"Show them... why you’re my right hand, Red."

Ashley drew a deep breath as she stared at the monitor. Despite the grainy footage and the distance, she caught the faint smile on Red’s face.

"There you go," she exhaled, shaking her head before letting out a quiet laugh. "Haha... that idiot."

Deep down, she knew Red was doing everything he could to keep his anger in check.

This was their first real mission together.

The previous night, they had been split up to complete different objectives. This was the first time they were coordinating a large-scale operation as one team.

He was trying to be considerate—even if it meant gritting his teeth while letting people beat him up when he could’ve broken every one of them in seconds.

"But I guess I’m the idiot for expecting them to read my intentions when we’ve never worked together before," Ashley muttered, nodding to herself. "We’ll get used to each other."

Her brows suddenly lifted as something on another monitor caught her attention.

A satisfied smile spread across her lips.

"Ahh..."

*

*

*

In the area Ashley was watching, several guards paused when the speakers blasted the entire compound with a piercing screech before a woman’s voice echoed through the base.

"What the fuck?" one of the guards scoffed. "Who the fuck is that bitch?"

"Ugh... I guess one of the bitches finally lost her mind."

"Go check it."

One of the men pushed himself away from the table where they had been playing cards during their break.

Just then, he spotted another guard approaching.

"Huh?"

His voice drew everyone’s attention.

The newcomer wore a cap, but his uniform looked familiar. It was nearly identical to the uniforms worn by the new soldiers who had arrived a few weeks ago.

"Hey, rookie." The guard rested both hands on his hips. "Go check on the bitch messing with the comms."

Instead of doing it himself, he casually tossed the task to the newcomer. The men around the table chuckled while the guard smirked before he turned back toward the recruit.

The second he did, his breath caught and his pupils dilated.

The new soldier was pointing a pistol straight at him.

Before his brain could even process what was happening, he saw the flash at the muzzle.

BANG!

BANG!

The shots echoed through the room.

For a split second, everyone froze.

Then came the heavy thud of a body collapsing onto the floor.

Time seemed to slow.

They turned just in time to see their comrade lying motionless, a bullet hole between his eyebrows while blood slowly spread beneath him.

"Hey—"

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

The disguised new soldier immediately redirected his fire.

Instead of shooting the men first, he targeted the weapons resting on the table, blasting them away before anyone could grab them.

The guards instinctively jumped back, but the soldier calmly advanced, firing with unwavering precision.

Every shot found its mark.

Within seconds, everyone in the break room was down... except one.

The lone survivor collapsed onto the floor, clutching his bleeding leg as pain twisted his face. His breathing stopped when another shadow loomed over him.

A pistol pressed against his forehead, causing him to freeze completely.

Slowly, he looked up. His lips trembled with fury.

"Who... who are you?"

The "new soldier" removed his cap with one hand, revealing the cold face of a man.

Tank.

"Lead me to the armory," he said, his deep voice devoid of emotion. "Get up."

The wounded guard laughed bitterly. "You think—AHHH!!"

Before he could finish mocking him, Tank pulled the trigger again.

BANG!

The second bullet tore through the very same leg.

"I didn’t miss the first time," Tank said coldly. "I kept you alive because I only need one person to show me the way."

"Motherfucker..." the guard hissed, his entire body trembling from the agony shooting through him.

He glared at Tank.

Without a word, Tank pressed the still-hot barrel against the man’s cheek.

"The armory," he repeated. "Take me there."

*****

[Control Room]

Ashley grinned as she watched everything unfold.

Their plan had been simple.

She, Red, and Gin infiltrated the base disguised as new recruits — prisoners, to be exact. Their mission was to get the victims out safely—especially the children.

Ashley would find Ophelia and convince her to help evacuate the women and children.

Red and Gin, meanwhile, had two possible objectives.

Either convince the men to escape... or convince them to take back what had been stolen from them and fight.

Ashley had assigned them those roles for a reason.

Gin was responsible for setting up the communication signal that would keep the entire operation coordinated.

As for Red, he was the only one who could truly reach men like the prisoners inside this camp.

Why?

Because Red was rough, reckless, and hot-headed. But he was also honest and capable. And beneath all that aggression, he had the heart of a leader.

Of course, everyone else had their own assignments.

While the three of them entered the base as recruits, others like Tank infiltrated from different routes.

Tank’s job was simple.

Blend in.

With how naturally he erased his own presence, slipping through the base unnoticed was almost effortless for him.

"Good, good. I knew he’d already be here," Ashley chuckled as she switched to another monitor.

The others should’ve infiltrated by now as well.

And she was right.

On another screen, she spotted Warriyo tiptoeing down a hallway near the infirmary.

Ashley blinked.

"...Why is he tiptoeing?" she muttered, narrowing her eyes. "Does he think he’s some kind of ninja?"

She looked him up and down.

"In that build?" Ashley scrunched her nose before shaking her head. "Hah. Well, okay?"

She switched through more camera feeds.

"Where’s Rus?" She scanned one monitor after another. "I can’t find him..."

The moment she said that, another screen caught her eye.

Several soldiers were firing wildly into the air. Yet no enemy was visible. However, one after another, the soldiers suddenly collapsed.

"Ah..." Ashley nodded. "Rus probably found a higher vantage point. I heard he’s ridiculously good with a sniper."

She leaned back with a satisfied smile.

Everything was unfolding exactly as planned.

The women had finally gathered the courage to save themselves. Ophelia was already leading the children through the secret passage.

Both groups were heading toward the same rendezvous point.

Then Ashley noticed another squad of soldiers moving toward Ophelia’s route.

She looked up for a brief moment, thinking. Then she leaned toward the microphone until her lips were only inches away.

She pressed a button and another deafening screech echoed throughout the compound.

"Hey," she called, making nearly everyone in the base pause. "I’m talking to Baldy and the Addict—you know... the idiots running this place."

A sly grin spread across her face.

"Be careful, you two... I’ll skin you later."

Then, she released the button.

Just as she expected, the soldiers heading toward Ophelia’s location immediately changed direction.

Ashley checked another monitor.

Most of the guards were now rushing away from the women and children.

Every single one of them... was heading straight for the men’s section.

Straight toward Red.

"Uh..." Ashley cleared her throat. "I guess I’ll just apologize later."

With that, she casually searched through the control panel before pressing another button. After tapping on it randomly, music suddenly poured from the speakers.

Fly me to the moon...

Ashley smiled to herself and stepped back from the console.

"That’s more like it."

At that exact moment, hurried footsteps thundered outside the control room, growing closer with every second.

"Ah..." she sighed as she turned to the door. "Hell’s about to have a blockbuster line outside its front door."