Chapter 45:
Deep within Maegor's Holdfast, Red Keep.
The roaring explosions and rumbling sounds from outside seemed blocked by the thick stone walls.
Cersei Lannister sat at a long table covered with a map of Westeros. She was no longer drinking. Her eyes were terrifyingly clear — the clarity of someone who, with no way out, had decided to drag the entire world down with her.
"Is that monster still overhead?" Cersei asked.
"Yes, Your Grace."
Maester Qyburn's voice trembled. "That airship… it hangs above us like an axe. Our scorpion ballistae cannot reach it, and it can turn the Red Keep into ruins at any moment."
"He wouldn't dare."
Cersei suddenly smiled. Her fingers gently traced the section of King's Landing on the map.
"That Victor Pompey prides himself on being the rebuilder of civilization, the savior of the people. What he wants is a prosperous capital, not a radioactive wasteland glowing green."
Cersei stood up and walked to a corner of the room.
There was an inconspicuous winch mechanism connected to chains that ran deep underground.
"Tell the Alchemists' Guild."
Cersei's voice hissed like a snake.
"Begin the preparatory phase of the 'Burn the City' plan."
"Unseal all ten thousand jars of wildfire we buried beneath the Great Sept of Baelor, Flea Bottom, the Mud Gate… and the Red Keep's dungeons."
"Connect the fuses to this winch."
Cersei patted the device.
"If that bomb falls, or if his army dares to cross the city gates…"
Cersei's eyes flashed with mad green light.
"I will light the fire."
"I will turn these five hundred thousand wretches into my funeral procession to hell. I will make sure that all Victor Pompey gains is a burning empty city and eternal infamy!"
Even the mad scientist Qyburn felt a chill run down his spine.
This was no longer war.
This was terrorist hostage-taking.
…
Leviathan Airship, command gondola.
The atmosphere was heavy.
The order for a second wave of airstrikes was urgently canceled.
Victor held an emergency encrypted letter that had just been delivered via "little birds" (Varys' intelligence network — Varys had secretly defected).
On the paper was only a green skull symbol and a line of hurried handwriting:
[Top Secret: Wildfire is in position. The entire city is hostage. Do not launch a direct assault.]
"Damn it."
Victor slammed the letter onto the table.
"That madwoman."
"What's wrong?" Arya asked. "Why aren't we bombing anymore? If we flatten Maegor's Holdfast, Cersei is finished."
"If we bomb Maegor's Holdfast, we will very likely trigger the wildfire caches beneath the Red Keep."
Victor pointed out the window at the densely packed city.
"Wildfire is extremely unstable. Once the Red Keep explodes, the chain reaction will instantly swallow the entire city of King's Landing."
"At that point, we won't be liberators. We'll be butchers."
Tyrion looked at the city below, his face pale. "I know my sister. If she believes she has lost, she really will do something like 'burn everyone.' She is about to fulfill the Mad King Aerys' dream."
"Then what do we do?" the Hound asked irritably, wiping his sword. "Do we just hover here sightseeing? Wait for her to wear us down?"
"No."
Victor took a deep breath. His eyes regained their sharpness.
"Since we cannot assault directly, we will take it by stealth."
He turned to his most capable operatives.
The Hound, Little Sister (Arya), and Bronn who had just rejoined them.
"We need a small team."
Victor pointed at several red dots on the map — key wildfire nodes marked by intelligence.
"We need to infiltrate."
"The mission has two objectives: First, cut the wildfire fuses or seize control of the alchemists. Second, take control of Maegor's Holdfast before Cersei presses the destruction button."
"This is a suicide mission," Bronn whistled. "The Red Keep is probably crawling with Gold Cloaks and Mountain clones right now."
"That's why I prepared the best equipment for you."
Victor opened a nearby metal case.
Inside lay several sets of black tactical vests and several short-barreled submachine guns fitted with silencers (MP5 prototypes).
"This is Operation Shadow."
Victor looked at Arya.
"Little Sister, haven't you always wanted to be the greatest assassin?"
"Here's your chance."
"We will descend from the sky. Using gliders."
…
Inside King's Landing, in the slums near the Mud Gate.
Chaos was spreading.
Gold Cloaks were trying to maintain order, but the panicked crowd had already begun storming the city gates.
In a dark alley, a one-armed man wrapped in a ragged cloak was struggling against the flow of refugees, moving toward the Red Keep.
Jaime Lannister.
He had not died on the battlefield, nor had he been captured as in the original story. He had been hiding in King's Landing, trying one last time to persuade his sister.
"Move! Get out of the way!"
A group of alchemists pushed several small carts covered in black cloth, hurrying past under Gold Cloak escort.
Jaime smelled the familiar, nauseating scent.
Like rotten fruit mixed with deadly poison.
Wildfire.
Jaime's heart sank to the bottom.
Years ago, he had earned the name "Kingslayer" to prevent the Mad King from burning the city.
Now, the woman he loved most was repeating the Mad King's path.
"No… Cersei, don't do this."
Jaime gripped Widow's Wail (his Valyrian steel sword) at his waist.
He knew the secret passages into the Red Keep.
He had to reach her before everything became irreversible.
At that moment, he suddenly felt the sky darken above him.
He looked up.
From the belly of the massive airship, several black dots silently dropped like bats.
They spread black gliders and, using the cover of night and chaos, glided like ghosts toward the towers of the Red Keep.
Jaime narrowed his eyes.
Those were Victor's men.
It seemed tonight's Red Keep would be very lively.
Jaime pulled his hood lower and quickened his pace.
This was a race.
Would Victor's special forces seize control first, or would Cersei light the fuse first — or perhaps… could he, Jaime Lannister, awaken the last remnants of humanity in his sister before it was too late?
Night fell.
King's Landing had become a green volcano on the verge of eruption.
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