The transport aircraft rumbled through the night sky, its interior dimly lit by faint red lights. Ethan sat strapped into his seat, staring at the matte-black rifle across his lap. Around him, the recruits Elise Laurent, Marcus Wren, Damian Cruz, and Zara Khan, sat in silence, their faces grim and focused.
Standing at the front of the cargo bay, Seraphina Vale addressed them with her usual sharp precision.
"Listen carefully. This is not a simulation. This is not a test. This is a live operation, and failure means death."
She clicked a small remote in her hand, and a holographic map flickered to life.
"Your target is a remote arms facility in Eastern Europe, run by a militant faction known as The Black Claw. They're preparing to move a shipment of advanced weaponry across the border. Your job is simple: infiltrate, sabotage the shipment, and extract undetected."
The hologram shifted to show three key objectives: a loading dock, a communications tower, and a fuel depot.
"Cross, Laurent you'll handle the communications tower. Wren and Cruz, you'll sabotage the fuel depot. Zara will provide overwatch."
Seraphina's cold gaze swept over them. "Stick to the plan. No heroics. No improvisation."
She paused for a moment.
"And if one of you falls behind… keep moving."
The recruits exchanged uneasy glances.
"Gear up. We drop in five."
The icy wind cut across Ethan's face as he descended from the transport aircraft, the roar of the engines fading as the night swallowed them. Below him, the facility sprawled like a spider's web of concrete buildings, guard patrols, and floodlights.
He landed with a soft thud, his boots sinking slightly into the muddy ground. Elise touched down moments later, moving with cat-like grace as she crouched low and scanned the area with her rifle.
"Clear," she whispered.
In the distance, Marcus and Damian's figures disappeared into the shadows, heading for the fuel depot.
"Come on," Ethan said, signaling Elise to follow.
They moved silently along the edge of a chain-link fence, avoiding the pools of light from patrolling guards. The communications tower loomed ahead, a tall metal structure with blinking red lights and exposed ladders.
At the base of the tower, Ethan crouched beside a rusted electrical box, pulling out a set of wire cutters from his belt. Elise knelt beside him, her rifle aimed at the nearest guard patrol.
"Five minutes," Ethan whispered as he began cutting through the wires.
Elise nodded, her finger resting lightly on the trigger.
For a moment, everything was quiet. Just the faint hum of distant machinery and the occasional crunch of gravel as guards passed by.
But then…
Crack!
A single gunshot echoed across the compound, followed by shouting.
Ethan froze. Elise's head snapped up.
"That came from the fuel depot," she said sharply.
Through his earpiece, Marcus's voice crackled, frantic and panicked.
"They spotted us! Damian's hit, he's down! I repeat, Damian's down!"
Ethan's stomach twisted.
"What do we do?" Elise asked, her voice tight.
Ethan hesitated. Their orders were clear: stick to the plan. Finish their objective.
But Damian was bleeding out.
"Laurent, cover me," Ethan said, his voice firm.
"Ethan"
"Cover me!"
Without waiting, Ethan sprinted toward the depot, his boots pounding against the gravel.
The fuel depot was chaos. Fires burned around scattered barrels, and smoke curled into the night sky. Marcus was crouched behind a stack of crates, his face smeared with blood and sweat.
Damian lay sprawled on the ground nearby, clutching his stomach as blood seeped through his fingers.
"Cross!" Marcus shouted. "What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be at the tower!"
Ethan ignored him and dropped to his knees beside Damian. The young recruit's face was pale, his breathing ragged.
"Stay with me, Damian," Ethan said, tearing open a med kit from his belt.
"They came out of nowhere…" Damian's voice trembled, his eyes darting around wildly.
Ethan pressed a bandage against the wound, trying to slow the bleeding.
Marcus grabbed Ethan's shoulder. "We have to go, Cross! The guards are regrouping...we won't last another five minutes here!"
Ethan's mind raced. Damian wouldn't make it if they left him behind. But if they stayed any longer, none of them would make it out alive.
"Go," Damian whispered, his bloodied hand clutching Ethan's sleeve. "Save yourselves."
Ethan's jaw clenched, his chest tight with guilt.
"No," he said through gritted teeth. "We don't leave anyone behind."
Elise's voice crackled through the earpiece. "Ethan, reinforcements are moving in from the north. You need to leave now."
Marcus swore under his breath. "We're out of time, Cross!"
Ethan grabbed Damian's arm and hauled him upright, slinging it over his shoulder.
"Move!" Ethan barked.
Marcus and Ethan staggered toward the extraction point, Damian's weight slowing them down. Gunfire erupted from behind, bullets whizzing past them and striking the ground in bursts of sparks and dust.
They reached the extraction zone just as Elise arrived, firing controlled bursts from her rifle to cover their retreat.
A sleek black evac vehicle screeched to a halt nearby. The side door opened, and Seraphina Vale stood inside, her icy gaze locked onto them.
"Get in!" she barked.
Ethan and Marcus shoved Damian into the vehicle before diving in themselves. The doors slammed shut, and the vehicle sped away into the night.
Back at the Helix Institute, the recruits sat in silence in the med bay. Damian lay unconscious on a cot, hooked up to an IV. His breathing was steady, but his face was still pale.
Seraphina stood at the end of the room, her expression carved from stone.
"You disobeyed direct orders, Cross," she said coldly. "You jeopardized the mission and the lives of your team."
Ethan looked up, his voice steady. "If I had left him behind, he would have died."
Seraphina's icy stare lingered on him for a long moment.
"Sometimes, Cross, sacrifices must be made. You need to learn when to let go."
She turned and walked away, leaving the recruits in silence.
Ethan sat back, his eyes fixed on Damian's still form.
Maybe Seraphina was right. Maybe he had made the wrong call.
But deep down, he knew one thing for certain:
He wasn't ready to become the kind of person who could leave a teammate behind.
Lex's words echoed in his mind:
"Once you're in… there's no turning back."
End of Chapter 10.