The call came at 3 a.m.
Daniel Rourke stared at the buzzing phone on the chipped nightstand of his one-room apartment. He hadn't given his number to anyone in weeks. The screen glowed with a single word:
Recruitment.
He let it ring out once. Twice. Then, on the third, he answered.
"Rourke."
A voice, calm and clipped: "Mr. Rourke, my name is Alistair Kane. I represent Aegis Core Security. You'll want to open your door in thirty seconds."
The line went dead.
Daniel sat up, heartbeat quick. He slipped the pistol from under his pillow, chambered a round, and padded barefoot across the floorboards. The apartment smelled of stale whiskey and dust. Thirty seconds. He counted them out in his head.
On thirty, three sharp knocks rattled the door.
Daniel cracked the door open just enough, pistol angled low and close to his thigh, hidden but ready. The man waiting in the dim hallway didn't flinch. He wore a perfectly cut navy suit, the kind tailored to command respect without needing words. His tie was knotted with surgical precision, his shoes polished to a muted shine. His face, all hard planes and unyielding calm, looked as though it had been carved from marble. But it was the eyes that rooted Daniel in place—pale gray, cold and bleached of warmth, carrying no hint of hesitation.
"Kane," the man introduced himself.
Behind him, two black-clad operatives flanked the door, silent, alert. No weapons drawn. No threats spoken. Their presence alone was enough.
Kane inclined his head, unfazed by the pistol. "We'd like a word. Somewhere more private."
Daniel weighed the odds. He could slam the door, go out the fire escape. But he already knew—Aegis Core didn't knock unless they wanted something. And when they wanted something, they got it.
He lowered the gun. "Where?"
Kane's mouth flicked into the faintest of smiles. "Follow me."
---
The ride was silent. Daniel sat in the back of the armored SUV, the city lights smearing across tinted windows. The operatives sat opposite, rifles at rest between their knees, watching him without watching.
Kane sat beside him, legs crossed, hands folded. "You saved Elara Veyra. That wasn't luck. That was instinct. Skill. Resolve."
Daniel kept his eyes on the window. "She was a kid. You don't leave a kid to die."
"Plenty would have." Kane's voice was silk and steel. "You didn't. You remind us of someone. Men like you—scarred, cast off, underestimated—are useful. You're unafraid of fire because you've already burned."
Daniel glanced at him, jaw tight. "Cut to it. What do you want?"
Kane smiled faintly. "To show you something."
---
The SUV rolled through a gated checkpoint, past a row of black banners bearing the silver shield insignia. A sprawling compound rose before them, lit like daylight despite the hour. Glass towers, training yards, shooting ranges, helipads. Private security, yes—but this looked more like a sovereign city-state.
Aegis Core.
Inside, they moved like gears in a machine. Men and women in tailored suits strode past command screens tracking global feeds—protests in London, convoys in Kabul, red carpets in Los Angeles. Every client, every threat, every operation mapped in glowing lines of data.
Daniel tried not to stare, but the scale pressed against him. This wasn't merc work. This was empire.
They led him into a boardroom paneled in steel and glass. Waiting there was Marcus Veyra—the man Daniel had met curbside, Elara's father, and Commander of Aegis Core.
Marcus rose, his presence filling the room without effort. His suit was darker tonight, his tie blood-red. His eyes studied Daniel with the same unnerving calm as before.
"Rourke," Marcus said, his voice low, resonant. "You've already proven more than most of my recruits ever will. But before we speak of futures, we speak of debts. You saved my daughter's life. That makes you family. Aegis Core protects its family."
Daniel crossed his arms. "That what you tell all the mercs you pay?"
Marcus's lips curved in a small smile. "Mercenaries take jobs. Soldiers take orders. But men like you? You follow creeds. That makes you dangerous. That makes you valuable."
He gestured. Kane set a slim dossier on the table and slid it toward Daniel. Inside: photographs of masked men—the ambush team from last night. Grainy surveillance shots. Names scrawled under faces.
"These men were hired. Paid well. Their employer?" Marcus's eyes glinted. "Still hidden. But you rattled them. Hard. They lost soldiers. They lost a prize. And they will come again."
Daniel frowned. "For the girl?"
"For anyone who stands in their way," Marcus said. "Including you."
Silence stretched. Daniel felt the weight of it. He'd been hunted before, discarded, written off. He knew what came next if he stayed in the open.
Marcus leaned forward, voice dropping. "You have two choices, Mr. Rourke. You walk out that door and go back to the bottle, the nightmares, the ghosts. Or you step into something greater. You become part of Aegis Core. Not a disposable soldier. Not a forgotten name. A blade we wield where others cannot."
Daniel stared at him, jaw set. His creed burned in his skull. A real soldier always brings his partner home alive. He had failed once. He had carried that failure like a chain. But Elara was alive because of him. That had to mean something.
"Why me?" he asked finally.
Marcus's smile was sharp as glass. "Because you've already chosen without realizing. You didn't run last night. You ran toward the fire. That's who we are."
---
The boardroom fell into silence. Kane watched, expression unreadable. The operatives outside stood like statues. Marcus Veyra's gaze never wavered.
Daniel's hands flexed on the dossier. He thought of Elara's small fingers gripping his wrist. Promise you'll come back.
His chest tightened. His breath slowed.
Finally, he lifted his eyes. "If I say yes… what happens next?"
Marcus leaned back, the faintest smile curling his lips.
"You find out how deep this world really goes."
---
The lights in the boardroom cut out. Emergency red strobes pulsed across steel walls. An alarm screamed through the compound. Kane's hand went instantly to his earpiece.
Marcus's expression didn't change, but his eyes sharpened.
"They've found us."