"What happened?"
"We're still investigating..."
"Tell me now, who went down." Daniel, who was in the chain of command, had been informed about the helicopter that crashed a few minutes ago.
"It was the commander. He was on a reconnaissance mission when the engine damage appeared in the first reports."
Daniel listened to the recordings and frowned, quickly saying, "Send an immediate response team."
"That can't be done." Tobias, who was among the communication staff, intervened in the conversation.
"Why can't you save your leader?" Daniel recognized Tobias, so his response should have an obvious explanation.
Tobias was nervous. He knew more about the future than anyone else, so he said, "If we are discovered by other military unions, we will enter into conflict. Dominic has ordered that we avoid going beyond Los Angeles, so you can't send a rescue team."
"He didn't go down in Los Angeles; you've heard it."
At that moment, when the discussion was at its peak, Alicia's voice came from the central radio: "Zz... We will get to safety. We will report our situation when the time comes, and if we don't contact you in a few weeks, you must activate the winter plan."
Tobias clenched his hands because he knew perfectly well what this meant. The winter plan involved the destruction of key points where other enemy organizations gathered, and without proper control of its development, it would generate problems for the leader of this base.
"Orders received." Tobias responded without giving Daniel the chance to reply.
Daniel looked at Tobias and shouted, "Everyone leave now, except you."
"I'm just following my friend's instructions."
Bang!
Daniel grabbed Tobias by the neck and asked, "What is the winter plan?"
"I can't tell you."
"Dominic trusts me as much as he trusts you. Now tell me what I'm asking."
Tobias closed his eyes for a moment and, after a long time, murmured, "The winter plan means an escalated attack on zones previously selected by Dominic in case he died. You don't know this, but my friend is not very enthusiastic about living after having killed his girlfriend."
"A chain of destruction?"
"There are enemies you don't know about—people who develop their power just as we do and are a danger to our future. Dominic knows about all of them, and if he's not here to take care of them, then the best way to resolve those problems is by destroying them."
Daniel let go of Tobias. His gaze passed over the map painted on the wall, and he saw dozens of red dots marking targets without anyone noticing. The winter plan would mean the destruction of those sites, but the question was, how did Dominic have knowledge of those enemies, and what were they waiting for to destroy them?
What Daniel didn't know was that Dominic really didn't need to destroy anyone, but if he wasn't here, that would be the best course of action. All this time, indirectly, Dominic had been risking his life, seeking his death. Like a machine lacking emotions, that was his goal.
"Daniel, how did it happen?" Victor entered the command room after hearing that the helicopter had crashed.
"I don't know if it was intentional. Send an elite team and an inspector to investigate the soldiers at the base where Dominic was."
Victor nodded, and just as he was about to leave, Daniel said, "Wait, I'll be the inspector."
"I'll take care of it." Victor was eternally grateful to Dominic. He had helped him a lot and was able to save his loved ones when they had been bitten. Regardless of whether the accident was intentional or not, he would find those responsible and kill them.
"You take care of informing Madison."