Page 76 of Green Ravens

With all they’d undergone, Valor had no clue if they’d been implanted with chips or trackers.

“No, absolutely not,” Dr. Santana said.

“Good, we don’t need a handler,” Zorion gritted.

“The hell you don’t,” Glitch interjected. “Jo will be your handler.”

Zorion shook his head.

“Yes.” Glitch glared hard. “Jo has already proven she’s on your side. And to show how loyal she is, she’s taking you somewhere only a few people in the world know about.”

Virginia smirked as she flipped a switchblade back and forth in her hand. “Not evenweknow where it is.”

Valor frowned.

“I’m taking you to the Order of Imuma Aga Khan.”

Valor continued to stare. Was he supposed to know where or even what that was?

Jo smiled serenely. “It’s a place that’s nowhere. My home. The Order of the Beginning.” She let those words linger before continuing. “The origin of the true assassins. The home of my brother, Lion, the Man of Triumph, and his cherished… Omega. The second and third deadliest men in the world.”

Valor’s instincts flared, his muscles tensing. He turned toward Zorion, his instincts to protect him surging in his chest.

“They aren’t to be feared,” Jo added. “Not by the righteous, not by the morally good, or the pure at heart. They aren’t men. Lion and Omega are something else.”

Valor scowled. “Lion and Omega…and they are—”

“Legends masked in humility,” Virginia whispered as if in awe. “Warriors honed beyond anything the human mind can measure.”

Now, he was intrigued.

“Tell us more,” Zorion said.

“They are assassins.”

“What the fuck?” Zorion growled.

Jo held up her hand. “They aren’t Ravens, nor associated with the Ravens. They exist beyond morality, beyond laws, loyal only to an ancient code of discipline and honor, taught by the Shaolin elders and grandmasters of the Order.”

“Fuckin’ badasses,” Glitch muttered, not looking up from his screen.

“Why are you taking us there? Shouldn’t we go to a remote island or something?” Valor asked.

“The Order is on one of the most remote islands in Southwestern Asia. Assassins of the Order have no country. They pledge to no flag and have no path except the one they choose to walk. And they don’t kill for vengeance, money, or power.”

Jo leaned toward them. “They kill when it is written in the universe. To restore balance. You both need training, and Omega and Lion are the best. I need you to be rid of the facility’s brainwashing and taught how to fight in nature and alongside the elements. In the Order, you will learn what it means to fight with honor and for glory. To battle without fear, to move without sound, to become the shadows of the world and to kill without discrimination. You will become ghosts.”

Zorion was motionless.

“It’s the only way you’ll be able to take down an organization as vast and powerful as the Ravens,” she warned.

Valor clenched his fist. Jo talked a good game, yet he wasn’t as enamored as the others. But he guessed he had no choice.

“You said they were thesecondand third deadliest. Who’s the first?” he asked.

Jo just stared at him.

Valor glanced around, noting the stoic expression.

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