Chapter 2: The Target
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Commander Thorne’s voice, a gravelly rumble, echoed in the sterile briefing room. "Here is the target: Owen Roberts. He was a freelance businessman, traversing countries, buying and selling with other companies. But his ventures soured. He became involved with criminal gangs, smuggling drugs, profiting from the black market. He got too greedy, too caught up in the money. Someone he worked with sold him out, feeding us information. We used it to go after his assets, his business partners. That’s when Roberts went on the run. Five years ago."
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Kevin leaned forward, his brow furrowed. "Five years on the run? Commander, how did you find him now?"
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"Intelligence placed him in Tower Mithril," Thorne explained, tapping a digital map. "He’s been holed up in a specific building for the last two months. Whoever is helping him knows the black market inside and out. And that’s why we need him alive. For interrogation. To gain more intel." Thorne gestured to the map. "We’ve scouted the area. Four guards protecting the front gate. The rest are inside the building. Get ready for your mission."
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Randy, the team leader, clapped his hands together. "Alright, everyone, listen up. Time for the plan." He gestured to the holographic display. "Kayla, use your drone. Locate the security room. We need you to hack the cameras. Find out what floor Roberts is on, and jam their radios so they can't communicate. Once Kayla has eyes on the target, Ghost will infiltrate the building to extract him. Me and Kevin will head to the rear to plant C4 on their vehicles – a little insurance so they can't chase us. Then we escape with the target. Wolf will be in contact with our ride for extraction from the tower. Everyone clear? Gear up."
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Six hours later, the team converged, dropped off at their designated points. Ghost met them, the mission officially underway. Kayla deployed her drone, a silent digital predator. It weaved through the tower’s ventilation shafts, its camera eye scanning for the tell-tale signs of a security hub. Minutes ticked by, punctuated by Kayla’s focused breathing.
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"Found it!" she whispered into her comms, her voice tight with concentration. "Hacking cameras now." The tower’s internal network blinked and responded under her assault. Every camera feed switched to the team’s secure channel. "All cameras are down. Jamming radios… now." A low hum emanated from her equipment, designed to disrupt enemy communications.
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Meanwhile, Randy and Kevin moved stealthily towards the rear of the building, their movements precise and economical. The air grew heavy with the scent of explosives as they carefully placed charges on a cluster of parked vehicles.
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Back at the console, Kayla's eyes scanned the newly opened world of the tower's inhabitants. "Wait… I see a door ajar on the sixth floor. That could be him." She radioed Ghost. "Ghost, the target is on the sixth floor. Get there now."
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"Roger that. Moving out," Ghost replied, his voice a low growl. He activated his cloaking device, a shimmer distorting the air around him as he slipped through the building’s defenses. He moved with impossible speed, a phantom navigating the corridors, bypassing unaware sentries. Reaching the sixth floor, he cautiously approached the partially open door Kayla had indicated. He pushed it open, his senses on high alert.
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His breath hitched. Inside, slumped against a desk, was Owen Roberts. Dead. Ghost approached the body, searching for any useful information, but found nothing. He keyed his comms. "This is Ghost. I've found the target. He's dead."
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Randy's voice crackled with disbelief. "Dead? Ghost, we need him alive. What happened?"
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"Ghost, two guards inbound to your location. You need to get out of there!" Kayla’s urgent warning came through.
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Before he could react, the guards entered the room, their weapons raised. They stopped short at the sight of the body, shouting into their comms. Ghost, feigning surprise, activated his cloak again, a calculated distraction. The guards were momentarily stunned, allowing him to slip past them and sprint for the exit. He raced down to the first floor, melting back into the shadows and making his way to the rendezvous point.
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"Wolf, contact the driver," Randy ordered, his voice strained. "We're ready for pickup."
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"Roger that," came Wolf's response.
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"Look, it’s Ghost!" Kevin pointed. "He’s here."
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Randy grabbed Ghost's arm as he arrived. "Ghost, I don't know what happened, but we'll talk about it after we’re out of here. Wait… they’ve raised the alarm! Kayla, I need you here now!"
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"Roger that, just grabbing my drone," Kayla replied, her voice a little breathless. She raced to the rendezvous point, the rest of the team piling into the waiting vehicle. The driver, keyed up, wanted to pull away immediately, but Randy hesitated, wanting to make sure Kayla got in.
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Suddenly, an alert flashed on Randy’s division watch. "Towing around"? It was Kayla, sprinting towards them. She slid into the car just as the driver accelerated, roaring out of the tower’s parking lot. The jarring sound of a massive explosion ripped through the air behind them. A booming voice announced over the tower’s external speakers, "All vehicles in the parking lot destroyed. No escape." The team, for now, was safe from immediate pursuit.
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They sped towards the extraction point, a desolate patch of ground where a dropship awaited. As they disembarked, Randy turned to Ghost, his face a mask of anger. "Ghost, the mission was to bring the target in alive! He was our only source of information."
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"Like I said, he was already dead when I got there," Ghost countered, his voice steady.
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"Hey, both of you, stop," Kevin intervened, his tone placating. "The driver’s here. We can talk about this back at base." The dropship’s engines whined, ready to whisk them away, but the tension between Randy and Ghost hung heavy in the air, a stark reminder of a mission gone wrong.
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and then Add to home screen.