“They’re pushing the west corridor!” I hear Lukyan shout. His presence surprises me. I didn’t think he was at the house when the attack happened. After the meeting we had earlier, the one Valeria crashed, I thought he’d left.
No time to question it.
“Hold the line!” I snap back, already moving in that direction. “No one gets past that point!”
I push through the courtyard, boots hitting concrete slick with dust and debris. Another man appears in my path. I fire without slowing. He drops. I step over him like he was never there.
The west corridor comes into view: narrower, tighter, a choke point. Good for defense. Worse if breached.
Two of my men are already down. Another is crouched behind a pillar, firing blindly into the advancing smoke.
I step in and take control.
“Fall back two steps,” I order sharply. “Don’t waste your shots. Pick them off when they show!”
Another figure rushes forward from the haze—reckless, exposed. I take him down instantly. Then another. Then another.
They just keep coming.
Too fast.
Too careless.
Bodies start piling near the corridor entrance. The ground becomes uneven beneath my feet—spent shells, fallen weapons, blood mixing into the cracks of the stone. The air is suffocating now. Hot. Loud. Violent.
And still—they keep pushing.
I fire again. And again. Efficient. Controlled. Precise.
But something feels…off.
It creeps in slowly at first. A small irritation at the back of my mind. Then it sharpens. Refuses to be ignored.
This isn’t right.
A prepared man doesn’t fight like this.
Not like animals. Not like they have nothing to lose.
Anton’s men are supposed to be trained. Structured. Calculated.
This is chaos.
Too aggressive. Too exposed. Too loud.
Almost like they want to be seen.
My movements slow just slightly—not physically, but mentally. I start watching differently. Not just reacting. Reading.
Another man charges forward—no cover, no strategy. I drop him instantly.
Why?
Why would Anton waste men like this?
A shot ricochets off the wall near my head. I duck, pivot, return fire—but my attention is no longer fully here. Not just here.
It clicks.
