18: 10 (110 minutes to the next explosion)
Sohel instinctively replied, his voice a bit louder than usual, "What? No."
Mimi said, "Please, Mr. Choudhury. Dr. Ito, he… He killed Ida. Please give us a chance to fight."
Sohel rubbed his temples and took deep breaths. Lola said, "Please."
She couldn't complete her sentence as Sohel shut her up by saying, "No. You two are going nowhere. This is a military operation. If I look away from the fact that you're prisoners, then you're just normal civilians. I won't allow any civilian casualties."
Lola tried to retaliate. She said, "But..."
Sohel shut her up again. He said, "I won't repeat myself again. You two are civilians and will remain on board Artemis. Naomi, get spare handcuffs from the arsenal and lock them up. Let's go."
Naoki and Jacob left the room first. Then Sohel, and lastly Naomi. She came back a moment later with two more handcuffs and tied them with the bedframe. The whole time, both Lola and Mimi tried to persuade Naomi, but Naomi didn't even bat an eye.
Sohel entered back at the briefing room, and as he saw Annabelle, he got surprised. She had the facial expression of pure horror. Sohel went ahead and asked, "What happened, Princess?"
Annabelle didn't say anything but just relayed what he was seeing on her tablet to the big screen. What he saw sent shivers down Sohel's spine. The screen showed a scan report of the island underneath them. The island was totally flat, with zero greenery all around and just two, two-story rectangular buildings in the middle. The screen was filled with red dots.
Sohel asked, a little nervousness in his voice, "Is that what I think it is?"
Annabelle replied, her voice shaky too, "Yeah. Almost 2,000 soldiers are infesting every part of the island."
Sohel gulped and said, "That's a problem."
Naomi entered the room and asked, "What happened, Captain?"
Sohel chuckled and said, "Nothing. Just the fight is one versus three hundred." He tried to sound nonchalant, but his nervousness slipped through his voice. He looked down and whispered, "It was a bad idea. I should've known about it. Fuck."
Naoki was standing next to him. He heard Sohel and said, "Hey, Sohel? Look at me."
Sohel looked at Naoki. Naoki said, "Listen, everyone here was ready for the worst when they decided to join us. We can win. We just need a good plan."
Sohel looked at all of them and said, "Everyone, as I said right now, the odds are heavily against us. I don't even know if we can win or not… But still, now that we're here, we have no other choice but to fight. So, I'm going to ask you all to trust me. Please give it your all."
Naomi smiled and said, "That was the plan. I have a score to settle with that quack of a doctor. I'm not backing away."
Mitali said, "So am I. Remember, you're the one who said before that the Bravo squad is a family. Isn't it natural for family to stick together?"
"That's the same for everyone else in this room, boss." Said Jacob.
Sohel took a deep breath and let it out. He then said, "Ok, everyone. I'll explain the plan now. But before I do. I have a request. Please everyone, try not to die. That's my only request."
Jacob replied, "Do you think we want to die? Of course we're going to do our best to stay alive. I love my life man."
Sohel chucked and said, "That's good then."
Sohel was going to start explaining his plan, but he got interrupted by two silhouettes at the door of the briefing room. The moment those silhouettes appeared on the corner of his eyes, he instinctively aimed his gun that way. Seeing him, the others followed.
Sohel yelled, "Who's there?"
The Yu sisters walked in the room, half-broken handcuffs hanging from both of their hands.
The Moment Naomi saw them; she let go of her SMG, letting it hang by the sling, and put her hand on the knife handle, ready to take it out the moment she needs it.
Sohel slapped his forehead and said, "Ahh, why didn't I guess you'd be able to do that? So? What is it? We're hovering 40,000 feet above land, so I doubt you'd like to jump out."
Lola said, "We heard you. You are really low on manpower, right? So, why not take us in? 8 people are better than six people."
Sohel replied sharply, "Denied. I've said it before: You two are just normal civilians. What we're doing here is technically illegal. And most probably a death mission. I won't allow any civilian to die under my protection."
Mimi again tried to retaliate, only to be shut down by Sohel again. He said, "The conversation is over. Naomi, take them and lock them up in the female sleeping quarters, and make sure this time they stay there. I don't care what you do."
Naomi said, "Got it, captain."
Naomi aimed her SMG at Lola and Mimi and said, "Come on, get a move on. Any sudden movements, and I'll pull the trigger."
Lola said as Naomi was pushing her away, "Please, captain. Please, give us a chance."
That's when Naoki suddenly whispered to Sohel. He said, "Ghost, it might be worth it to have them fight with us. They're subjects of Project Spectre, not just normal civilians. They won't die that easily."
Sohel said, "So are the Pheonix company soldiers down there. It doesn't make a difference."
"It does. They're better than the mass-produced ones down there. They were trained separately. I read their files."
Sohel's forehead skin wrinkled. He asked, "What if they turn on us?"
"I'll keep an eye on them. It's fine."
Sohel sighed and said, "Medusa, it's fine. Let them in."
Naomi looked at Sohel, and the Yu sisters eyes lit up. They ran to the table in the briefing room. Mimi said, "Thank you, Mr. Choudhury. I promise, we won't let you down."
Sohel said, "You better not. I have you know three facts though."
Lola asked, "What are they?"
Sohel replied, "One, I'm the leader here. You'll follow my every command. Do not act on your own in case of me being unavailable; Lt. Medusa's going to take charge.
Two, if you are planning on turning on us, know for sure that your body would have more bullet holes than anyone can count.
And three, don't be reckless and get yourself killed.
Is that clear?"
Both of them replied, "Yes, captain."