The night pressed heavily against us as we approached the compound.It loomed in the distance, a squat silhouette of steel and concrete half-buried in the hills, the type of location designed to vanish from maps and memory. Floodlights swept the perimeter in slow arcs, and a faint buzz of generators echoed through the night.We were back at the target's location.Howard should have been here. The thought stung, a wound that hadn’t closed. I could almost hear his voice steadying us, giving us orders with that gravelly edge that somehow grounded everyone. Without him, our steps felt unbalanced, our formation uneven.Natalie led, her movements sharp and efficient, though I could see the stiffness in her shoulders. The rookie followed, too quiet, still trapped in the cage of his guilt. The wounded men, one missing an arm and the other with a chest wound, stayed behind with the reinforcements setting up the perimeter. That left the rest of us, half a team, worn out by blood and exhaustion.
Last Updated : 2025-08-31
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