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The town was charming, with beautifully crafted adobe buildings, too charming a town for criminals to seek refuge in.

Why would an air strike be scheduled for this location?

We assembled quickly, silently covering the distance between the ridge and the buildings of the town.

It was midday, yet there wasn’t a single soul in sight.

“Where is everyone?” I whispered, walking with Aaron toward the first row of buildings, the rest of our team close behind.

He shook his head, confused, and lifted his gun to his shoulder, his eyes darting back and forth.

I did the same, finding the stillness of the town eerie.

“They know we’re here,” said a voice in my earpiece. “They must have spotted us back at the ridge.”

My heartbeat kicked like a drum as I checked the doorhandle of the first building.

It moved at my touch.

I signaled for Aaron to cover me as I opened the door, the barrel of my gun entering before me.

I tapped the button on my bulletproof vest, talking to my team through the microphone underneath my helmet. “Empty.”

After checking five more buildings, I spoke into my comm again. “There’s nothing here, guys.”

“Maybe they got it wrong. Maybe this isn’t the place,” Aaron said from my side.

I nodded in agreement. Something felt off.

Just then, shots rang out from two figures crouched low on a rooftop nearby. Their bullets struck the buildings around us causing dust to burst in the air from cracked adobe.

“On the roof!” I yelled, kneeling to take a shot. The body of a person masked in high-level tactical gear fell to the ground, the second person falling shortly after.

We pushed onwards. More shots coming at us from distant rooftops.

“Finish searching the buildings, we’ll take care of the snipers,” the voice in my ear ordered.

I kicked in the door to the next building, my gun up and ready for a fight. Aaron at my six.

But no one was in this building, either.

“Bryn, look,” Aaron said, pointing to a table where a large map was laid out, covered in red dots.

I ran my fingers over the paper, tapping the dots that marked densely populated cities across the world. Cities with tech and banking that the criminal organization had been targeting. “These are all the locations they’ve attacked so far.”

Aaron pointed to a section of shaded lines. “I bet this is where they plan on hitting next.”

I grabbed the map, folding it up, and shoved it down inside my vest.

My eyes landed on pages of written catalogs on the table as well. Lists and lists of weapon inventories.

Jackpot.

I folded them, too, and shoved them down with the map.

Aaron headed back through the door. “We have to move.”

Back outside, shots continued to echo as we ran back toward our convoy. But the sound of a cry stopped me in my tracks.