Weapons ready.
Better than most.
I slow just enough to let them commit.
Let them believe they’ve seen something.
Let them almost react.
Then—
I move.
Fast isn’t the right word.
Fast is sloppy.
This is clean.
Two seconds.
That’s all it takes.
The first goes down before he finishes turning.
The second tries to adjust—good instinct.
Doesn’t matter.
The third actually gets his weapon up.
Almost impressive.
Almost.
Silence slams back into the hallway like nothing ever happened.
I step over the last body, checking corners out of habit, not necessity.
Breathing steady.
Pulse even.
Like I didn’t just end three lives in the space of a heartbeat.
“Hall clear,” I say.
And yeah—
There’s a smile in my voice.
Because this?
This is what I’m built for.
85
Lance Levine
