The night was calm.
The soft rhythm of breathing filled the room, blending with the gentle rustle of sheets. Liam lay deep in sleep, his strong arm draped protectively around Ann, who rested peacefully against his chest. Her warm skin against his, the comfort of her presenceâit was like the world had faded for a while.
But that peace shattered in an instant.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
A hard knock echoed from the door downstairs.
Liamâs eyes snapped open immediately, sharp and alert. His muscles tensed beneath the sheets as his instincts flared to life. His eyes darted to the digital clock beside the bedâ10:41 PM.
He slowly pulled his arm away from Ann without waking her, then threw the blanket aside and stood. His bare feet touched the cold floor as he reached for his clothes and phone on the table.
And then his face froze.
Eight missed calls. Three messages. All from Lilith.
Every trace of sleep vanished from his eyes. He didnât even bother reading the messagesâhe already knew it wasnât good. Lilith never called that many times unless things were burning.
Literally.
He quickly pulled on his pants and shirt, didnât even bother with socks or shoes, and raced downstairs.
The knocking returned, heavier this time. He unlocked the door and opened itâ
Standing there was a Black Lotus member, face drenched in sweat, breathing hard like he had run the entire way here.
Liam didnât speak at first. He leaned against the doorframe, exhausted and still processing.
Then he muttered, "Iâm cooked, arenât I?"
The man didnât even crack a smile. "You need to come with me. Now."
Liamâs brow furrowed. The manâs voice wasnât just seriousâit was heavy, carrying the weight of something gone terribly wrong.
"Whatâs going on?" Liam asked.
"Weâre under attack," the man said. "Crimson Hand."
Liamâs world paused.
His heart dropped. That was why Lilith had been calling. That was why his phone was blowing up. And he had been in bedâsleeping.
He cursed under his breath, stepped outside without another word, and shut the door behind him. He didnât even stop to put on shoes.
The Black Lotus member gave him a strange look, noting the pajamas and bare feet, but said nothing. There was no time for questions. Liam jumped into the back seat of the car and the tires screeched as they took off into the night.
---
Meanwhile, back at the ruined battlefield, Lilith stormed into the base with fury in every step. Her eyes burning beneath the lenses of her goggle.
Her Shadows were right at her side, escorting her through the corridors lit only by dim computer screens and emergency power. The moment she stepped inside, she ripped the goggles off and hurled the gun in her hand at the ground with a furious scream.
CRASH.
The weapon shattered into pieces, fragments scattering across the floor like metal confetti.
She was seething.
This was beyond what she expected. The Crimson Hand werenât just hitting hardâthey were hitting with full military backing. The Golden Bird wasnât holding back anymore.
"Fucking Li..." she muttered under her breath.
But she wasnât going to retreat. No way in hell.
She grabbed her walkie-talkie off the table and pressed it to her lips. "Snipers, RPGâreport."
One of the operators patched through. "We lost all teams at the front line. The GAU shredded them. We donât have visual on the weapon behind the light."
Lilithâs grip tightened. "Take it out anyway."
"Copy."
Atop a nearby rooftop, hidden behind reinforced sandbags, one of Lilithâs best snipers lay flat against the cold metal of the roof. His scope aimed directly at the center of the blinding light in the distance.
He squinted.
Pressed the trigger.
POP.
The sniper round whistled through the air, striking the light dead centerâbut nothing happened. No flicker. No dimming. The lens on that floodlight was reinforced, probably bulletproof glass or some kind of military-grade cover.
The sniper cursed under his breath.
"Light didnât go out. Switching to RPG."
He pushed the rifle aside and reached for the launcher next to him.
The RPG wasnât standard. It was modifiedâlonger range, heavier impact, designed for urban warfare. He locked in the tube, snapped the sights into place, and slid the rocket home with a mechanical clunk.
He stood up into a crouch and locked on to the brightest part of the light.
"Target locked."
The moment was heavy.
All the Black Lotus forces still alive crouched behind debris, blood staining the ground, bodies everywhere. No one could see what was behind the lightâjust the blazing white wall of energy and the monstrous roar of the GAU-19.
And now?
They would answer back.
Lilith stood in the heart of the base, breathing hard, her eyes locked on the distant glow as she pressed the walkie again.
"Fire."
On the rooftop, the sniper didnât hesitate.
WHOOSH.
The RPG fired.
The rocket screamed through the night sky, cutting a line across the battlefield like a comet.
BOOOOM!!
The explosion shook the very earth beneath them.
A brilliant burst of fire swallowed the blinding light, and for the first time since the chaos started, the battlefield was momentarily visible. Flames danced in the darkness, sending shards of metal and debris flying in all directions. Smoke rose in thick waves, curling into the air like serpents.
And when the smoke began to clear... Lilith finally saw what was hiding behind that relentless light.
Her breath hitched.
Five military-grade vehicles, their steel plating painted jet black, sat like monsters at the edge of the field. Each of them was mounted with a GAU-19/Bâa tri-barrel .50 caliber beast of a weapon. The GAU looked like death incarnate: three thick barrels spinning slowly, housed in a reinforced turret, mounted atop a shock-absorbing cradle. Long ammo belts fed into its hungry chamber from storage boxes bolted to the side of the cars, and the barrels shimmered with heat from earlier fire. The scent of burning metal and blood hung in the air.
Behind and around the vehicles, at least fifty Crimson Hand gang members stood, armored and armed to the teeth. They werenât ordinary gangsters. These were militantsâelite enforcers from the Crimsonâs inner circle. Eyes cold. Faces unreadable. Waiting.
At the base, inside the command room, Lilith sat frozen. Her fingers twitched, her eyes locked on the live feed displayed across multiple screens. The RPG had done its jobâit revealed the threat. But now? Now the silence was more deafening than the gunfire had ever been.
The Black Lotus had lost too many. They were outgunned, outnumbered, and cornered.
Lilith sighed deeply, her hand sliding across the table, finally resting there, limp and helpless. For a brief moment, her iron will cracked, and she whispered to herself:
"...This might be it."
None of the Crimson Hand had fired. Not yet. They stood by their vehicles like executioners waiting for the final order.
And Lilith knewâthe moment they pulled those triggers, the Black Lotus would be erased.
Then, cutting through the eerie stillness of the battlefield...
Headlights.
A pair of headlights pierced the darkness, coming from the road at the far end of the field.
A single car.
Lilithâs eyes widened. She leaned forward.
"No... no, no, no..." she muttered.
The car rolled to a slow stop on the edge of the fieldâright within the Crimson Handâs kill zone.
She knew that vehicle. One of her scouts. One of the men sheâd sent to look for Liam.
That could only mean one thing.
Lilith stood abruptly, heart pounding against her chest.
"Shit."
Her eyes locked onto the screen, and she stared in horror as the door of the car opened...
Liam stepped out.
Hair messy. Pajamas still on. Barefooted.
He blinked as he took in the scene before himâburnt-out cars, bullet holes in the dirt, the silence. He assumed the battle was over. There was no shooting, after all.
He didnât realize... they were only watching.
Waiting.
The mounted GAUs slowly turned. One of them swiveled toward Liam. A spotlight clicked on, beaming directly into his face.
The Crimson Hand soldiers narrowed their eyes.
They saw a barefoot, tousled-haired young man in sleepwear. He looked so out of place, so harmless, that for a moment, they didnât know what to think. They whispered among themselves. Confused.
But Lilith?
She was trembling.
"No. Donât move. Donât speak..." she murmured at the screen.
Thenâa voice rang out from the Crimson Handâs side.
"Thatâs him! Thatâs the guy that killed Khan!"
Time stopped.
The moment the name Khan was spoken, another GAU-19 rotatedâlocking onto Liam like a predator spotting its prey.
Back at the base, Lilithâs hand flew to the comms.
"Open fire! Take out that gun before they shoot Liam! Do it now!"
Her people didnât hesitate. Gunfire erupted from the side lines of the field as Black Lotus survivors scrambled from behind wrecked cars and fired at the advancing vehicles.
Bullets flew.
Shells clanged.
But Lilith knew the truthâyou donât stop a GAU-19 with rifles. You delay it. You hope.
On the field, the Crimson Hand member manning the GAU pointed directly at Liam. His lips curled into a grin.
He pulled the trigger.
RATATATATATATATAâ