From here, I can see two rooms with lights on.
Room 11 and Room 14.
Movement behind the curtains of Room 11.
Adult-sized shadows.
Laughter drifting through the thin walls.
Like they're having a party.
Like they're celebrating.
Room 14 is still.
Too still.
No movement.
No sound.
That's where the kids are.
I'd bet my life on it.
My radio crackles.
Three clicks.
It’s go time.
We move like ghosts.
Fast.
Silent.
Deadly.
Years of training.
Years of brotherhood.
All of it condensed into this moment.
Tor takes point, his gun drawn, his movements precise and predatory.
I cover his six, scanning for threats, my own weapon steady in my hands.
The first guard doesn't even see us coming.
He's leaning against the wall outside Room 12, smoking a cigarette, looking bored.
Like this is just another night.
Like he's not guarding children who are about to be sold into hell.
Like he's not complicit in the destruction of innocent lives.
