The world was on fire.
Gunshots roared through the compound, the sharp, deafening crack of bullets ripping through the air. Smoke curled into the night sky, thick and suffocating, as the perimeter erupted into chaos.
Dew's team was pushing hard. Explosions shook the ground, timed perfectly with bursts of gunfire as they tore through Jason's outer security.
In the distance, Ohm's team stormed the east gate, drawing attention away with suppressing fire and calculated aggression.
But inside?
Inside the compound-everything was falling apart.
Jason's men scrambled to secure the perimeter, barking orders into radios, but the comms were already compromised. Perth and Fourth had jammed their signals, cutting them off from outside reinforcements.
They were isolated. Vulnerable.
And they knew it.
The enemy was panicking.
Perfect.
Dew's voice crackled over Sky's earpiece.
"The east gate is breached. We're holding a position."
Ohm's voice followed, tense.
"Half of Jason's men are already engaged. But we need more time."
Sky's breathing was steady. Controlled.
He could hear the battle raging around him.
Could hear the shouts, the gunfire-but none of it mattered.
Because in that moment, all he could hear was Nani's scream.
---
Joong's voice snapped him back.
"Sky, we need to move-NOW."
Sky's grip on his rifle tightened. They weren't fast enough.
They had planned for this.
They had accounted for Jason's security, Laurent's deception, the chaos that would unfold.
But they hadn't accounted for this.
For hearing Nani's voice-raw, broken, terrified.
Dunk slammed a new clip into his gun.
"Gemini, you good?"
Gemini was already moving. "Let's finish this."
Sky didn't wait for a signal.
Didn't wait for approval.
He ran.
Heart pounding. Footsteps silent but fast.
The hallways were shrouded in shadows, flickering emergency lights casting eerie patterns along the walls.
Sky barely registered the two guards rounding the corner-
He didn't hesitate.
Two shots.
Two bodies hit the ground.
Joong took the lead, clearing their path.
"Dunk, cover our flank."
Dunk nodded, raising his rifle. "Move fast."
Gemini checked his comm. Static.
"They're still jamming us."
Sky gritted his teeth. "Then we do this blind."
They pushed forward-deeper into the compound, closer to Nani.
Sky's hands felt steady, practiced.
But his mind?
His mind was nothing but rage.
And Jason Blackwood was about to learn why that was a very big mistake.
---
The battle outside the compound was relentless.
Dew and his team had fought through layers of resistance, their gunfire cutting through the thick night air. Smoke curled upward from the damaged security towers, the dull orange glow of small fires casting long shadows.
Benz, his second-in-command, crouched behind a toppled barricade, reloading fast. "We're in a position, but this damn wall-"
Dew gritted his teeth, scanning the perimeter. Reinforced steel. Electrified fencing.
Jason had built a fortress.
"We don't have time for slow work," Dew muttered. "Breach it."
Benz nodded, motioning two officers forward. They sprinted under covering fire, attaching high-impact charges to the weak points of the wall.
Dew checked his earpiece. Still no signal from Sky's team.
Damn it.
"Charges set!" one officer called.
Dew's jaw clenched. Sky, you better still be alive.
"Blow it."
A thunderous explosion rocked the compound as fire and shrapnel tore through the steel.
The wall collapsed inward.
Dew was already moving. "Go! Go! Go!"
His team surged forward, weapons raised, sweeping through the opening.
But the second they stepped through-
Gunfire erupted from the side towers.
"AMBUSH!" Benz shouted.
Dew dove behind cover, bullets slamming into the concrete behind him.
Jason had been waiting for them.
---
Across the battlefield, Ohm's unit was already closing in.
Santa fired a quick burst, dropping a sniper from the second-floor balcony.
"Damn, Dew, you didn't wait for us?"
Dew, pressing against the nearest wall for cover, exhaled sharply. "You're late."
Ohm took position beside Dew, his two men moving ahead to reinforce the breach.
"What's the situation?"
Dew cursed under his breath. "We got through, but Jason was expecting it. His men are dug in."
Santa adjusted his grip on his rifle. "Guess that means we dig them out."
Ohm's jaw tightened. "We take the perimeter, secure the exits. But we have zero contact with Sky's team."
Dew's gut twisted. "They're inside?"
Ohm nodded once.
Santa exhaled. "Then we better finish this before Jason pulls something worse."
Dew checked his weapon. "Let's end this."
---
While the battle raged outside, Perth was fighting a different war.
His fingers flew across the keyboard, breaking through layer after layer of Jason's encrypted security.
Lines of code flooded his screen, signals bouncing between firewalls-Jason had prepared for an attack like this.
But Perth was faster.
His screen flashed red.
WARNING: SIGNAL INTERCEPTED.
Perth's pulse spiked.
"Damn it."
Fourth, still injured but pushed himself upright. "What is it?"
Perth's voice was tight. "Jason just sent an order."
Fourth paled. "To who?"
Perth's jaw clenched. "His counterattack unit."
The truck fell dead silent.
Fourth grabbed his earpiece. "Dew, Ohm-Jason has backup coming your way."
Perth wasn't done.
His fingers moved faster, bypassing the last firewall, tapping directly into Jason's internal comms.
And then-he saw it.
A live transmission.
Jason's voice.
"Cut them off. Kill everyone outside."
Perth's stomach dropped. "Shit."
Dew's voice crackled in. "How many?"
Perth exhaled sharply. "Enough to turn this into a massacre."
Santa muttered, "Guess that means we better win fast."
---
A Race Against Time
Sky's world had narrowed to a single focus.
Nani.
The sounds of gunfire barely registered. His breath came sharp, controlled, but his heartbeat roared in his ears.
They were close. Too close.
Joong, moving just behind him, fired a precise shot, dropping a guard before he could raise his weapon. "Sky, we need to slow down-"
"No."
Sky's voice was raw, unrelenting.
He wasn't slowing down.
Not when he could still hear the distant echoes of Nani's scream.
Not when every second counted.
Dunk cursed, sprinting beside him. "Damn it, Captain-think! If we rush in too fast, we-"
"-lose him."
Sky's eyes burned.
He knew.
But he couldn't stop.
Not this time.
Not when the fear was like a knife in his gut, twisting deeper with every second Nani was in Jason's hands.
Joong grabbed his arm. A rare move. "Sky."
Sky wrenched away. "We're running out of time."
Then-
A sound.
Soft. Subtle.
A sharp intake of breath through a speaker.
Nani's voice, barely a whisper.
"Sky-hurry."
Sky moved.
His feet hit the ground harder, faster.
Every hallway blurred together.
Every door was a barrier between him and Nani.
He wouldn't be too late. Not again.
Joong's voice was sharp. "LEFT-NOW!"
Sky didn't think.
He pivoted, boot slamming into the heavy door-
And the world fractured.
---
Pain.
That was the first thing Nani registered.
His body was screaming. His wrists raw from the restraints.
Blood dripped from his temple.
He blinked, head swimming, vision tilting in and out of focus.
Jason stood a few feet away, arms folded, watching with amusement.
Laurent stood closer, gun in hand, smirking.
Nani felt the cold barrel press under his chin.
"Such a waste," Laurent murmured. "You were always so good at surviving."
Nani forced himself to meet his eyes.
"You should've shot me three years ago," he rasped.
Laurent smiled. "I am now."
His finger tightened on the trigger.
And then-
The door exploded inward.
---
Gunfire.
Smoke.
Blood on concrete.
But none of it mattered.
Because Sky's entire world had narrowed to one thing-
Laurent.
Laurent-standing too close to Nani.
Laurent-gun raised, finger on the trigger.
Laurent-wearing a smirk like this was just another game.
Sky didn't think.
Didn't hesitate.
Didn't care about anything else.
He moved.
Gunfire ripped through the air as Joong and Dunk laid down cover, forcing Jason's men to scatter-
But Sky didn't stop.
Didn't blink.
Didn't breathe.
Laurent pulled the trigger.
Sky twisted at the last second-
The bullet burned past his ribs.
Hot. Sharp. Tearing through flesh.
But Sky didn't feel it.
Because he was already on Laurent.
The impact sent them both crashing to the floor.
Laurent recovered too fast.
A knife flashed in his hand-
Sky caught his wrist.
Crack.
Laurent snarled as Sky twisted hard, snapping the bone back at an unnatural angle.
The knife clattered to the floor.
But Laurent-Laurent still smiled.
Sky's vision blurred red.
He slammed his fist into Laurent's ribs.
Once.
Twice.
Harder.
Laurent gasped, spitting blood onto the floor.
Yet-even now-he smirked.
"You're too late."
Sky froze.
Laurent's voice was hoarse, but dripping with satisfaction.
"You think saving him now will change anything?"
Sky's heart pounded violently.
Laurent exhaled, lips curling.
"He's already broken, Captain."
Sky's rage burned.
A sharp, all-consuming inferno ready to destroy.
He grabbed Laurent by the collar, dragging him up just to slam him down again.
"I should kill you," Sky growled, his voice dark and dangerous.
Laurent coughed, laughing weakly. "Then do it."
Sky's fingers twitched over his knife.
One move-
One move, and Laurent would be gone.
But-
A sound.
A breath.
Sky's chest seized.
He turned.
And everything else disappeared.
---
Nani.
Still slumped against the wall.
Still bleeding.
Still too pale.
But-
Breathing.
Sky's entire body locked.
He barely registered Laurent collapsing beneath him. Didn't care about the blood on his own hands.
His entire focus zeroed in on Nani.
Sky barely felt his own legs move-
But suddenly, he was there.
Falling to his knees.
Hands trembled as they hovered over Nani's body.
Blood. Too much blood.
Sky pressed two fingers against Naniâs neck.
For a terrifying momentâ
Nothing.
Thenâ
A pulse.
Weak. Unsteady. But there.
Sky exhaled, the breath ragged, almost broken.
His fingers tightenedâjust slightlyâaround Naniâs wrist, grounding himself.
âIâve got you,â Sky murmured, voice hoarse.
Naniâs eyelashes fluttered. His body barely stirred, a fragile breath slipping past his lips.
Sky let out a shaky breath.
"Youâre okay. Youâre okay."
Naniâs lips parted, but no words came. His chest barely moved. His body was heavy against Skyâs handsâtoo still. Too cold.
Thenâhis fingers twitched.
A desperate motion. A silent warning.
Nani's lips moved, breathless, barely above a whisperâ
"Skyâ"
His eyes flickered open, pupils blown wide with panic.
Sky barely had time to processâ
Before the gun fired.
----
A gunshot tore through the air.
The sound thundered in Skyâs skull, louder than anything before it.
For a split second, all he saw was black.
Thenâred.
Blood.
Not his.
Not Naniâs.
Thupa stood in front of him.
A dark stain bloomed across his chest, soaking through his clothes, growing, expandingâunstoppable.
For a moment, Thupa didnât move. Didnât react.
He just stood there, staring at Jason, his lips twitching, his head tilting slightlyâ
Then, finally, he let out a sound.
A low, rough chuckle.
Jasonâs eyes narrowed. "Whatâs funny?"
Thupa coughed, blood dripping down his chin. "You really think youâre in control, donât you?"
Jason's grip on the gun tightened. "You were a means to an end, old man. You outlived your use."
Thupa wobbled slightly, but his stance didnât break.
His gaze flicked to Nani.
And for the first timeânot as a criminal, not as a kingpinâ
But as a man.
As something Nani had never expected him to be.
A father.
"You were the only thing I built that wasnât rotten, kid."
Naniâs breath hitched. His heart wrenched in his chest, the weight of those words crashing into him.
Jason sneered. "Touching. But pointless."
He raised his gun.
But Thupa moved first.
With one last, raw burst of strengthâhe lunged.
Jason had no time to react before Thupa grabbed him, dragging them both to the ground.
Gunfire exploded.
Sky reacted instantlyâyanking Nani down, shielding his body with his own.
The world tilted, sound distorting, bodies hitting the ground, chaos spinning into madness.
Thenâ
Silence.
The dust settled.
Thupa wasnât moving.
Jasonâwas gone.
---
The world was still spinning.
Sky could still hear gunfire in the distance. The sound of bodies hitting the ground. The frantic voices over comms.
But none of it mattered.
Not now.
Because Nani was breathing.
Sky's grip tightened slightly around Nani's bloodied wrist, as if he could anchor him here. As if sheer force of will could keep him from slipping away.
Nani's eyes fluttered weakly, his breath still too shallow.
But he was alive.
Sky exhaled, his body sagging under the weight of relief.
"You're safe now," he whispered.
For a moment, Nani didn't respond. His gaze, hazy with pain, searched Sky's face.
Then-a quiet, hoarse voice.
"Sky..."
Sky leaned closer. "I'm here."
Nani swallowed, his body trembling beneath him. His fingers twitched slightly against Sky's grip.
Then-a slow exhale.
"You're an idiot."
Sky froze.
Then-laughed.
Breathless. Weak. But real.
Something in his chest cracked open.
Something that had been locked away for too damn long.
Nani was still here. Still him.
Still the infuriating, reckless, sharp-tongued man who had stolen every last ounce of Sky's sanity.
Sky's jaw clenched.
"Nani-" His voice caught in his throat.
There were so many things he wanted to say.
Don't ever scare me like that again.
You almost fucking died.
I don't know what I would've done if I lost you.
But none of those words came out.
Instead-Sky moved.
Slowly, carefully, he cupped Nani's face, his fingers brushing over bruised skin.
Nani's breath hitched.
Sky wasn't thinking anymore.
Didn't care about the chaos still raging around them.
Didn't care that this wasn't the time or place.
Because if this moment was the only one they had left-
Then he wasn't wasting it.
Nani's eyes widened as Sky leaned in.
Their breaths mixed. Close. Too close.
Nani didn't pull away.
Didn't argue.
Didn't smirk.
For once-he just let it happen.
Their lips met.
Soft. Desperate. A collision of fear and relief, of things left unsaid, of things that had been building up for too damn long.
Sky could feel the faint tremor in Nani's body.
Could taste the metallic sting of blood on his lips.
Could feel the way Nani exhaled shakily against him.
And for the first time since this nightmare started-Sky finally let himself breathe.
For just a second-
The war didn't exist.
The past didn't exist.
Only this.
Only them.
---
A loud cough.
Sky pulled back-only to be met with three pairs of very unimpressed eyes.
Joong. Gemini. And Dunk.
All standing a few feet away. Watching.
Sky closed his eyes. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."
Dunk, hands on his hips, shook his head.
"Captain. Seriously. If you didn't kiss him just now, I was gonna shoot you myself."
Gemini smirked. "Don't think HR would've approved, but I respect the motive."
Joong sighed. "Are you two done being dramatic, or do we still have a war to win?"
Sky pinched his temple.
Nani-still dazed from the kiss-just blinked. Then, hoarse and slightly confused, he muttered, "Was that... a dream?"
Dunk grinned. "Nope. That was real."
Gemini snorted. "I gotta say, I didn't have 'Captain Wongravee kissing a half-dead Nani in the middle of a battlefield' on my report later, but here we are."
Sky glared at them all. "Shut the fuck up."
Joong, completely unfazed, tilted his head.
"You done?"
Sky exhaled slowly. "Yeah. I'm done."
Then-his expression hardened.
Because they weren't finished.
Jason was still out there.
And this wasn't over yet.
Sky turned to Nani, his grip tightening on his shoulder.
"I'm getting you out of here."
Nani, despite everything, smirked weakly.
"Then what the hell are you waiting for?"
Sky's lips twitched.
"Let's finish this."