“Shit.”Kael’s pulse kicked into overdrive.“All units, abort.I repeat, abort.Exfil to rally point Bravo.”
Reef spun toward him.“What about the mark?”
Kael looked back at Vargas, who was trembling now.The man whispered, “I’m already dead.Go.”
Kael holstered his pistol and grabbed Reef’s shoulder.“We’re done here.Move.”
They burst from the building as gunfire erupted.Torch’s sniper shot cracked from above—clean, precise, buying them seconds.Mano laid suppressive fire, shouting curses in Hawaiian.Breaker called out bearings, his voice the calm in the storm.
Kael led them through the alleys, mind racing.Whoever had set this op had wanted them boxed in.The betrayal was like heat under his skin.Their handler wasn’t just compromised—he was complicit.
Reef fell in beside him as they sprinted for the exfil point.“You thinking what I’m thinking?”
Kael nodded once.“We’re not just burned.We’re expendable.”
Torch’s voice came through again, breathless.“We can’t go home to base after this, boss.”
Kael didn’t look back.“Then we build our own home.”
They hit the extraction zone to find their evac bird burning, rotor blades melted, no survivors.Kael stared at the wreckage, jaw tight.
Breaker kicked a rock into the flames.“Guess that’s our ticket out, huh?”
Kael turned slowly, scanning the horizon.The night wind shifted, carrying smoke and gunpowder.In the distance, dark figures advanced—unmarked, disciplined, efficient.
He looked at his team—his brothers.Reef, Torch, Breaker, Mano.Family born of fire.
“Black Tide,” he said, voice low but steady.“New orders.We survive.We disappear.And when we come back—we come for answers.”
Reef grinned, all teeth and defiance.“That’s the Kael I know.”
Torch chambered a round.“Let’s make them earn it.”
Mano gave a rare, feral smile.“Like a wave.Hit hard, pull back, hit harder.”
Breaker laughed.“Hell, let’s ride it.”
Kael drew his weapon, the heat of the fire reflecting in his dark eyes.“Then ride it, boys.Black Tide rolls tonight.”
