"It's an emergency. Our informant just sent new intel. The convoy's real cargo wasn't those two Tyrants—it was a silver-haired girl."
"We didn't see any silver-haired girl that night," Lenny said.
"That's because a local Roples merc took her. We'll get the full details back at the temporary command post. We gotta move," Chris replied.
Chris stood, and Lenny noticed the gloom on his face was gone, replaced by a steely resolve most couldn't match. This man was tough—not immune to grief or doubt, but when the world needed him, he buried it all and stepped up.
"No wonder he's BSAA's ace…" Lenny muttered.
Outside, a storm was brewing, but Li Yexing was clueless. He sat holding Lilith, lost in thought about Kelly. Her plan to hand Lilith to BSAA screamed lunacy. Nobody could guarantee she wouldn't sell them out the second she left, tipping BSAA off about Lilith and him. Even if she didn't, what if her organization caught her leaking intel? Under torture, would she spill about Lilith?
The more he thought, the more uneasy he felt. He should've ignored Lilith's pleas and killed Kelly—or at least kept her under watch to prevent trouble.
"Is Li Yexing mad at Lilith? Because of Miss Kelly?" Lilith's soft voice came from his arms.
He ruffled her hair. "Nah, just restless."
"It's okay. If it's Miss Kelly, she'd want Lilith to live happily," Lilith said, rolling over in his arms, her face brushing his neck. Her breath tickled, and her lips grazed his collarbone, making him squirm. "Miss Kelly only does what she thinks is right. Her only mistake was joining that organization and creating me… So, seeing Lilith this happy, she'll leave with peace of mind."
"Only doing what she thinks is right, huh…" Li Yexing murmured.
"Yep, Miss Kelly only does what's right to her."
He clicked his tongue. "That's gonna be a problem…"
Glancing at the darkening sky, he said, "Wanna stay somewhere else tonight?"
"Why? Isn't home good?" Lilith asked.
"No reason. Just a bad feeling. Tonight's gonna be a shitshow."
Naraza and Norman, leading an elite security team, slipped past local defenses and entered Roples.
Checking his watch—ten minutes to midnight—Naraza lit a fat cigar, making Norman scowl.
"Plan recap: we knock on the merc's door, waste him when he opens it, grab the princess, and bounce. Got it?" Naraza said.
"No need to repeat this caveman plan," Norman said, waving away the smoke. "We got enough tranqs?"
"Relax, Norman," Naraza grinned. "This dose could drop an elephant. Plenty for the princess."
"She's no elephant…" Norman muttered.
"Time's up. We move through the back alley, finish before the local gangs react. Let's go."
Naraza and Norman led the way, their team in a tight line. A sniper climbed a nearby building for overwatch. They crept silently toward Li Yexing's office. Naraza hugged the wall, signaling a halt, then peeked out. The street was dead at nearly midnight—perfect. The office was right there, ready for the taking.
Naraza signaled to move, leading the team toward the door. But his eyes widened.
"Captain, a group's heading your way!" the sniper's voice crackled through the comms. From an alley across the street, a squad in green combat gear charged out. Both groups froze, face-to-face.
Naraza locked eyes with the muscular leader. Spotting the man's BSAA shoulder patch, his face twisted.
"Goddamn BSAA!"
"Fighting's started," Lilith said, hearing gunfire near the office.
Li Yexing lit a cigarette, confused. He'd figured Kelly's stubborn ass might try handing Lilith to BSAA, so he planned to scope things out nearby. But now someone was shooting up his doorstep.
BSAA? Against who?
Crouched in a nearby building, Li Yexing peered through his AR-15's scope, spotting BSAA on one side and… a familiar bald head on the other.
"Norman? That guy's still alive?"
"Mr. Norman?" Lilith glanced at him.
"Yeah, the security team leader for your convoy. Thought they all bit it that night," Li Yexing said.
"Kill them all?" Lilith flicked off the AR-15's safety, her blank face somehow eager.
"Lilith doesn't like Mr. Norman one bit."
"Hold up, let 'em fight," Li Yexing said, taking a drag. "The Italian mob'll join in soon."
He had to admit, he'd underestimated Lilith's organization and her value to them. After talking with Kelly, he realized things wouldn't go as planned. Her group would tear Roples apart to reclaim their irreplaceable test subject, and BSAA wouldn't quit until they secured the rogue BOW.
This was bad. He couldn't just run off with Lilith, and unless he ended this for good, trouble would keep coming.
"Team A, four with me to grab the princess. The rest and Team B, pin down BSAA," Naraza ordered, turning to Norman. "Cover my ass. We get her, we're out."
"Got it," Norman nodded, loading a grenade into his launcher and firing at BSAA's cover. As the explosion lit up, Naraza yelled "Cover!" and led his team up the external stairs of a two-story building. He shot the door lock twice, kicked it open, tossed a flashbang inside, and charged in with his HK-416 as the bang echoed.
The office was pitch-black, lit only by flashes outside. Naraza's team swept it—nothing.
"Damn it! Back door's locked too. They're long gone, that third-rate merc!" Naraza cursed, pressing his comm. "Norman, target's gone. They bolted."
"Fuck!" Norman's voice crackled back. Then, jeep engines roared outside—multiple. Curses in a language Naraza didn't understand followed.
As Naraza moved to leave, a terrifying roar came from the window. Bullets shredded the glass, pouring in. Naraza yanked a teammate down, but another wasn't quick enough, torn apart like his vest was paper.
"Shit, that's a heavy machine gun! Norman, what's going on? How'd the locals get here so fast?!" Naraza shouted, crouched behind Li Yexing's sofa.
"Local gangs! Over a hundred of 'em! Five jeeps with heavy MGs!" Norman yelled through the comms, then screamed, "R! P! G!"
A rocket exploded, shaking the floor. Heat surged through the shattered windows. Naraza stood, glancing at the sieved corpse. "We're out the back door," he told his team.
Gunfire tore through the quiet night like a party gone wild. Naraza and Team A's three survivors linked up with the security team downstairs. Norman looked like hell. Two teammates lay in the alley, blood pooling, dead or close. Naraza glanced at BSAA, now retreated behind cover, trading shots with the gangs. The locals, armed with a chaotic mix of gear, were hammering both the security team and BSAA like lunatics.