"How long we gotta rot in this shithole? It's been three fucking days," Duncan groaned, kicking at a loose chunk of concrete.
"Yeah... I hate it here. Smells like piss and death," Ethan muttered, wrinkling his nose.
Duncan shrugged. "John did warn us it'd take time for guys like us to get used to a place like this."
Ethan let out a dry chuckle. "So you're saying you wanna stay?"
"What? No, that's not—" Duncan started, but Conrad cut him off with a sharp snap.
"Shut the hell up." Conrad dragged a hand down his face, exhaling hard. "It's been long enough. Sovereign probably thinks we're corpses by now." He paused, jaw tight. "I've got what we need. We're done here."
Duncan's face lit up. "We're out?"
"Yeah." Conrad's expression turned to stone. "But get ready. Sovereign's gonna make us bleed for this. I can take it. You two idiots look like you're about to piss yourselves already."
"Punishment?" Ethan scoffed, but his voice cracked. "We ain't crawling back beaten and crying. We're bringing him real shit—valuable intel."
Conrad's eyes narrowed. "Does that match the actual mission?"
Ethan blinked. "The... oh. Right. That mission."
Duncan leaned in. "So how the fuck do we get everything back to him?"
"Midnight," Conrad said flatly. "When these bastards are passed out. We slip in quiet, grab the assets, and ghost. No noise. No fuck-ups."
Ethan groaned like he'd been punched. "Midnight? I can't stand another goddamn second in this sewer."
"Same," Duncan muttered. "Too bad we got no choice."
---
"Hey! You three are always huddled up like ghosts. Come on, join us," John called out, waving them over.
Conrad forced a smile. "We're good, man. Don't wanna crash your thing."
"Bother? Nah, we need more players," John insisted.
Diego grinned. "All this time you stayed away 'cause you thought you'd annoy us? Vamos, chicos. Sit your asses down."
Conrad scratched the back of his neck, then gave in. "Alright, if you're twisting our arms..."
The three of them dropped into the circle. Hannah dealt out UNO cards under the weak flickering light.
Duncan raised an eyebrow. "You guys actually got UNO down here? Figured it'd be boring as hell, but... guess I was wrong."
Hannah smiled as she passed out the cards. "Even without games, we wouldn't be bored. We've got each other."
Benjamin snorted. "Does 'each other' include John? Better fucking not."
"Whatever, dude," John sighed.
Ethan glanced between them. "Damn, you really hate his guts, huh? He seems like a nice dude. What'd he do to you?"
"Shut your fucking cakehole, cunt," Benjamin growled.
Ethan flinched. "Alright, Jesus..."
Milo leaned over and whispered, "Don't mind him. He's always like that."
John clapped his hands together, forcing a grin. "Let's just play, yeah?"
---
"Call Dean in. I wanna talk to him," Sovereign ordered, voice low and cold.
"He's already on his way, sir," Ashley replied.
The doors hissed open. Dean strode in, adjusting his tie with nervous fingers.
"You wanted to see me, sir?"
Sovereign leaned back, eyes like knives. "What's your specialty again?"
"Head of Data and Intelligence Analysis, sir."
Sovereign spun his chair slowly, locking eyes with him. "Then why the fuck aren't you doing your job?"
Dean's face drained of color. His shoulders curled inward.
"I—I'm sorry, sir. I'll locate Conrad, Ethan, Lucas, William, and Duncan immediately and recover the stolen assets."
Sovereign waved a hand. "The people don't matter. Just get the assets back." Then, almost as an afterthought: "If Conrad's still breathing... bring him in too. He might still be useful."
Dean nodded stiffly and turned to leave.
As the doors closed behind him, Sovereign looked at Ashley. "What do you think they did with the bodies?"
"Burned them to ashes, most likely, sir."
---
"Search team. Now," Dean barked as he stormed into the briefing room. "We're looking for the stolen assets and these five: Conrad, Ethan, Lucas, William, Duncan. Move."
He stared hard at the soldiers. "Do not bother rescuing anyone except Conrad. Clear?"
"Sir, yes sir!"
The team shot out like bullets, flying into the dark tunnels toward Duncan's last known tracker ping.
Darius crouched at the site, flashlight cutting through the gloom. "This is where his tracker went dead."
"Any clues?" Dean's voice crackled over comms.
Darius swept his light across the tunnel. His stomach twisted. Massive craters gouged the walls. Blood painted the floor in thick, dried streaks. "Plenty..."
A soldier ran a forensic scanner over a dark smear. "It's Duncan Shine's blood. Looks like he got into one hell of a fight."
"Who the hell could've done this?" another muttered. "These maggots are powerless."
Darius frowned. "Not John. He's strong, but he couldn't have taken them down all by himself. And only Duncan bled here..."
Dean's voice came back, slow and thoughtful. "The assets. John must've had help. And I'd bet Hannah's in on it too."
Darius followed the blood trail with his flashlight. "Weapons hot, boys."
---
Conrad felt it before he saw it—something off in the air. He glanced toward the tunnel entrance and caught the faint sweep of flashlights.
"Gonna take a piss," he said casually.
"Alright," John replied, distracted.
Benjamin's eyes followed him out, narrowed.
Darius's face lit up when he spotted Conrad alive. Before he could speak, Conrad raised a hand—quiet. He walked over, unzipped, and started pissing against the wall, letting the sound cover his words.
"Get the fuck out of here. Now," Conrad whispered.
Darius blinked. "Hell no. Sovereign wants you and the assets. Especially the assets."
"I'm coming back. You infiltrate this base and every one of you dies. These people aren't maggots anymore—they're dangerous. I've got a plan. Leave, or you'll ruin it."
Conrad zipped up and turned away.
Benjamin was waiting when he got back. "You talking to someone out there?"
Conrad shrugged, playing dumb. "Who? Ain't nobody there."
"Looked like you were."
"Wasn't."
Benjamin rubbed his beard, unconvinced. "Right..."
---
John turned to Hannah, voice softer. "Have you taken the V enhancement yet?"
She sighed, staring at the vial in her hands. "Not yet. I'm... scared. What if it's too much for me? What if I turn into one of them?"
"You're stronger than you think," John said, resting a hand on her shoulder. "The V won't change who you are. Just makes the outside match what's already inside. And you're good, Hannah. We all know it."
Aya clenched her jaw, letting out a small groan before finally mustering the courage to approach him. Emma watched from the side, beaming like a proud mother.
"Hey, John... got a minute?" Aya's voice shook, nervous.
John turned, suddenly nervous himself. "Yeah. What's up?"
"I need to get something off my chest." She closed her eyes, breathing deep. "I still remember the day we ki—"
A wet, sickening crunch cut her off. A fist punched straight through her stomach.
Blood and gore splattered all over John.
Darius yanked his arm back out, grinning. "We weren't supposed to kill you maggots... but fuck it. Gotta have a little fun, right?"
Aya collapsed in front of John, wheezing, her guts and intestines spilling out. Barely alive.
John's mind went white-hot. All the morals, ideals, and beliefs he had built up were extinguished, replaced entirely by pure rage.
"YOU'RE ALL FUCKING DEAD!"
He moved like lightning. Grabbed Darius's head and tore it clean off in one brutal yank. Blood sprayed like a broken hose.
"WHO'S NEXT?!"
The rest of the team scattered in terror, but John was faster. Much faster. He smashed through them—bones cracking, bodies splitting, screams cut short as he ripped and crushed until the tunnel fell silent except for dripping blood.
The last soldier dropped to his knees, sobbing. "Please— I've got a family! Don't—"
John stomped his head into paste.
The others—Milo, Benjamin, Hannah—stumbled back, staring at him in horror.
John's chest heaved. The rage drained away, leaving nothing but cold sickness. He looked at the mangled corpses, at Aya bleeding out on the ground.
"No... what the fuck did I do?" His voice cracked. Tears carved clean lines through the blood on his face. "He had a family... Why? WHY DID YOU MAKE ME DO THIS?!"
He blurred across the room and slammed Conrad against the wall, fingers twisted in his collar.
"YOU! Was this you?! Were you the one behind this?!"
Conrad's eyes widened in terror. "No! I swear to God, it wasn't me!"
John's shoulders shook as he sobbed. "They killed her... they fucking killed her..."
After a long, heavy silence, Duncan spoke up, voice small. "There's... a new version of Composite V. Heals everything. All injuries."
John's head snapped toward him. "Where?"
"Same lab you hit. You probably passed by it, not knowing what it was."
John's eyes burned. He released Conrad and stepped back, voice low and dangerous. "Any of you do ANYTHING suspicious, and I'll rip you in half. Understand?"
They all nodded fast.
John looked at Aya's ruined body again, guts glistening on the dirty floor. His face twisted with fresh pain.
"Emma... keep her stable while I'm gone."
Emma could only nod, covering her mouth as tears streamed down her cheeks. "Dear God..."