Eight hours felt like eight seconds.
Jack barely remembered packing—Maya barking orders, Rafael shoving tactical gear into duffels, Ward overseeing everything with the severity of a general preparing soldiers for war.
Now Jack stood on the cold metal ramp of an Astra tactical jet, staring into the vast stretch of Utah desert illuminated by the aircraft's interior lights.
Red sand.
Black night.
Wind that whispered across the dunes like a warning.
He swallowed.
"This is really happening," he murmured.
Rafael adjusted his comms earpiece. "Welcome to real fieldwork."
Maya, checking her weapon one last time, glanced at Jack. "Stay close. No matter what."
Jack nodded.
But his stomach churned.
Once the ramp sealed behind them, there was no going back.
The interior hummed with low vibration as the engines powered up.
Jack sat strapped between Maya and Rafael, gripping his seatbelt like it could anchor him to a reality that felt increasingly thin.
Maya leaned back, calm as always, but Jack noticed the constant scan of her eyes — checking exits, evaluating shadows, calculating threats before they existed.
Rafael tightened his wrist straps. "Alright, listen up."
Jack swallowed. "Do I have a choice?"
"No," Maya and Rafael said together.
Jack muttered, "Thought so."
Rafael brought up a holo-map on the display screen.
A red marker blinked in the middle of the desert.
"This is the drop-point," Rafael said. "Supply caches, encrypted drives, maybe Helix operatives. The message we intercepted indicated a transfer scheduled for tonight."
Jack nodded slowly. "So… we just go in, get the intel, and get out?"
Maya raised a brow. "Nothing is ever that simple."
Rafael added, "And it becomes even less simple when Helix knows we're coming."
Jack stiffened. "You think they already know?"
Maya didn't blink. "Mantis was watching us. Studying us. Mercer doesn't send her unless he's preparing something bigger."
Jack's chest tightened. "Should I be here? This mission feels like a trap."
"It is a trap," Rafael said casually. "That's why we're going."
Jack stared. "How is that a good reason?!"
Rafael shrugged. "Mercer wants you. Helix wants intel. We want Helix. Everyone gets what they want."
Maya smacked her brother's arm.
"Stop scaring him."
Rafael looked offended. "I'm training him!"
"You're stressing him."
"Same thing."
Jack lifted a shaking hand. "I'm right here."
Both siblings ignored him.
The engines roared louder as the aircraft cut through thick night clouds. Jack's heart pounded in rhythm with the vibrations.
He tried closing his eyes.
But Mantis's words echoed again:
"You're growing stronger."
"Breaking you will be satisfying."
He shivered.
Maya noticed.
"You're thinking about her," she said softly.
Jack opened his eyes.
"Yeah," he admitted. "It's like she already knows me."
"She doesn't," Maya said firmly. "She's guessing. She's trying to unsettle you."
Jack hesitated. "Why does she want to break me?"
Maya looked away.
"For the same reason Mercer does," she whispered. "Because he wants you to depend on him."
Jack's jaw clenched. "I'll never depend on Mercer."
"That's what we're going to make sure of."
Jack met her eyes.
And something in his chest steadied.
Descent
Rafael rose and strapped on a parachute. "Thirty seconds to drop."
Jack blinked. "Drop? As in—out of the plane?!"
Maya stood. "Yes."
Jack stared helplessly between them. "I've never jumped from anything larger than a couch!"
Rafael laughed. "You'll be fine. Gravity is reliable."
"That's not comforting!"
Maya tightened Jack's harness herself.
He tried not to look terrified.
She fastened the last clip and held his gaze.
"Jack. Listen."
He forced himself to breathe.
"You are capable," Maya said. "You are stronger than you know. And fear doesn't get a vote today."
Jack nodded, throat tight.
Rafael lowered the ramp. The desert wind blasted in, hot and dry and violent.
The world outside was pitch-black.
Jack felt his legs shaking.
Maya squeezed his arm.
"Ready?"
Jack whispered, "No."
Rafael grinned. "Too bad!"
Rafael jumped first, disappearing into the darkness.
Maya jumped next — slicing through the air like a falling arrow.
Jack stood alone on the ramp.
The desert wind howled.
His heart slammed.
"Fear doesn't get a vote," he whispered to himself.
And he jumped.
The sky swallowed him.
Wind roared in his ears.
The world blurred into streaks of black and red desert.
He screamed once — a short, shocked noise ripped straight from instinct.
Then—
A hand grabbed his wrist in freefall.
"Maya?!" Jack shouted.
Maya shouted back, "Breathe!"
He tried.
Failed.
Tried again.
The air tore past them.
Maya moved closer, aligning their descent.
"You're okay!" she yelled. "Just wait for my cue!"
Jack's terror softened into something like focus.
"Now!" Maya shouted.
Jack pulled the chute.
His body jerked violently upward, slow descent kicking in.
Below, Rafael had already landed.
Maya touched down seconds later, graceful even in the dust.
Jack landed last — stumbling, rolling, eating sand.
He groaned into the earth.
"I hate this mission."
Rafael pulled him up. "You'll love it once we're shooting at people."
"That makes it worse!"
Maya smirked. "Come on. We're on the clock."
Into Helix Territory
The trio moved across the sand, sticking to shadows, blending with dunes and jagged rocks.
Wind howled like an old ghost.
Maya held up a hand, signaling them to stop.
Rafael crouched. Jack followed clumsily.
"Motion sensors," Maya whispered.
Jack blinked at the thin metal rod half-buried in sand.
"Helix uses these?"
"Helix uses everything."
Maya disabled the sensor with a quick twist.
Rafael pointed to the ridge ahead.
"Drop-point is beyond that hill."
Jack swallowed hard.
They climbed the ridge slowly.
Sand shifted beneath their boots.
Maya reached the top first—and froze.
"Jack," she whispered.
Jack crawled beside her and looked down.
His blood chilled.
Below, arranged in a perfect circle around a steel crate, stood five Helix soldiers in matte-black armor.
Their helmets glowed blue.
Their rifles were sleek and silent.
Their formation was impossibly disciplined.
Rafael cursed under his breath. "Enhanced units."
Jack's stomach twisted. "Like Rourke?"
"Worse," Maya said. "These are R-class soldiers."
Jack stared. "What does R stand for?"
Rafael whispered, "Ruin."
Jack swallowed. "Great. Wonderful."
Maya put a hand on his shoulder, grounding him.
"We're going down there."
Jack stared at her like she'd just spoken another language.
"You're kidding."
She shook her head. "Helix is making a transfer. That crate is why we're here."
"Yeah," Jack whispered, "but… there are five of them."
Rafael smirked. "We've taken down worse."
Jack sputtered. "No we haven't!"
Maya ignored both of them.
"Here's the plan," she said. "Rafael takes the left flank. I take the right. Jack—"
Jack braced.
"—you stay behind cover and only move when I say. Do not improvise. Do not run. Do not charge."
Jack nodded quickly. "Oh trust me, charging is the last thing I'll do."
Maya looked at him.
Serious.
Soft.
Strong.
"You're with me," she said quietly.
He nodded.
And for a moment, Jack realized something he hadn't before:
Maya wasn't just protecting him.
She trusted him to stay alive.
A Shadow in the Wind
The team prepared to move.
Jack tightened his grip on the stun baton.
Rafael loaded a fresh magazine.
Maya looked down toward the Helix soldiers with eyes sharp like drawn blades.
But right before they descended—
Jack felt a chill.
A shift in the air.
Like something watching.
Something familiar.
Something wrong.
He turned.
His breath caught.
On a distant dune stood a silhouette.
Black suit.
Green glowing eyes.
Hands folded behind her back.
Mantis.
Smiling.
Waiting.
Watching.
Maya followed Jack's gaze—and her blood ran cold.
"Rafael," she whispered. "We have a problem."
Jack whispered, voice shaking:
"She's back."
Mantis lifted a hand slowly…
and pointed directly at Jack.
Then—
She slid a finger across her throat.
A silent promise.
Maya grabbed Jack's wrist.
"Stay with me. Do not let her out of your sight."
The night thickened.
The wind howled.
And far below—
The Helix soldiers turned their heads in unison.
They sensed them.
The mission had begun.