Yanjo City Transport: Container Section
X December, 20XX
The hum of the city felt distant from the shadows of the shipping yard. Major Venno adjusted his headset, the static a faint buzz against his ear.
"Everyone in position?"
"Green light, Major," Captain Kinoff's voice came through, low and steady.
"In position, Sir," Gerald added.
"Thirty seconds until I reach 'Hawk Eye,' Sir," Lieutenant Silvana reported. Her breathing was controlled, despite the climb.
"Approaching 'The Heart' now," Lieutenant Condrell whispered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NIGHT~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They say the night is for sleeping. But that's a lie told by those who have never seen the dark.
Civilians sleep. They spend their days chasing careers or begging on street corners, and when the sun sets, they shut their eyes to recover. They mimic each other, desperate to find success by following the footprints of the man in front of them, never realizing they lack the same stride.
But the Predators? They don't sleep.
The Predators wait for the sun to drop before they run wild. Why the night? Because the day is for the "click"-the observation, the photos, the intelligence gathering. The day is for the paperwork. The night is for the kill.
Five figures moved through the steel maze of containers, clad in matte-black tactical gear. Not a sliver of skin showed. They were ghosts wrapped in Kevlar, carrying rifles ready to roar. Formally, they didn't exist. Informally, they were known as 1337X.
The hunt for the "Sheep" was about to begin. But there is an old saying in the field: No plan survives first contact with the enemy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hawk Eye reached, Sir," Silvana breathed. Her voice sounded slightly ragged.
Venno frowned. "You sound winded, Lieutenant. Status?"
"Two sentries were posted at the roost, Sir," Silvana replied, her voice sharpening. "I had to neutralize them quietly. I didn't want to derail the timeline."
"Hmm," Kinoff grunted over the comms.
"I agree, Kinoff," Venno said, his eyes scanning the dark crates. "Intelligence said Hawk Eye would be empty. Something is off."
"Requesting orders, Sir. Do we abort?" Gerald asked.
"Condrell, you in place?" Venno asked.
"Set and waiting, Sir."
"Hold. I'm calling the Colonel for a go/no-go," Venno said, reaching for his long-range radio.
"Sir," Gerald interrupted, his tone persuasive. "Do we really need to stall? The Lieutenant handled the hiccup. We have the high ground and the eyes. If we stop now, we lose the window."
Venno paused, his hand hovering over the dial. Gerald's logic was sound-on the surface, at least. He looked up at the towering cranes.
In a distant, sterile Command Center, a massive screen tracked five glowing icons. Names, ranks, and vitals flickered in real-time. A supervisor watched as the red dots representing the sentries Silvana killed vanished.
"Abnormality cleared," a voice echoed in the room. "The sniper has the Heart in her sights. Continue the operation."
"Roger, Sir," the team chimed in unison.
"The weight's on me now, then," Silvana muttered.
"Condrell, move to the Heart," Venno commanded, his voice regaining its steel. "Silvana, provide overwatch. Gerald, Kinoff, stay in sync. I'm moving to cover Condrell. If it breathes and it's not us, put it down. Move!"
The 1337X moved like a single organism. No wasted sound. No unnecessary talk. Just the rhythmic clicking of comms.
"Wait. Kinoff, stop," Silvana hissed.
Kinoff and Gerald froze instantly.
"Ten o'clock, above the blue container," Silvana reported.
A suppressed thwip echoed.
"Headshot," Kinoff confirmed, watching the body slump. He signaled Gerald, and they pushed forward.
"Point reached," Condrell whispered.
"Visuals?" Venno asked.
"One in the tower. Three by the fire. Two at the main door. The hostages have to be inside that structure," Condrell said.
"Silvana, take the tower," Venno ordered. "The rest of you, wait for the smoke. On my count, we take the three by the fire simultaneously. Copy?"
"Copy."
It was surgical. Five enemies fell in less than two seconds. Condrell reached the main door, back to the wall, as Venno moved up to flank him.
"Set the charge," Venno said. "I've got you."
Condrell slapped a breaching charge on the lock and dove for cover. A muffled crump blew the door inward. They swarmed inside.
"Silvana, Gerald, Kinoff-we are inside the building," Venno reported. "Hello? Silvana? Kin-"
The words died in his throat. Condrell, two steps ahead of him, suddenly jerked as a bullet tore through his neck. He collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.
"Wha-"
Before Venno could raise his rifle, a heavy iron rod slammed into the back of his skull. The world turned to black.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~After a While~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Wake up, Major."
Venno's eyes snapped open. His head throbbed with a white-hot rhythm. In front of him stood a man wearing a garish Joker mask, twirling a pistol.
"Venno, Venno, V-e-n-n-o," the terrorist mocked. "The great hunter of men. Do you know how much your head is worth on the black market?"
"Where are my men?" Venno rasped, tasting blood.
"Them? I have a surprise for you."
The man stepped aside. Venno's heart shattered. Silvana lay in the corner, a single hole in her forehead. Kinoff was slumped against a crate, his uniform shredded by dozens of knife wounds.
And standing over them, clean and unharmed, was Gerald.
"GERALD!" Venno screamed, the sound tearing his throat.
"Keep it down, Venno," Gerald said, his voice terrifyingly calm. "You think I'm some loyal dog? Soldiers die in the dirt every day, and for what? To be a footnote in a newspaper? The government doesn't care if we're human. We have families, Venno. We have lives that don't involve bleeding for a flag that forgets us."
"You have potential, Major," the masked man said, a sick grin audible in his voice. "Join us."
Venno began to laugh-a dry, hacking sound. "Join you? If I cared about my own life, I never would have put on this uniform. I built this team to stop monsters like you. I didn't do it for the government. I did it for the man next to me."
The masked man looked at Gerald. "Well?"
"Do what you want," Gerald said, turning his back.
The gunshot was loud.
The terrorists didn't linger. They stripped the bodies of gear and carefully extracted the tracking chips from Gerald's jaw. They set the transport section ablaze, the orange glow reflecting off the containers like a funeral pyre.
Back at the Command Center, the big screen blinked.
VENNO, MAJOR: K.I.A.
KINOFF, CAPTAIN: K.I.A.
SILVANA, LT: K.I.A.
CONDRELL, LT: K.I.A.
GERALD, CAPTAIN: STATUS-UNKNOWN. [MOST WANTED]
LOCATION: SENSOR FAILURE.
The next morning, the city woke up. People sipped their coffee and scrolled through their phones.
"Did you see this?" one man complained to his wife, pointing at a headline about the fire in the transport district. "The whole section burned down. My parcel was in there! How am I supposed to get a refund?"
The names of the dead were listed in a small sidebar, but their ranks were omitted. No mention of 1337X. No mention of a hero's sacrifice. Just a public nuisance and a lost shipping route.
Maybe... Gerald was right.