The military transport vehicle bumped along the uneven dirt road, its engine growling under the weight of its armored frame. Ethan sat in the back, clutching his rifle tightly, the dim red light overhead casting shadows across the tense faces of his team.
Elise Laurent sat across from him, methodically checking the magazine of her weapon. Her expression was calm, but her green eyes betrayed a flicker of unease.
Beside her, Marcus Wren leaned against the wall, his white-knuckled grip on his pistol at odds with his usual smug demeanor.
"Everyone ready?" Alexander Graves's voice crackled through their earpieces.
Ethan took a deep breath, steadying himself. "Ready."
Graves continued, his tone calm but firm. "Your mission is to infiltrate a militia compound deep in the Albanian mountains. This faction, known as the Iron Fang, is stockpiling weapons and critical intel about the Shadow Hand's operations. Your job is to disrupt their activities, retrieve the intel, and extract before they know what hit them."
Through the narrow window, Ethan caught glimpses of dense forest and jagged mountain peaks shrouded in mist.
"No mistakes," Graves added. "This is hostile territory. If you're caught, there's no backup."
The vehicle slowed to a stop, the rumble of the engine fading into the silence of the forest.
"This is your drop zone," Graves said. "Good hunting."
The team moved silently through the underbrush, their footsteps muffled by the damp forest floor. The air was cold and thick with the scent of pine and moss.
Ethan took point, his rifle raised, every sense heightened. Behind him, Elise scanned the surroundings, her finger resting lightly on the trigger of her silenced pistol.
Marcus brought up the rear, muttering under his breath as he swatted at low-hanging branches.
"Keep it down, Wren," Elise hissed.
Marcus rolled his eyes but said nothing.
Through his earpiece, Zara Khan's voice crackled. "I've got eyes on the compound. Two sentries at the main gate, and at least three more patrolling the perimeter."
Ethan crouched behind a fallen log, peering through his binoculars. The compound was a grim sight, a cluster of weathered buildings surrounded by barbed-wire fences and makeshift watchtowers. Floodlights swept across the area, illuminating armed guards in mismatched gear.
"What's the plan, Cross?" Elise whispered.
Ethan scanned the layout again, his mind racing.
"We split up," he said finally. "Elise and I will take out the sentries at the gate. Marcus, you circle around and disable the generator to kill the floodlights. Zara, keep overwatch and call out any movement."
Marcus smirked. "Hope you can handle yourselves without me, Cross."
Ethan ignored him, signaling for Elise to follow.
The two of them crept toward the gate, staying low as they moved from shadow to shadow. The sentries were talking quietly, their rifles slung lazily over their shoulders.
Ethan raised his hand, signaling Elise to take the one on the left. She nodded, her movements smooth and precise.
Ethan lined up his shot, his breath steady.
Phfft.
The silencer hissed as his shot struck true, the sentry collapsing silently. A second hiss followed as Elise took down her target with equal precision.
"Gate's clear," Ethan whispered into his earpiece.
"Copy that," Zara replied. "Marcus, you're up."
Marcus reached the generator shed without incident. The small structure was barely more than a metal box surrounded by piles of rusted scrap.
He slipped inside, his flashlight casting a dim beam over the machinery. The generator was ancient, its surface covered in grease and grime.
Marcus smirked, pulling a small explosive charge from his belt.
"Lights out," he muttered, setting the timer.
As he turned to leave, the sound of boots crunching on gravel made him freeze.
He spun around, his pistol raised, just as a guard appeared in the doorway.
Bang!
The shot was quick and clean, the guard dropping to the floor with a dull thud.
"Generator's rigged," Marcus said into his earpiece. "You've got sixty seconds before it blows."
The explosion sent a shockwave rippling through the compound, plunging it into darkness as the floodlights sputtered out.
Ethan and Elise moved quickly, slipping through the shadows as the guards scrambled to respond.
"Zara, where's the intel?" Ethan whispered.
"Main building, second floor," Zara replied. "You'll need to move fast. They're mobilizing."
Ethan and Elise reached the main building, their movements synchronized as they cleared the lower floor.
"Upstairs," Elise said, nodding toward a narrow staircase.
They ascended quickly, their weapons at the ready. The second floor was lined with small offices, the walls covered in peeling paint and faded maps.
"There," Elise said, pointing to a metal desk in the corner. A laptop and several files were scattered across its surface.
Ethan pulled a flash drive from his pocket, plugging it into the laptop. The screen flickered as the drive began copying the files.
"Thirty seconds," Zara's voice crackled.
Elise scanned the hallway, her pistol raised. "Hurry up, Ethan."
The progress bar crawled forward agonizingly slowly.
"Almost there," Ethan muttered.
The sound of footsteps echoed from the stairwell.
"We've got company," Elise said sharply.
Ethan grabbed the flash drive just as the copying finished.
"Let's go!"
They burst into the hallway just as a group of guards reached the top of the stairs. Gunfire erupted, the sharp cracks echoing through the narrow space.
Elise fired in controlled bursts, dropping two guards as Ethan ducked behind a filing cabinet.
"We're pinned!" Ethan shouted into his earpiece.
"Hold tight," Marcus replied. "I'm on my way."
Moments later, an explosion shook the building, sending debris raining down the stairwell.
Marcus appeared through the smoke, a smug grin on his face. "Miss me?"
"Move!" Elise shouted, shoving past him.
The team regrouped at the extraction point, the faint sound of shouting and gunfire fading into the distance.
A sleek black helicopter descended, its rotors kicking up a storm of dust and leaves.
Ethan climbed aboard, his chest heaving as the adrenaline began to fade. Elise and Marcus followed, their faces streaked with dirt and sweat.
As the helicopter lifted off, Ethan looked down at the burning compound below.
They'd completed the mission. But the cost of survival weighed heavily on his mind.
Back at the Helix Institute, Graves studied the intel they'd retrieved, his expression grim.
"This confirms it," he said, looking up at Ethan and his team. "The Shadow Hand is more dangerous than we thought. And this is just the beginning."
Ethan nodded, exhaustion tugging at his every muscle.
The fire in the mountains had been the easy part.
The real war was still ahead.
Lex's words echoed in his mind:
"Once you're in… there's no turning back."
End of Chapter 14.