Within the hour, a heavy-duty tactical extraction helicopter from Base AE7 cut through the clearing skies, landing smoothly on the mountain ridge.
The team moved efficiently, loading the injured Allen and the two heavily bound captives into the bay before lifting off back toward the military compound.
The moment the chopper touched down on the tarmac of Base AE7, the hangar erupted into organized chaos. Liam and Joe immediately took custody of the two prisoners, wheels spinning as they dragged Noah and the other one, who launched rocket at Ethan's helicopter, toward the subterranean interrogation blocks to begin the deep-dive extraction.
Meanwhile, Ethan stepped in, supporting Allen's weight as he carefully escorted the injured freelancer down the concrete corridors toward the medical residential quarters.
Ethan lowered Allen onto the edge of the mattress, stepping back to pull a heavy thermal blanket over him before sinking onto the adjacent sofa. "Get some sleep, Allen. Your body took a severe structural beating out there. You need to rest."
Allen gave a tired nod, leaning his head back against the pillow.
Ethan stood up, turning on his heel to exit the room and head toward his own quarters.
"Ethan," Allen called out, his voice dropping into a low, dead-serious register.
Ethan stopped directly in the threshold, turning his head over his shoulder. "Yeah?"
"The core members of the Loop..." Allen warned, his eyes burning with an intense focus beneath the white sheets. "...they aren't just high-level syndicate thugs. They are a completely different breed of lethal. Don't underestimate them."
Ethan stared at him for a long moment, his expression unreadable, before offering a slow nod. "Understood."
As Allen closed his eyes, sliding into a deep sleep, Ethan stepped out into the hallway and let the heavy door click shut. He walked down the corridor, the silence of the military base weighing heavily on his shoulders.
Why did he feel the need to emphasize that? Ethan thought, smiling as he recalled the sheer destruction Allen had left in that snowy clearing.
He stopped in his tracks, taking a slow breath to center his focus. Liam will extract the variables from the prisoners. For now, I need to preserve my own strength before the perimeter shift.
Pulling out his tactical smartphone, Ethan typed out a quick message to Liam: Handling extraction data is your sector. I'm going off the grid for a few hours of sleep.
A second later, his screen lit up with a simple, reassuring thumbs-up emoji from Liam. Ethan pocketed the device, unlocked his quarters, and stepped inside to prepare for the inevitable clash.
Elsewhere
A lone silhouette stepped gracefully into the main plaza. She wore a flawless, tailored black suit that accentuated her lethal, athletic frame, and her gloved hand held a long, wrapped item securely against her side.
In her secondary hand, she held a sleek, high-end smartphone pressed firmly to her ear.
She opened her lips, her voice smooth, precise, and completely devoid of warmth as she spoke fluent Japanese into the receiver. "父上,目的地に到着しました." (Father, I have arrived at the destination.)
From the other side of the encrypted line, a deep, heavily resonant voice answered with cold authority. "ふむ.あとは任せても大丈夫そうですね." (Hmm. It looks like I can leave the rest to you..)
"がっかりさせません." (I will not disappoint you,) she responded decisively.
The line went dead with a soft electronic click.
She lowered the phone, sliding it smoothly into the inner pocket of her suit jacket. Slowly, she tilted her head upward, her long hair shifting in the wind as her striking, crimson pupils locked onto the museum entrance—and the hidden entrance to the Third Branch operating right behind it.