Billy really believed the evening would start peacefully.
He was wrong.
Spectacularly wrong.
Only three members had arrived, and the energy in the room already screamed, "You made a terrible life choice, Billy."
Rio was the first chaos agent.
The hacker sat comfortably at the long dining table, already helping himself to the food like he'd paid for it. He had that relaxed, shameless posture of someone who knew nobody could stop him.
Opposite him sat Cecil — the doctor — elegant, composed, and visibly fed up. She held her glass delicately, pinky slightly lifted, posture perfect like she was built in a laboratory for professionalism. And yet her expression said, I'm two seconds from leaving all of you behind.
Charlie, the sniper, took the seat beside her. Calm, quietly amused, sipping juice from a wine glass like it was a personality trait. He looked like he could fall asleep or start roasting someone, nobody could predict which.
Billy sat at the head of the table, folded his arms, and took a breath he desperately hoped would ground him.
Rio looked at him and grinned around a mouthful of food. "Billy… this lighting? Dramatic much? It feels like you're about to host a séance."
Cecil didn't even blink. "If we're summoning anything, I hope it's patience. Mine is running out."
Charlie smirked. "You came with zero patience, Cecil."
"Exactly," she shot back. "I can't afford to lose what I never had."
Rio clutched his chest. "Wow. Violence this early?"
"You inspire it," she said sweetly.
Billy watched them for ten seconds before accepting defeat. "Why is everyone attacking everyone already?"
Rio shrugged. "Team bonding."
Charlie raised his glass politely. "To chaos."
Cecil clinked her glass lightly against his. "To regretting ever answering Billy's call."
Billy placed a hand over his heart. "You know… you all hurt me."
Rio wiped his fingers on a napkin. "Billy, we hurt you with love."
Cecil gave him a look. "No, we hurt him because he deserves it."
Charlie nodded slowly. "Fair."
Billy sighed like he aged three years in thirty seconds. "Mira, James, and Kris should be here soon. Please behave."
Rio leaned back. "I'll try. No guarantees."
Cecil crossed her legs elegantly. "I'm not making promises I won't keep."
Charlie flashed Billy an innocent smile. "I'll stay quiet… unless someone says something stupid."
Rio pointed at him. "So, you'll be talking a lot then."
"Exactly," Charlie replied.
Billy shut his eyes, wondering why he didn't run background checks on their personalities before hiring them.
Just as Billy was about to lose his last neuron to Rio and company, footsteps echoed from the entrance.
Two figures walked in.
Kris entered first, hands in his pockets, casual but alert, the type who scanned a room before even breathing.
Beside him was Mira, effortlessly confident, heels clicking against the floor like she owned it.
James followed right behind them, tall enough to make the doorway reconsider its life choices.
Rio's eyes widened.
"Okay wow, he's huge… and she's hot."
Cecil slapped his arm. "Please behave."
"I am behaving," Rio whispered. "Barely."
Billy stood up with a sigh of relief. "Finally. Everyone's here. We can actually get started before Rio starts naming my furniture."
The four newcomers took their seats; brief, simple introductions passed around the table — no speeches, no monologues, just names and nods.
Billy cleared his throat. "Alright. First order of business: from today on, we use code names during missions. No real names. No identities exposed."
Rio grinned. "I call dibs on 'Master Babe.'"
The entire table groaned at once.
Cecil looked genuinely offended. "Absolutely not. I'm not calling you that. Nobody is calling you that."
Charlie wiped his face. "Bro, that sounds like a cheap hair product."
Mira shook her head. "Even your code name is unserious."
Rio shrugged. "Fine. You're all haters."
Billy ignored the chaos and continued, "Let's pick actual names that fit your roles."
He pointed around the table.
"Rio — you hack everything. You'll be Cipher."
Rio smirked. "Cool. I'll take it. Still not as iconic as Master Babe though."
Cecil threw a grape at him.
"Cecil — medical genius. You're Pulse."
Cecil raised a brow. "Finally, something that makes sense."
"Charlie — sniper. You're Scope."
Charlie nodded once. "Acceptable."
"Mira — agility, stealth… you're Viper."
Mira smiled slightly. "Works for me."
"James — muscle and size. You're Titan."
Rio whispered, "Obviously," and James gave him a look that shut him up immediately.
Billy turned to Kris with a thoughtful nod. "And for Kris… well, since we don't really know much about your strengths yet, we'll call you Ghost. Haven't found time to run a full background check on you." He gave Kris a pointed look. "But trust me, I will."
Kris just smirked, accepting the name without argument.
"And I," Billy added, tapping his chest lightly, "will, of course, be Prime."
Rio snorted instantly. "Obviously. If there was a code name for 'main character syndrome,' you'd claim it."
Charlie nearly choked on his drink. Cecil muttered, "He walked straight into that one."
Billy gave Rio the most exhausted stare known to mankind. "It's a leadership title, not a personality flaw."
Rio leaned back casually. "Same thing."
Mira hid a laugh behind her hand. James didn't even bother to hide his; he let out a deep rumble of amusement that made Rio throw him a smug "see, I'm funny" look.
Billy ignored all of them with the patience of a kindergarten teacher on the edge. "Anyway. Ghost, Cipher, Pulse, Scope, Viper, Titan, Prime. That's the lineup."
Rio lifted his glass. "Great. Now can we get to the part where you tell us why we're actually here? Before Charlie starts judging the cutlery again."
Charlie raised a brow. "I wasn't judging it."
"Yes you were," Cecil said. "Your face does that thing."
Charlie lifted his chin, unfazed. "I wasn't judging the cutlery."
He barely finished that sentence when
CRRRRACKKK!
Bullets tore straight through the glass windows, shattering them into a rain of glittering shards. The table shook. Plates exploded. Lights flickered.
And every single person ducked at once.
Cecil screamed something unladylike, Rio dove under the table like he'd trained for this moment his whole life, and Billy yelled, "What the hell?!"
Charlie was the first to react. Calm. Sharp.
He rolled out from under the table and pulled out his concealed gun in one smooth motion, returning fire with stunning accuracy.
POP—POP—POP!
Three shots, three clean takedowns outside.
"Sniper things," he muttered.
James, meanwhile, flipped the table on its side to form makeshift cover. "Everyone behind me!" he barked.
Billy crawled behind him immediately. "Yes! Good! Protect the billionaire!"
Rio scoffed while typing furiously on his tablet. "Oh now you want protection, MOVE your head, Prime, you're blocking the Wi-Fi signal!"
Cecil pressed her hand against James's back. "Are you hit?"
"Not yet."
The universe heard him.
Because
BANG!
A bullet grazed his shoulder, spinning him slightly. He grunted, teeth clenched.
"Now I'm hit."
Cecil dragged him fully behind cover. "Hold still before you bleed out on Billy's expensive floor."
"Hey!" Billy snapped. "It was expensive!"
Charlie didn't even glance back. "Focus, Prime."
Outside, more shooters advancing
Rio's fingers danced across his device. "Give me thirty seconds, I'm trying to jam their comms!"
Billy peeked over the overturned table and immediately ducked again. "Stop telling me to calm down, I'm CALM! I'm just… loudly calm!"
Shots kept coming.
The chandelier crashed down.
Mira grabbed a fallen metal tray and used it as a shield as she crawled toward the side exit.
"I'm getting the car!" she shouted.
Charlie covered her with precise shots, dropping two more attackers before they got close.
"Go! Go!" he shouted.
Mira sprinted out.
Meanwhile, Where the hell is Kris?
Kris stepped out of the bathroom, drying his hands with a towel, blissfully unaware… until a bullet sliced the wall directly beside his head.
He froze. Blinked.
"Oh."
The hallway erupted with gunfire.
Kris flipped over the railing, landing on the lower level with a gymnast's grace.
He slid under a fallen sculpture, dodged another bullet, and used the thick frame to spring himself upward, kicking an approaching attacker straight in the face.
Another gunman aimed at him
Kris grabbed the man's wrist mid-shot, twisted, disarmed him, and sent him flying over a sofa.
"Man can't even pee in peace," he muttered.
But when he reached the dining room
It was empty.
Everyone was gone.
"Fantastic," he complained. "They ditched me."
Another attacker rushed him.
Kris grabbed a metal serving tray and used it as both shield and weapon, knocking the shooter out cold.
He sprinted outside through the shattered doorway
Just in time to see the getaway car speeding toward him with Mira behind the wheel.
Back with the group
Mira drove like she was born in a high-speed chase.
The car screeched to a stop beside Kris.
"GET IN!" she yelled.
Kris dove in through the open door just as Mira floored it. The tires screamed, bullets pinged off the back bumper, and James groaned from the backseat, holding his shoulder while Cecil tried to patch him up.
"Rio!" Billy yelled as they swerved violently. "Did you shut down the enemy tracking yet?!"
"Almost—WOAH—MIRA CAN YOU DRIVE LESS CRAZY?!"
"Do you want to live, Cipher?!" she snapped.
Kris looked out the back window. "Two vans on us!"
Charlie leaned out the window, calm as ever, gun steady.
"Not for long."
He fired.
One van swerved hard and crashed into a ditch.
"Beautiful," Kris said.
James groaned. "Cool… but can someone tell Cecil to stop poking my wound?!"
"I'm trying to save your life, Titan," Cecil replied. "Stop being dramatic."
Billy clung to the door handle like a cat being bathed. "Nobody panic!"
"You're the only one panicking," Mira hissed.
Rio shouted from the front seat, "I DID IT, THEIR ENTIRE COMMS SYSTEM IS DOWN!"
Billy's eyes widened. "Wait… that means"
The shooting abruptly stopped.
Everything went silent.
The chase ended.
Mira slowed the car, confused.
Charlie lowered his gun.
Cecil stopped mid-bandage.
Rio blinked at his tablet.
James exhaled shakily.
Kris leaned forward. "Uh… did we win or…?"
Charlie held up a hand, eyes narrowing. "Shhh… everyone, quiet. We're being watched."
The car fell silent instantly. Even Mira eased off the accelerator, glancing nervously at the mirrors.
Charlie's gaze locked on a rooftop across the street. A dark figure shifted, rifle glinting in the faint light.
Before anyone could react, a bullet tore through the glass right beside him, shattering it into sparkling shards. Charlie dove behind the seat, peering over just in time to see another shot slam into the wall near James.
"Move!" he hissed, but the words barely left his mouth.
Every instinct screamed at him, this wasn't random. They were hunted.
Charlie's finger tightened on his trigger. He had eyes everywhere, but the target was clear: him.
The car jerked around the corner. Mira cursed under her breath. James groaned, clutching his shoulder. Rio scrambled with the tablet, but even his fingers hesitated.
Charlie whispered through gritted teeth, "Stay low. Stay quiet. If they want me, they'll have to come get me…"
Then the street fell eerily silent, the only sound the distant hum of engines.
And that's where the night froze.
The hunter and the hunted… locked in a deadly game.