Chiang Mai breathed again, but not without shaking.
The sky outside the safehouse had begun its slow transition from indigo to amber. Dawn spilled across the city like a secret, brushing rooftops and broken glass with the promise of light. Inside, everything felt... quieter. Not peaceful, exactly. But less violent. Less deadly.
Juhu was locked in the basement , bound, bloodied, and stripped of the power he once wore like armor. He had been questioned all night. Vavaporn and Mr. Charlie had not left his side.
Jay stood at the top of the stairs, arms crossed, listening. He hadn't slept. His body ached, his knuckles split open from the fight, but it was his mind that refused to rest.
He watched the door to the basement like it was a living thing. He could hear Juhu's hoarse voice below, trying to hold onto arrogance as Mr. Charlie's tone turned icy.
"Who's bankrolling you?"
"Where did you get those weapons?"
"How long have you been planning this?"
Why did you ambush and betray us on that day?
What exactly do you want from us?
Who sent you to destroy what we built over the years
Juhu coughed. Laughed once. Then spat blood.
"You think this ends with me?" he chuckled. "I'm just the first storm. You think the sky won't open again?"
Jay's fists clenched. His jaw locked. He felt Jack step beside him, silent. Jack's presence grounded him—like gravity made flesh. Like home. He knew better than to make any rash decisions.
"We did it," Jack said softly. "He's not getting away this time."
Jay didn't respond immediately. His eyes flickered with something dangerous, like a storm was still brewing.
"Did we really?" Jay whispered. "Or did we just survive long enough to bleed again later?"
Downstairs, the interrogation had grown cold and quiet. Mr. Charlie finally emerged from the basement, wiping his hands with a cloth that didn't hide the red stains. Vavaporn followed, dark-eyed and grave.
"They had foreign funding," Mr. Charlie said. "Someone big. Someone who's been watching both of us for a long time."
Vavaporn nodded grimly. "This war was never just about us. We were just the excuse."
Jay looked between them, expecting the usual coldness, the criticism. But instead, both men looked… still. Like generals returning from battle, humbled by the cost.
Mr. Charlie looked at Jack. "You did good," he said simply. "You led well."
Jack raised a brow. He hadn't expected that.
Vavaporn turned to Jay. "I saw what you did. You went straight for the heart. That's how wars are won."
Jay's lips parted. It was the closest thing to praise he'd ever heard from his father.
But then, the expected sting.
"Just don't mistake the battlefield for a honeymoon suite," Vavaporn added sharply. "Whatever softness you two think you can afford, it ends here. This was a mission. Not a love story."
Mr. Charlie nodded in agreement. "We haven't forgotten that picture," he said. "The one Juhu sent. The one you both starred in, the one you were kissing passionately like your life depended on it."
Jack's jaw tightened.
"We let you be," Charlie continued, "because of this mission. Because we needed every edge. But if you'd failed…"
"If you'd failed," Vavaporn echoed, "Juhu's words about you would've been more than just insults. They'd have been truth."
Jay's face didn't move. But something deep behind his eyes hardened.
Jack reached for Jay's wrist and squeezed, subtly. Just enough to remind him: We're still here. We're still us.
And then, without another word, the fathers walked away.
The rooftop was quiet when Jay and Jack went up to watch the sun. The wind ruffled Jack's dark hair. Jay lit a cigarette but didn't smoke it, just held it between his fingers like a fuse not yet lit.
Neither spoke for a long time.
"You think they'll ever let us breathe?" Jack finally asked.
Jay gave a humorless smile. "Let us? No. We take our breath and guard it with a knife, gun, dynamite, and whatever weapon we can get. We guide it, because this is our life."
Jack sat down, legs dangling over the ledge. "Then what are we now?" he asked. "The war's over. The blood's drying. What do we do if there's no one left to fight?"
Jay crouched beside him. "There's always someone left to fight."
Jack looked over. "That's not what I meant."
Jay sighed. "I know."
But remember, we still have our fathers to fight, and that to us is the most important war of all time.
They sat in silence again, watching the streets below, the people waking up like nothing had happened. Like there weren't bodies still being buried. Like yesterday wasn't hell.
Jay turned toward Jack, eyes softer now. "When I saw that picture, the one in the dead man's mouth … I thought I was going to lose my mind. Not because of where the picture was in or who sent the picture… but because it meant someone had marked you. Wanted you dead."
Jack's gaze dropped. "You didn't lose your mind."
Jay shook his head. "No. But I lost something. I lost the illusion that I could ever be without you."
Jack blinked. His throat worked. "Then don't be."
Jay exhaled, shaky. "I'm tired of being a soldier."
Jack leaned his shoulder into him. "Then be a man. My man." That is all I want you to be.
Jay smiled faintly. "We were never just soldiers, were we?"
"No," Jack murmured. "We were the reason the war didn't win."
Inside, Jeff sat on the couch with a stitched-up leg and a bruised cheek. Rin stood nearby, arms crossed, watching over him like a hawk.
"You're hovering," Jeff muttered.
"I'm supervising," Rin corrected. "In case your dumb ass decides to do something reckless like walk."
Jeff chuckled. "You know, next time we almost die, you could at least take me out to dinner first."
Rin rolled his eyes but smirked. "Next time we almost die, we're not dying. That's an order."
Jeff looked up at him. "You're allowed to care, you know."
"I do," Rin said softly. "I just don't know how to show it without sounding like a drill sergeant."
Jeff leaned back and closed his eyes. "You just did."
Night returned slowly, the safehouse dim and silent again. But just as Jay and Jack began to rest, a buzz echoed through the room , an encrypted message on Jeff's burner phone.
Everyone gathered around.
One line.
"You think the war is over.
You were never the target.
Now I'm coming for what's mine."
The phone screen went black.
Silence.
Jay looked at Jack. "It's not over."
Jack stared at the screen. "It never is."
The war they thought they ended… was just the prologue. It is beginning