the map, red pins forming a triangle around our territory. "Here, here, and here. Strategic positioning for multiple approach vectors."

"How long?" Duke's question cut through my presentation.

"Six weeks of buildup, accelerating in the last two." I clicked to the timeline chart. "Which brings us to phase three."

The family photos. I'd saved them for maximum impact, arranged them so the threat would be undeniable. "Target selection and vulnerability assessment."

Click. Wiz's sister at her car. "Mesa Community College, class schedule mapped, walking routes identified."

Click. "AA meetings, St. Catherine's, Tuesday evenings."

Click. “Oncology unit—”

"They're targeting families." Duke's voice had gone cold, that particular stillness that preceded violence.

"Every major member." I spread out the rest. "Sixty-three surveillance photos, seventeen locations. They know our patterns, our weaknesses, our pressure points."

The room temperature seemed to drop as I revealed photo after photo. Duke's mother's apartment. Thor's favorite diner.The daycare where one of our prospects dropped off his daughter. Each image another violation, another line crossed.